Apple Watch 2 Expected to Focus on Internal Upgrades Rather Than External Changes, Launch in Late 2016

[Mac 128]

You know what kind of turns me off about the Apple Watch? It's the way it's marketed as more of a fashion accessory than a tech. product.

I got the 42mm Apple Watch with the black sport band as an anniversary gift. For that reason, it's something that has a little bit of extra meaning for me. And sure, I wear it every day. But it's not one of Apple's products I'm chomping at the bit to upgrade as soon as a new version comes out.

I already managed to put a nasty scratch in the front glass when it rubbed up against a steel pole on the metro, only a week or so after I got it. You'd *think* they'd have inexpensive replacement front glass pieces they could swap, but NO! Apple wanted 2/3rds. of the price of the watch to switch it for a refurbished replacement. And to this day, I can't find anyone else servicing these watches. Just a few YouTube videos of people telling me to use the old toothpaste trick to buff out the scratches -- which won't work on one this deep.

And while I'd like the convenience of one of those magnetic clasp bands, Apple prices them as jewelry items instead of anything realistic. Look, Apple... you can twist my arm to hand over $99 for one of your new electronic pencils because it's actually a piece of electronics and lets me do things with a new iPad that I couldn't do with one before. But $149 or more just to strap my watch on my wrist with a different designed band? I gotta pass!

It's the fashion angle that will set Apple apart from the crowd, and make the smartwatch a acceptable fashion item, thus spreading its acceptance. Unfortunately, Apple can't figure out what to do with the watch. And you've just pointed out a problem pricing it the way they do. It's assembled with glue, unlike any fine watch a person might buy at a jewelry store, and unfirtunely that means it's more difficult to repair correctly. Even Apple's own website says replacing the battery means not being able to retest for water resistance. These are all basic things to watch ownership. So on the one hand Apple is treating it like an iPhone, on the other like a high end fashion watch. And they're failing at both badly.

 

[Neodym]

40% thinner [...] the watch needs it. chunk factor is about an 8 out of 10, imo.

Umm - did you ever wear a standard watch? The Apple watch looks far from being chunky next to an average standard watch, especially those with a couple of complications on board.

Unless I overlooked sarcasm tags, comments like these are what makes Apple craze about thinness. I'm sure the people who'd prefer thicker devices in favor of better battery time or usability would like to thank you for your disservice.

Disclaimer: I do welcome thinner products within rational boundaries. But a direct 40% off the thickness of the current Apple Watch would not be desirable in my opinion. Perhaps as a total in 3-4 generations, when (battery and other) technology has managed to catch up.

 

[Kurri]

I agree 100%. I love the watch, but it is sometimes very slow. I wont buy another one until they significantly upgrade the CPU for faster response.

Apple Watch:
on Siri: Hey Siri (wait 10 seconds) set the time.. Hey Siri.. Hey.. set the timer for 5 minutes.. (wait 15 seconds)..done
on Apps: Starting up weather app.. shows old info.. wait for.. oh damn, does not work.. open other app
On glances: **** waiting... waiting ***

Apple watch needs more CPU power and faster response for it to work..
I still wear it every day though, notifications seem to do fine which i do love

 

[nt5672]

I don't understand the Apple watch. I have not worn a watch since I started carrying a phone that displayed the time. Why have two devices that do the same thing? Seriously, pulling my watch hand up to look at a watch is no more real effort than pulling my phone out of my pocket and looking at it. Since it unlocks with my thumb, it is an automatic motion that just happens. If I am in a meeting the phone is even more convenient since I can sit it on the table and its always visible without telling everyone in the room I am looking at the time.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Customers don't want an Apple Watch because everyone has upgrade fatigue. Nobody wants to purchase a piece of jewelry that has to be replaced every 12 months because it has become obsolete. Meanwhile, my $1,000 Tissot watch that I purchased in Switzerland 11 years ago is still stylish, works perfectly, and will never be obsolete. And -- never needs to be charged. Only needed to replace its battery ONCE in 11 years.

That's nonsense. Customers may not want an AW for lots of reasons but I doubt upgrading comes to mind when thinking about the initial purchase. Also don't see where AW needs replacing annually unless someone wants whatever new feature or design it offers.

I also disagree with the contention that AW is jewelry, certainly not fine jewelry. It's a wrist computer much closer to a high-end activity band or low-end sport watch. It's meant to be disposable, unlike a fine watch. So there is no true comparison there. And people replace sport and activity watches with frequency as new models and tech comes out. I just upgraded my Garmin 620 to a 630 last fall -- $400, very similar to the cost of an Apple Sport. If Apple improves the speed and adds GPS I'll gladly upgrade from my AW Sport too. $300 isn't going to force me to skip a mortgage payment.

Also, you neglect the cost of ownership of a fine watch. They should be factory cleaned (yes, sent back to Swizerland) every 5-7 years which can run anywhere from $400-800 depending on the brand and type of mechanism. Add another $100 if it needs polishing to buff out micro abrasions. If it's a quartz, battery service is $75-100. You lucky with your 11 year record. Typically quartz watch batteries need replacing every 1-2 years.

 

[satchmo]

I find it actually quite useful.... Timers, Notifications, reply to texts, change music from inside my pool, bank balances glance, Apple Pay and shopping list inside the grocery store. I use it all the time.

All possible with an iPhone...that you already have with you.
That's a large part of why I believe the Apple Watch is a failure. Maybe not in a financial sense, but as a product. It truly serves no greater purpose other than a bit of convenience. Apple has prided itself on green lighting products that solve a problem or make a difference. The Apple Watch is an unnecessary answer looking for a problem.

 

[DryHeave]

Killer feature for me would be a round face. Rectangular just doesn't cut it for me. I understand that rectangular is maybe better for UI stuff. But all I really want is a round watch with programmable faces and maybe some other cute features like the weather and stuff.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I don't understand the Apple watch. I have not worn a watch since I started carrying a phone that displayed the time. Why have two devices that do the same thing? Seriously, pulling my watch hand up to look at a watch is no more real effort than pulling my phone out of my pocket and looking at it. Since it unlocks with my thumb, it is an automatic motion that just happens. If I am in a meeting the phone is even more convenient since I can sit it on the table and its always visible without telling everyone in the room I am looking at the time.

OH geez. This chestnut again. Look the topic you are talking about has been beaten down worse than my Braves this season (0-5). If you don't like watches why are you here? Not everyone is like you. Some of us enjoy wearing a watch and also find them convenient. The AW has been really great giving my notifications and letting me pay with Apple Pay w/o digging out my watch. Yes, I enjoy that.

 

[MaulRx]

All possible with an iPhone...that you already have with you.
That's a large part of why I believe the Apple Watch is a failure. Maybe not in a financial sense, but as a product. It truly serves no greater purpose other than a bit of convenience. Apple has prided itself on green lighting products that solve a problem or make a difference. The Apple Watch is an unnecessary answer looking for a problem.

And a flip phone also does those things, iPhone is redundant.

 

[147798]

Same with text messages coming up on the watch, especially while you're driving and not supposed to be messing with your phone. You can glance at the watch while holding onto the steering wheel and see what just came in without much disruption at all. The fact you can respond to a text with a simple tap on a few pre-made responses (like "Yes", "No", "Call you later", etc.) means you can often do a reply in these situations too.

Exactly why I don't want a watch. My ADD and daily interrupts are high enough, without something on my wrist WHILE I'M DRIVING demanding my attention.

So, while driving, all you have to do is "glance at your wrist, and then press yes, no, call you later" -- that is distracted driving. Maybe robot cars, though, will eliminate that conflict, and we can just plug in 24/7 to the hive mind??

 

[jonnysods]

Analyst Speculates On Numbers That Have Never Been Reported: Film at 11.

I know right, I'm getting a headache reading this. No solid intel, no accurate sales history of knowledge of new price points or hardware features. Must be fun guessing this stuff and getting paaaaaid.

 

[MaulRx]

Exactly why I don't want a watch. My ADD and daily interrupts are high enough, without something on my wrist WHILE I'M DRIVING demanding my attention.

So, while driving, all you have to do is "glance at your wrist, and then press yes, no, call you later" -- that is distracted driving. Maybe robot cars, though, will eliminate that conflict, and we can just plug in 24/7 to the hive mind??

Thank you mom. If you aren't disciplined enough to focus on the road when your watch beeps or vibrates you would likely be distracted by anything. Maybe a bird flying by...

 

[Seanthesheep]

It Kinda makes sense that demand for the watch will not be as high for the second generation. I'm not going to get into the habit of upgrading my iphone, iPad and Apple Watch on a yearly basis. Besides being a hassle it would prove to be very expensive for most people. Right now my upgrade cycles are:

iPhone: every 2-3 years
iPad: every 4 years
Watch: probably every 4 years as well.

At least when I do upgrade it is a massive improvement to the old device I was using

 

[Shirasaki]

Apple Watch needs to respond user input much faster. Current version is way too laggy.
I don't mind thickness, as this is basically a smart watch, not those luxury Swiss watch only telling you time.
I will only consider buying it if Apple Watch 2 is much faster than Apple Watch. iPhone is almost enough for my day to day use.
Watch should be used to control music play, but should not be used to play music. Same, it should not be designed to store photos except wallpaper. And running full apps on watch is not a really good idea.
Pretty much those are already mentioned in previous posts. But they are also my desire of new Apple Watch.

 

[Deliro]

Apple Watch:
on Siri: Hey Siri (wait 10 seconds) set the time.. Hey Siri.. Hey.. set the timer for 5 minutes.. (wait 15 seconds)..done
on Apps: Starting up weather app.. shows old info.. wait for.. oh damn, does not work.. open other app
On glances: **** waiting... waiting ***

Apple watch needs more CPU power and faster response for it to work..
I still wear it every day though, notifications seem to do fine which i do love

I don't think it's the CPU.. It's the delay in the Bluetooth connection with your phone and the watch. Theres clearly latency when syncing up app data with the phone. And like you described apps do not sync well. I use "Dark Sky" and the complication, watch app, and iPhone app all give different temp. readings. I'm sure to conserve battery on both the Phone and the Watch it doesn't update real-time, which kinda makes complications that update frequently, useless.. I could be wrong.

On a side note, I was finally able to use my ApplePay from the Watch for the first time yesterday. I saw a Coke machine with a reader, so gave it a shot.. Worked flawlessly.

 

[skinned66]

I can see a use for it, but not a snowball's chance in hell I'm paying $400 for the entry level one I don't even want. At $920 bucks I'm not sure what stands less of a chance than that snowball.

I can vote with my wallet all day. I'm not adverse to buying nice things for a premium price - I own a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date. I also own a $20 Timex and the original Pebble. They're all worth what I paid for them IMO. I don't believe I would be able to say the same for the Watch and keep a straight face.

That said, I can see the reason for the decline. Then again I'm surprised the first iteration did as well as it did - even though for Apple I'd call it a middling showing.

 

[techwhiz]

I'll preface this by saying I am an Apple share holder and have been since the stock was trading at book value more than a decade ago.

The analysts don't get it and most people here don't either.
Apple has a limited market for the watch. That market is iPhone users. I would venture to say that most that own them will not toss them to get a new version of the same thing. Unless there is some compelling new feature current users are unlikely to upgrade just for "thin". Also most folks that can afford and want one already have one. Just like the iPad does not have the same upgrade cycle as an iPhone; the watch doesn't/won't have the same upgrade cycle of either. People buy watches that last for decades when they spend hundreds for a watch. We won't even discuss thousands. I own a significan number of watches and all because they were accessories. Let's face it you only "need" one watch.

I doubt there will be a camera before there is a GPS or possibly cellular connectivity. A camera takes up too much room for what you get and you will still need the phone. A GPS would allow you to track movements for fitness and not need the phone with you. Why add a camera to a device that needs to be tethered to a device that has a camera? You already have the camera in the phone. Analysts are stupid.

I own four Macs and three iPads in my home. I don't own an iPhone.
That means I also don't own an Apple Watch. What I own is a Moto 360 that I just retired for a LG Urbane 2.
The Urbane 2 looks like a traditional sports chronograph. But the catch is, it also has a GPS and an LTE radio. While I don't plan to use it as an everyday phone, I can use it in an emergency if I'm out biking and don't want to carry my phone.
Yes it still needs to be tethered for full functionality, but not for tracking my walks and rides.

Here's the rub, if Apple wants to sell more watches, at some point they will need to open the API and Apps so that it can work with Android. Would I buy an Apple watch if it supported Android? If it had a GPS, I probably would. Even without the GPS, I might. There are plenty of Android users that will not switch to an iPhone but are part of the Apple eco-system and would by a watch.

 

[merkinmuffley]

It's a fashion accessory. Difficult to sell fashion accessories when they are as ugly as that watch is.

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

I'll buy a new SW every 4 to 6 years not more frequently. If they start to replace the SW like iPhones I'll stop buying them immediately. Watches are not Phones, at least for me.

Even if they release a new watch every year or two doesn't mean you have to buy every release. You can still purchase one every 4 to 6 years and let other people upgrade when they see fit.

 

[Mac 128]

It Kinda makes sense that demand for the watch will not be as high for the second generation. I'm not going to get into the habit of upgrading my iphone, iPad and Apple Watch on a yearly basis. Besides being a hassle it would prove to be very expensive for most people. Right now my upgrade cycles are:

iPhone: every 2-3 years
iPad: every 4 years
Watch: probably every 4 years as well.

At least when I do upgrade it is a massive improvement to the old device I was using

There's a well defined market of around 500 million customers for the Watch. What makes you think Apple is counting only on the first 10-15 million customers who bought the watch are the only ones they are targeting for an upgrade? For the watch to be a success for Apple they need a whole lot more than 3% of the potential market share to buy them, and they need more reasons to get them to buy it.

There's no reason for you to upgrade your watch unless you need the new features. The old watch will do the job just as well as the new one. The reason people who already have watches now buy new ones is because they want a different look. And Apple's going to need to do more than offer new bands to spur that kind of sale. I thought they got that, but they don't seem to, which must be truly frustrating for all the fashion people Apple poached to work on the watch who are basically marketing watch bands for a living now.

 

[martygras9]

Apple Watch:
on Siri: Hey Siri (wait 10 seconds) set the time.. Hey Siri.. Hey.. set the timer for 5 minutes.. (wait 15 seconds)..done
on Apps: Starting up weather app.. shows old info.. wait for.. oh damn, does not work.. open other app
On glances: **** waiting... waiting ***

Apple watch needs more CPU power and faster response for it to work..
I still wear it every day though, notifications seem to do fine which i do love

Really? I find that all I have to do is say, "Hey Siri. Text my wife. On my way home. See you in 30," without missing a beat and she picks up EVERYTHING just fine. The most I'll do at times is simply wait for the screen to go dark as a confirmation that she's listening.

 

[citysnaps]

Tim and his friends need to be disciplined for not understanding that Apple Watch is a gimmick.

Why?

Apple has sold $5 Billion+ worth of watches and bands since launch. With more than twice as many units sold as the 1st generation iPhone.

 

[thelookingglass]

Frankly this applies to the smartwatch niche as a whole, it was a fad and it's already dying. The industry is trying to find new ways to sell gizmos to the masses, and those plans are not all successful.

Unless Apple can make a new version of the watch that doesn't rely on the iPhone, has actual purpose, etc - then it may be an interesting boost. As is, if it's only thinner or adds a longer-lasting battery, it's really of no interest.

That's probably not too far from the truth. Although if anyone can create and sustain interest in a product category, it's Apple.

They'll never untether the Apple Watch completely from the iPhone. Otherwise, you end up with a product that might potentially compete with the iPhone. On top of that, technology isn't there yet for an Apple Watch to do all of the useful things we would need it to do in a form factor of that size.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

The Apple Watch is an unnecessary answer looking for a problem.

As I said..... I find it useful.

 

[wigby]

Siri isn't the fastest on the Watch, I agree. But it is capable of handling some backlog. Most of the times, I raise my wrist, I say "Hey Siri, set a timer for 15 minutes", I lower my arm, and I check back 10 seconds later if it succeeded. 99% of the times it did.

But I fully agree the watch needs more CPU power and way faster response. And they should fix the 1% of the times when it didn't work. And its Siri should be capable of doing all the things the phone Siri can do.

Your last statement makes the most sense especially since Apple Watch requires the phone nearby to be fully functional. Watch adoption rates fail when the watch takes too long or just fails. Case in point, if you send a text through the watch using you VIP contacts, it's as fast as normal text. But if you ever try to reply to a text directly from the watch, it takes about a minute to get that reply into the iMessage network. And they make it worse by only showing a button to delete the message instead of showing the status of message delivery. Try it sometime. It's funny to see the message you sent a minute ago suddenly pop up on your iPhone as sent suddenly. Poor design and execution.