Apple Solves Yield Issues with Apple Watch Components, Mass Production Now Slated for January Claims Report

mainstreetmark said:
I find it curious that Samsung can hear an Apple rumor, then design and manufacture the rumor, and be on the market half a year sooner. They are fast workers, those Samsungese.
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They likely had been working on the Gear Watch way prior to the Sept 2013 release. Pebble and Samsung IMO are the ones that have lead the way to drive adoption in the marketplace. Like them or not they are setting the stage. I've been using my Gear S since launch day and love it. It's not perfect but it's very helpful and fits my needs well for now.
 

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I wonder where they will source the sapphire glass from? If this is correct and they have solved the component supply issues, I would assume that the sapphire was one of those issues, right?
 
teslo said:
it's been months now, and i just can't get over the square shape. i'd sacrifice screen real estate just so it didn't look like an iPod Shuffle Air on my wrist. watches - in my mind - are round(!)
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I guess it's about preference. In a traditional watch, I do prefer a round face (although I do own 2 sweet dress watches with rectangular faces). In a smartwatch, purely from a functional aspect, the square/rectangular face makes the most sense. A round face smartwatch will require truncated information or less information. Even with that being said, my favorite smartwatch is the LG Watch R. It looks masculine, unobtrusive, and traditional. <- Those are just my preferences. Others will view it differently of course.
 
69Mustang said:
That's not a good comparison. The watch is going to be a companion item. All the heavy lifting will be done on the phone. If the watch is for glances and limited contact, I think an expectation of a battery life longer than one day is more than reasonable. If the battery life is only one day with the phone doing the actual work, how terrible could the battery life get when the watch gains more standalone functionality?

One day battery life on a phone? Are we talking an older phone? I get an average of 1.5 days when working, and when I was on vacation I got 2.25 days. Yeah, I know YMMV, but a watch needs more than a day of battery life. IMO, of course.
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It's horrible logic because they are two different devices. Period. Companion device or not. It's like comparing iPad battery life to a laptop or a phone. One's battery life might be acceptable for that use case and individual. That doesn't mean that another device should be the same.

As for smart watch battery life - I'm "afraid" (true air quotes) that when it comes to having the screen, functionality that most want, etc - there's not much that can currently be done to have battery life last too much more than one day. Other OEMs have all had the same struggle (and on here - I now have to laugh at those that insisted Apple would be able to figure something better out - yes, I know, there are no benchmarks yet - still amusing).
 
mainstreetmark said:
I find it curious that Samsung can hear an Apple rumor, then design and manufacture the rumor, and be on the market half a year sooner. They are fast workers, those Samsungese.
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If only Apple would float some rumors that they are working on:
  • cures for all diseases
  • the best of Star Trek technologies (transporter, replicator, warp drive, etc.)
  • instant charge batteries that last weeks
  • 95%+ efficient solar cells made of dirt cheap materials
  • and so on
 
You know what worries me about this battery life being only 24hrs. When has apple ever improved iOS battery life? They may say it got better on every product release but real world testing has always proved battery life to be the same or just marginally better.
 
Can't wait to try on out in a store, and can't wait to buy the "iPhone 4 version" of the watch in a couple of years.
 
Cuban Missles said:
I wonder where they will source the sapphire glass from? If this is correct and they have solved the component supply issues, I would assume that the sapphire was one of those issues, right?
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Sapphire for watch faces is infinitely easier to produce (no new R&D required) and machine. Also the volume required will be significantly less. Sapphire used on watch faces is much thicker and smaller than Apple's expectation for phone glass. Current sapphire producers can fill the gap until Apple builds its rumored sapphire plant overseas. Even if they don't build it, current producers can most likely increase their production.
 
Carlanga said:
Probably. There are many watches that the case is made somewhere and the band another and each is marked appropriately. As for the China markings I don't think they put them on the ad since it will "cheapen" the high class watch thing they are trying to go for; but they will be shown.
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I'm not talking about an ad I'm talking about photographs of the watch. The watch on display at the September event did not say assembled in China anywhere on the device.
 
Rogifan said:
I'm not talking about an ad I'm talking about photographs of the watch. The watch on display at the September event did not say assembled in China anywhere on the device.
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I'm not familiar with the regulations, but maybe the country of origin and manufacturer/regulatory information is only required when product is actually in production for release to the market. Right now we've only pre-production devices.
 
Quite a ramp up for that company. Hope they remember what happened to GT advanced and have taken steps to protect themselves.
 
iwayne said:
You know what worries me about this battery life being only 24hrs. When has apple ever improved iOS battery life? They may say it got better on every product release but real world testing has always proved battery life to be the same or just marginally better.
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It's always been a balance between longer battery life vs. reduced form factor ("thinness"). Apple has prioritized form factor for the iPhone, but will prioritize battery life for the Watch; at least, until they can get 36-48 hours between charges. With the iPhone, you can use it while you are charging, which you can't with the Watch; on the other hand, the iPhone needs to fit a variety of pockets and hands; while sizing the Watch to sit on your wrist is much more straightforward.
 
mainstreetmark said:
I saw a Samsung watch in the wild yesterday.

I find it curious that Samsung can hear an Apple rumor, then design and manufacture the rumor, and be on the market half a year sooner. They are fast workers, those Samsungese.
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Curious indeed... now go look at the reviews of them.
 
Bhatu said:
Seems it's going to stay for longer time in market as compared to iDevices that get an upgrade very year.
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That's yet another pipe dream of those who think the Watch price is too high. Keep in mind that most iPhone prices have been subsidized by carriers, but the phones' unsubsidized prices are up there in the $600-1000 range.

Carriers most likely won't be subsidizing the watches as they won't have cellular circuitry.

So I doubt if Apple will feel constrained or even obliged not to offer rather frequent updates—especially when they can incorporate desirable new features based on customer feedback and/or technology advances.
 
Aluminum213 said:
With one day battery life these first generation apple watches are a VERY easy pass
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bobob said:
I hope you passed on the smartphones with one day battery life too.
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utsava said:
The second gen will blow this out of the water. It's definitely a wait and see product.
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No doubt the second gen Apple Watch will improve on the original, but I wouldn't bet on a battery life over 2 days in at least the first 5 generations.

The physical space in a watch can only contain a ~350mAh battery and processor power efficiencies are already quite high.

The good news is that such a tiny battery will likely charge in about an hour, so you can fully charge it when you're eating breakfast and having a shower and be good to go till the next morning.
 
Sweet. Soo excited to get mine in February 2016 when the battery allows me to use it as an alarm on my wrist at night for sleeping too. Until then Pebble has my money
 
MacFather said:
wake me up when 2nd generation will be announced (thinner/lighter, waterproof, built-in GPS, more health-related sensors)
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As always the next generations will have more and better features as technology improves. As customers feedback makes changes.
 
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