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Apple doesn't seem as held back with this first gen product

S

shenfrey

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 23, 2010
2,558
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I mean we already have :

Retina display
Inductive charging
Force touch
Barometer
Pedometer
Swappable straps

Now Apple has a tendency of holding features back like a retina display or some kind of new technology, such as force touch, in order to sell its upgrade. However Apple has been very generous this time in a first generation product.

What do you think they could still add, aside from maybe a camera, and the obvious battery improvements.
 
Last edited:
More health features. Better refinement. Better battery life. More band options. Different colors besides aluminum, stainless steel, space black, and space gray. A camera makes no sense to me, but GPS could.
 
shenfrey said:
I mean we already have :

Retina display
Inductive charging
Force touch
Barometer
Pedometer
Swappable straps

Now Apple has a tendency of holding features back like a retina display or some kind of new technology, such as force touch, in order to sell its upgrade. However Apple has been very generous this time in a first generation product.

What do you think they could still add, aside from maybe a camera?
Click to expand...

Retina display: not new technology anymore and it would almost be considered unacceptable by today's standards

Inductive Charging: makes sense to make the watch not have an ugly hole for charging. Also so all the future generations can share the same charger

Force Touch: if they added this in a later generation, then the new apps that used it wouldn't have such a good experience on this version

Barometer: I want aware it has this, do you have a source?

Pedometer: pretty basic, just a accelerometer. Plus iPhones already have this feature

Swappable straps: it wouldn't be a successful product if it wasn't personalizable (as they advetised)

Don't worry, I'm sure they will add plenty of great new feature in the next gen:)
 
I think apple does a really good job with creating first gen products that people want. The original iPhone, Mac Air, Retina Macs, apple watch, Mackbook. These are all first gen products that people really wanted, and for the most part were better than anything else available from a form/function/looks standpoint.
 
I think hardware/tech updates are going to be fewer than the iPhone or iPad. The most frequent updates to the Watch, imo, will be in the form of more options like new bands and cases (different materals).

And of course, software updates will add a lot of functionality.
 
Next one will have better battery life. The one after will be 30/40% slimmer. The one after that will have 4G and GPS built in uncoupling it from the iPhone.
 
not really that all out. I mean other than the force touch and the charging all the features are 'old tech' in the apple world. If they didn't include them, folks would be crapping on them for not doing it. And these are features often asked for when talking about the iPhone and iPad. I'm not sure they are ready to do the charging on those yet but the Force Touch could be a first step towards a level of pressure support. most folks don't need the 100s of a Wacom but a good 10-12 and a finer pickup for lines would make handwriting cleaner which many could find useful.
 
I would suggest the CPU will be number one priority. If they can make it even more energy efficient and snappier, the battery will last longer and they may be able to incorporate another sensor.
 
miniroll32 said:
I would suggest the CPU will be number one priority. If they can make it even more energy efficient and snappier, the battery will last longer and they may be able to incorporate another sensor.
Click to expand...


Seemed pretty snappy in the store.
 
We don't know what the product cycle will be yet. We can guess annually but it might be every 2 years or every 3 years for a refresh in spec.

They might go for the longer spec cycle and just introduce new colours and straps at intervals.
 
I've never understood where this "Apple hold back features" stuff comes from. In this case the OP's claiming they held back Retina displays... which is frankly ridiculous. The iPhone got a Retina display as soon as the silicon could drive it. The iPad got one as soon as the silicon could drive it (actually earlier, the SoC in an iPad 3 is possibly the most ridiculous chip design in the last ten years and Apple don't get anywhere near enough credit for that thing. The iPad Mini got it as soon as both SoC and screen would work in the confines of the smaller case. If you go back and look at the hardware specs available for each generation there just isn't a suitable option available to introduce the higher res screens earlier without significantly compromising the device.

By and large Apple tend to 'hold back' smaller things. Storage has been the prime candidate with iOS devices though there are a few others. Either way it's tough to see more than a couple of glaring examples (I'd say the only really obvious ones where 3G in the original iPhone and a camera in the first iPad but you could also argue Apple genuinely thought they wouldn't be needed).

I honestly don't think the Apple Watch will ever have cellular connectivity. It just doesn't make sense for most people as there are very few circumstances where you'd a) not have your phone, b) not have access to wifi and c) be willing to pay for another contract. Plus I'd imagine having to accommodate a SIM tray would be a major pain the proverbial. Slimmer, thinner, better battery and more powerful silicon is almost a given but those things develop naturally over time as the tech improves, no holding back there. Similarly GPS may come along but it'll be battery-dependent.

Other than that the most likely developments will be additional sensors (wearables make the most sense as ways to extend the ability of a control device to interact with the world), native apps (coming this year if I remember right, most likely with an intro at WWDC) and improvements to the manner and ways the Watch interacts with the iPhone.
 
smiddlehurst said:
I've never understood where this "Apple hold back features" stuff comes from. In this case the OP's claiming they held back Retina displays... which is frankly ridiculous. The iPhone got a Retina display as soon as the silicon could drive it. The iPad got one as soon as the silicon could drive it (actually earlier, the SoC in an iPad 3 is possibly the most ridiculous chip design in the last ten years and Apple don't get anywhere near enough credit for that thing. The iPad Mini got it as soon as both SoC and screen would work in the confines of the smaller case. If you go back and look at the hardware specs available for each generation there just isn't a suitable option available to introduce the higher res screens earlier without significantly compromising the device.



By and large Apple tend to 'hold back' smaller things. Storage has been the prime candidate with iOS devices though there are a few others. Either way it's tough to see more than a couple of glaring examples (I'd say the only really obvious ones where 3G in the original iPhone and a camera in the first iPad but you could also argue Apple genuinely thought they wouldn't be needed).



I honestly don't think the Apple Watch will ever have cellular connectivity. It just doesn't make sense for most people as there are very few circumstances where you'd a) not have your phone, b) not have access to wifi and c) be willing to pay for another contract. Plus I'd imagine having to accommodate a SIM tray would be a major pain the proverbial. Slimmer, thinner, better battery and more powerful silicon is almost a given but those things develop naturally over time as the tech improves, no holding back there. Similarly GPS may come along but it'll be battery-dependent.



Other than that the most likely developments will be additional sensors (wearables make the most sense as ways to extend the ability of a control device to interact with the world), native apps (coming this year if I remember right, most likely with an intro at WWDC) and improvements to the manner and ways the Watch interacts with the iPhone.
Click to expand...


Well written and informative post. What is your take on the upgrade cycle, should we expect yearly?
 
They deliberately hold back the quality of Cameras in iPads, even further back than the last gen iPhone's one.

They still are holding back a flash unit for the iPad to go along side the camera, something the iPad should of had since the moment the device 1st ever had a camera.

The shameful aspect of all of this is how tiny an amount, just a few dollars, such a change would cost, on something with hundreds of dollars profit.
 
They left out a number of stuff that I can guarantee the next gen will have.

- There is a screen gap. They didn't laminate the sapphire crystal to the lcd display which I was shocked to learn.

- There is lag.

- Apps take time to load since it has to pull in information from the iPhone. You will be staring at the spinning wheel a lot.

- It is a little bit thick.

- No front facing camera.
 
iCore24 said:
They left out a number of stuff that I can guarantee the next gen will have.



- There is a screen gap. They didn't laminate the sapphire crystal to the lcd display which I was shocked to learn.



- There is lag.



- Apps take time to load since it has to pull in information from the iPhone. You will be staring at the spinning wheel a lot.



- It is a little bit thick.



- No front facing camera.
Click to expand...


I remember a video with Jony Ive saying it is laminated to the sapphire crystal.
 
i think the idea of holding back features is naivety. So I'll just say I what I expect in the future.

Always-on display: other smart watches already have this. Because the screen is amoled, black screens don't take as much energy. Im also expecting a strap with a battery inside, which will help allow for always on screen.
 
iCore24 said:
They left out a number of stuff that I can guarantee the next gen will have.

- There is a screen gap. They didn't laminate the sapphire crystal to the lcd display which I was shocked to learn.

- There is lag.

- Apps take time to load since it has to pull in information from the iPhone. You will be staring at the spinning wheel a lot.

- It is a little bit thick.

- No front facing camera.
Click to expand...


It's not an LCD. OLED screen.
 
I don't think Apple has the resources to produce a watch within the next two years that will justify me upgrading from my current SS Apple watch. I have no problem charging my watch at night with my phone. Even if the watch is updated on a annual schedule, I will opt out of upgrading for at least 2-3 years.
 
KPOM said:
More health features. Better refinement. Better battery life. More band options. Different colors besides aluminum, stainless steel, space black, and space gray. A camera makes no sense to me, but GPS could.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? A camera would be amazing. Face time using the watch would be the coolest thing ever.
 
iCore24 said:
Weird? I read on a review that there is a noticeable screen gap.
Click to expand...

Ya I saw that on The Verge review as well and was confused. Maybe he was mistaken, or maybe is just looks like there is a gap when in fact there isn't? I meant to look for this during my try on appointment but I was too excited and forgot to check. The display looked beautiful to me though so if there is a gap, I think you'd have to look for it to notice it.

Scroll down to the part where it talks about the display and you can see where it says it is laminated.
https://www.apple.com/watch/technology/
 
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