Apple Executives Explain Challenges of Adding Larger Display to Apple Watch Series 7

[fwmireault]

Soooooooo they‘re just going to pretend that it wasn’t initially supposed to have a completely different design that was scrapped due to production issues so they scrambled to throw together the 7 at the last minute? Okay lol

How do you define "last minute"? Apple may have scrapped the boxy design to stay with the current one, but if true (and there is no evidence of that), this decision was probably made months before the apple watch S7 reveal. There are some people who believe that the production issues at the end of september was the moment where apple redesigned and reengineered all the apple watch, and it’s ridiculous to think that engineering works that way and that fast for such a complex product.

I have the S7, and i can believe that the thinner bezels were the cause of these production issues.

 

[collin_]

Theres literally not evidence of this except people being hell bent on the fact that rumor leaks are always accurate.

Oh, so the rumors weren't true, so apple must have been scrambling? So strange.

How do you define "last minute"? Apple may have scrapped the boxy design to stay with the current one, but if true (and there is no evidence of that), this decision was probably made months before the apple watch S7 reveal. There are some people who believe that the production issues at the end of september was the moment where apple redesigned and reengineered all the apple watch, and it’s ridiculous to think that engineering works that way and that fast for such a complex product.

I have the S7, and i can believe that the thinner bezels were the cause of these production issues.

I could definitely be wrong, but I have a pretty high of confidence here. The MaxTech video on this subject was extremely compelling, and he did provide evidence. Here is the video on it if you haven’t seen it already.

@fwmireault ”Last minute” is relative here. We’re talking about a major Apple product so “last minute” is likely months. I basically just mean much more rushed than a typical Apple product.

 

[Mr Koot]

It’s funny they mention the QWERTY keyboard is now possible because of the larger screen while still adding it to the smaller Series 7 but not the large Series 6.

exACTly.

 

[himanshumodi]

Time pieces ,yes. Electronic watches that have to be tethered to a phone to work, no.

not cool, you can't omit a part of my comment and then proceed to say the same thing.

 

[jmgregory1]

How do you define "last minute"? Apple may have scrapped the boxy design to stay with the current one, but if true (and there is no evidence of that), this decision was probably made months before the apple watch S7 reveal. There are some people who believe that the production issues at the end of september was the moment where apple redesigned and reengineered all the apple watch, and it’s ridiculous to think that engineering works that way and that fast for such a complex product.

I have the S7, and i can believe that the thinner bezels were the cause of these production issues.

The thing is, most people don’t realize that Apple always has plan B products in development at the same time they’re working on what they hope will make it to launch. We mostly wouldn’t have seen or recognized this in the before-times (before covid), as Apple and their suppliers could always throw as much resources at any last minute issues, negating the need for going to a plan B product launch. But covid and the global supply chain issues make it nearly impossible to recover from last minute glitches.

The thing that a lot of people point to in the series 7 launch as being suggestive that what we got was not what Apple initially intended, revolves around the lack of marketing materials of the 7 we got. It’s not even the delay, given Apple has had delays in product deliveries after launch, although in this case the fact that they couldn’t even provide a date does make it a bit different from past product launches. And ultimately, even if it were just product manufacturing issues, this wouldn’t have kept Apple from having a fully built out marketing of the 7 right at launch, as they would have had tens or hundreds of finished pieces to use for validation, so it becomes more curious why they weren’t publishing the specs, or barely even showing the new product after they “launched“ it.

And as I’ve noted previously, this thing with Apple promoting a curved edge screen and the useless sort-of edge viewing of on-screen characters for one Watch face is so NOT Apple‘s normal thing to do. They’ve focused so much attention at reducing the distance between screen and top of glass in other products, then they make the glass thicker in the Watch, which then causes a fish bowl effect on the screen - that feels more Samsung than Apple.

We may find out next year, if Apple launches a Watch with squared off sides, or they may have to ditch that form factor altogether and work on something new, which might be the better thing to do so they ruin the validity of the rumor mill.

 

[Toratek]

Again. Reality check for the deluded:

Square edges don’t work on watches. They get damaged far too easily, especially with an aluminum case. This ‘rumor’ was NEVER based on reality.

Apple needs at least a year to tool up any revision to any item. The 7 design was set in stone 12-18 months ago. If any ‘scramble’ took place, it was to resolve the supply chain leading to the release of the 7, and they barely made it (actually, missed it by a couple weeks, which is still pretty good in the current situation).

The sheer ignorance of some of the posters here is simply jaw-dropping.

 

[Futurix]

It’s funny they mention the QWERTY keyboard is now possible because of the larger screen while still adding it to the smaller Series 7 but not the large Series 6.

I suspect they don't want to differentiate features in both sizes of the Watch.

 

[maternidad]

You're right (and I apologize for the snark in the previous post) - Apple was most likely working on a Qwerty keyboard for Watch. My problem is that they rejected his app which had been around since 2018, strung this guy along for a year, resulting in lost revenue, and then Apple debuts their own Qwerty keyboard which looks and functions suspiciously like his.

See this: https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...cktype-developers-account-of-app-store-issues

Apple has now told AppleInsider that a letter Eleftheriou posted on Twitter after the "California Streaming" event, dates from 2019. At that point, FlickType had been removed for contravening the App Store's then-rule about Apple Watch keyboards.

However, after Eleftheriou resubmitted the app to the App Store review team with an explanation of its accessibility functions, Apple says that the update was allowed.

Also, later in 2019, Apple says it separately revised its App Store guidelines to allow keyboards for the Watch. This was in response to how the Apple Watch Series 4 featured an increased screen size.

Now, says Apple, there are multiple Apple Watch keyboard apps available on the App Store. And FlickType itself was highlighted in a Top Apps of 2020 promotion on the store.