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A designer watch to ease the pain of talking to a phablet for $400...no thanks

Definitely Apple is trying to manipulate the media into giving hype to a product that will be difficult to justify unless it really provides exceptional benefits to the users life.

That iCloud security flaw seems like fodder to whatever new security thing they will show next if the iWatxh is really going to provide the safety needed to use it as a payment device.
Easy target for increased street crime.
 
Take a Swiss made watch, design it by fantastic designers (Marc & Ive), get on board some intelligent style experts (Burberry CEO etc), and fill it with tech made by the most innovative company in history. Now that would be a f*!king smart watch.

Out of curiosity: Which part of that final product would be "Swiss made" if both the design and the insides come from Apple?
 
Totally agree. I have a feeling that this new device will create feelings on either side. There will be no middle ground. People will either be excited or disappointed. People will either love it or hate it…..

I'd go a step further and predict once we get used to the idea of wearing a small device on our wrist again, there will be no going back, and most of the die-hard nay-sayers out there will warm up to, and embrace this coming logical extension of the way we are communicating and using technology in the 21st century.

The rumored different sizes and finishes etc. should make for a nice way to personalize this wearable without making us all look like tethered programmed 'drones'.

Not that this would influence me personally, but I think it's highly likely that wearing that 'watch' will probably become very 'cool' indeed.
 
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The report also states that Apple held a private, "first-of-its-kind event" last month at an Apple Store in New York to show a variety of fashion and retail apps to a group of style editors.

Reuters said:
Last month, the company hosted what it called a "first-of-its-kind event" at an Apple Store in New York to showcase fashion and retail apps to a group of style editors, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.

Uh, okay. This kind of writing would get you in big trouble in high school.
 
Probably not what most people on here want to hear, but I think it's cool.

So does he.

....and imagine the battery life!

Comedy+Central+Roast+Flavor+Flav+Arrivals+UR_rI3tHNH2l.jpg
 
Watches have become a personal fashion item.

I don't see Apple releasing a single design and hope that millions of people will want to be seen wearing the same watch. I see the iWatch being much more successful if there are at least a dozen designs made by several different designers, covering a wide variety of styles.

Casings have proven to be very popular as a personnalisation vehicle for smartphones. Even if Apple made the iPhone indestructible people would still put casings on them. Same thing happens with stickers and laptops. But watches are already inherently personalized by the fact that a wide variety of watch designs are produced.

But how could Apple concurrently mass produce dozens of different watch designs? Watches need to be made of a durable material. A machined aluminum casing would require complex custom machines for each design, rising the cost of production significantly, and wasting resources as some designs would be less popular. Molding traditional metal is not suited for watch production for various reasons.

If only there was a material that is strong as metal, but could be molded and/or stamped into any 3d shape possible with a very high degree of precision?

Liquid metal (+ sapphire) is a perfect match for the "iWatch". Not only because it would allows Apple to churn out dozens of high precisions designs at the same time, but also because it can be used to create all the internal circuit mounting structures, heatsink, EMI shielding and radio wave guiding (antennas) all in one (or two) piece(s). And the sapphire display could be hermetically fused with the liquid metal body. It could enable Apple to make a smart watch that is half as thin as the flagship LG, Moto and Samsung smart watches but would be as powerful.

Apple owns an exclusive license for the use of liquid metal in electronic devices. They also share a huge portfolio of liquid metal related patents with a company called "Crucible Intellectual Property llc" which is a patent holding company setup by Apple and Liquidmetal Technologies.

But Switzerland based Swatch has a "perpetual" exclusive license to use liquid metal on watches. And until a couple of years ago, this license also covered use in jewelry. It was changed to only cover "watches" for some reason.

I can see Apple releasing their "wearable" and never ever call it a watch... Of course, Swatch could sue, or settle for a large amount of money, like Cisco did with the iPhone trademark.
 
iWatch as a platform?

Part of me keeps thinking that the iWatch will just be your normal looking watch, non digital, no electronic screen for reading anything on, just lots of sensors to feed back things to the iPhone behind a normal watch face. That way it won't have a geeky/nerdy look.

Wow, I never thought of that. It wouldn't be that iWatch is a device, but that iWatch is a platform. Your favorite watchmaker would simply "implement" the iWatch platform and you'd be able to wear your favorite fashionable watch AND get many of the benefits of a smart watch.
 
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I'm predicting multiple watch faces that can be matched with a variety of bands, meaning Apple can sell several accessories per consumer. It won't be necessary, but a lot of people will opt to switch out bands through the year, or keep their old bands when the inevitable iWatch 2 is released. Bands and watch faces will each be available across a wide variety of price points - $30 - 50 for the lowest price tier, very expensive at the high end (hence the fashion outreach).

There is a lot of pressure to keep the company growing. Apple is very confident that their association with the fashion world will place this new product on an entirely different playing field from competitors' one-off gadget watches.

People will rightly note that this is a different strategy than Apple used for the iconic iPod and iPhone, which were mostly one-size-fits-all devices. But Apple now has its brand totems and is looking for other ways to continue growing, without charging for $1000 iPhones or cannabalizing its existing range of portables.

By now it should be obvious the emphasis is on health sensors, voice-messaging and other quick notifications and tasks that don't require a keyboard. Just, aesthetically, it's a watch face and band.
 
I'd go a step further and predict once we get used to the idea of wearing a small device on our wrist again, there will be no going back, and most of the die-hard nay-sayers out there will warm up to, and embrace this coming logical extension of the way we are communicating and using technology in the 21st century.

The rumored different sizes and finishes etc. should make for a nice way to personalize this wearable without making us all look like tethered programmed 'drones'.

Not that this would influence me personally, but I think it's highly likely that wearing that 'watch' will probably become very 'cool' indeed.


I don't have anything against wearing a smartwatch. I just can't see any reason why I should. I'm sort of hoping that Apple could spin some magic on what has to be the most boring high-tech product segment out there.
 
That iCloud security flaw seems like fodder to whatever new security thing they will show next if the iWatxh is really going to provide the safety needed to use it as a payment device.
Easy target for increased street crime.

What iCloud security flaw are you talking about exactly?

A hacker was able to get his hands on celebrity Apple user ID and passwords (mostly due to people using simple and stupid passwords that are easily guessed) and then just logged in to their devices using the ID which shows the photo stream.

Apple has only just now added an an alert to be sent out if a device is connected to your Apple ID. People need to still stop using stupid passwords like Password1 and use more complex passwords to protect themselves.
 
I really wasn't that interested in iWatch but if it has NFC it's beginning to spark my interest. :eek:
 
Part of me keeps thinking that the iWatch will just be your normal looking watch, non digital, no electronic screen for reading anything on, just lots of sensors to feed back things to the iPhone behind a normal watch face. That way it won't have a geeky/nerdy look.

I have been thinking this for awhile. In my mind it will be so basic compared to the current smart watches. It will look like and might even be a mechanical watch with all the sensors and Bluetooth so it interacts with things around you without you having to actually do anything. Simple and beautiful. Two things no other smartwatch has done yet.
 
What iCloud security flaw are you talking about exactly?

A hacker was able to get his hands on celebrity Apple user ID and passwords (mostly due to people using simple and stupid passwords that are easily guessed) and then just logged in to their devices using the ID which shows the photo stream.

Apple has only just now added an an alert to be sent out if a device is connected to your Apple ID. People need to still stop using stupid passwords like Password1 and use more complex passwords to protect themselves.

Apple excels in receiving free advertising, specially with negative publicity.

Despite the recent media events, would you feel safe to have your watch as the only device needed to pay for things...just as it has been rumored as something very easy and quick to use there has to be some other controls in palace to ensure other people cannot use your watch to pay, this will be the key for a successful application and what they will be advertising...
 
Anyone else hoping it's more of a "band" than a watch?

I think there will be both, iband at the $199 range and the more jewelry stylish watch starting at $400 and going way up from there. I predict neither will have a touchscreen because it just doesn't make a lot of sense. Not one video of a wrist worn touchscreen smartwatch has looked like something I want to use. I want an iBand like a Nike fuel band on steroids.
 
I don't have anything against wearing a smartwatch. I just can't see any reason why I should. I'm sort of hoping that Apple could spin some magic on what has to be the most boring high-tech product segment out there.

We've been calling this a 'watch' for a while now, for lack of the actual name, but that's doing this new device a big disservice. You may see this new product category in a new light after Sep 9.

If you're interested, here are some of my earlier thoughts on the coming 'wearable', I prefer to refer to as the 'iPal'.
I do agree that all the leaks and rumors have dulled the excitement of a new product somewhat.
 
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I'm predicting multiple watch faces that can be matched with a variety of bands, meaning Apple can sell several accessories per consumer. It won't be necessary, but a lot of people will opt to switch out bands through the year, or keep their old bands when the inevitable iWatch 2 is released. Bands and watch faces will each be available across a wide variety of price points - $30 - 50 for the lowest price tier, very expensive at the high end (hence the fashion outreach).

There is a lot of pressure to keep the company growing. Apple is very confident that their association with the fashion world will place this new product on an entirely different playing field from competitors' one-off gadget watches.

People will rightly note that this is a different strategy than Apple used for the iconic iPod and iPhone, which were mostly one-size-fits-all devices. But Apple now has its brand totems and is looking for other ways to continue growing, without charging for $1000 iPhones or cannabalizing its existing range of portables.

By now it should be obvious the emphasis is on health sensors, voice-messaging and other quick notifications and tasks that don't require a keyboard. Just, aesthetically, it's a watch face and band.

This. If this thing is indeed a watch, it BETTER have multiple bands, faces and options to choose from, and in fact I think it should be modular (letting you replace the band with leather, other materials/colors, etc). I don't wear my watches for time telling....I wear them coordinated with my outfits(IE, GQ). If Apple is smart, they will realize that the watch wearing crowd doesn't wear the same watch every day.
 
Considering they have a Burberry CEO on their team, I can't imagine that they're deluding themselves about having an actual fashion piece here. There's no way this is going to end up being a new-fangled calculator watch. I'm super intrigued.

She probably has nothing to do with the design of the iwatch. She's probably just dealing with retail. "Angela Ahrendts is Apple's senior vice president of retail and online stores, reporting to CEO Tim Cook."
 
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