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Apple Watch 2 Not Likely to See March Debut [Updated]

Apple comes out with a new iPhone every year. I replace my iPhone every two to three years. Apple comes out with a new iPad almost every year. I just replaced my iPad 4 with a Pro. Apple comes out with a new MacBook Pro nearly every year. I hang onto mine for five years. This means, horrors, that I don't always own the latest and greatest from Apple.

I hope the Apple Watch is refreshed sooner rather than later. I'm not saying I'll upgrade right away, but the first generation of any Apple product is always something of a compromise. The original iMac was sadly underpowered, the original iPhone didn't even have apps, the original iPad didn't have enough memory, and so on. It's in the second revision that Apple engineers and developers really work out what people are actually doing with the product.
 
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scaramoosh said:
Tbh I don't think sales justify a yearly release, I cannot see more than 50% of people switching from the Watch 1 to the 2 and I cannot see there being a major demand swing for the Watch. I reckon it'll be something they'll upgrade every 2/3 years, especially after the Watch 2 where there really wont be much to refine. However if they were to make a Watch 2 now... what do they improve? Tech hasn't evolved much at all since last year, the only thing they could do is make it look different.
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You are expressing a common thought but it is pretty narrow.

You appear to be assuming that the primary reason for producing a 2nd Gen Apple Watch is to get current AW1 owners to replace their AW with an AW2.

There are MANY people who DON'T own an AW. Reality is, if Apple wants to grow their sales they will need to produce something that will entice those currently-not-owning-AW people. Yes, there may be some who have been sitting on the fence regarding the AW1 who will buy, but that can go only so far. This is the fundamental reason why Apple improves their products and produces multiple generations of them. Why should Apple take a "one and done" approach with the AW (or wait "x" years before making any improvements)?

You said, "tech hasn't evolved much at all since last year". How do you know what Apple's engineers have been working on? It is quite possible that there have been improvements made to the sensors, scale of components, and breakthroughs/optimizations. What does Apple do with those things? They can slip-stream them into the current AW production without ever announcing a formal "generation" bump, formally announce a new generation, or do nothing with those improvements.

I get the feeling that most of the resistance to Apple producing an improved version of the AW is rooted in current owners not wanting to own "last generation's" model. (I'm not saying that this is YOUR motivation, I don't even know if you own an AW, or that it is a feeling of the majority of current AW owners, but it seems to be the general "feel")

For me, if the AW was more of an "iPod Nano 6th Gen on steroids" (I currently use that on occasion as my watch), I would've been all over it. But as it stands, I'm waiting to see what AW2 brings, when it brings it.
 
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This is a particularly important release for Apple, both because the first version is widely believed to have underperformed and because Apple has established a reputation for breakout second-generation products that improve hugely on their predecessors. Taking the time to get it right is critical here.
 
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As an early adopter of several Apple products, I have to say the Apple Watch is the only one that felt like a complete product. Of course there is always something to improve here and there, but it is like that with every single product on every single generation. I can only say I am happy with my Space Black SS AW. I am curious about the 2nd gen, but I think I am going to stick with my Watch for 3 years.
 
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Chupa Chupa said:
Right, but many people do use an iPad instead of a laptop, especially in enterprise. In fact enterprise is the one area with iPad growth. OTOH no one needs an AW anymore than they need any watch. Apple could discontinue the iPad today and it would create a lot of workflow disruption for people until they found an alternate solution. OTOH if Apple canceled the AW today people would just default to the watch or bare wrist they had before AW.
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But if you're going to move the goalposts to prove the point surely you have to accept its different depending where those goalposts are. If there was no iPad tomorrow, my life would not be a jot of difference. There are many people like me that value the Watch more. I would just default to the Macbook I use anyway.

You can't decide that just because it applies to one sector (enterprise in this case) it applies to everyone single other sector. Most home iPad users have it as a luxury device to consume media on - granted I could run my business without an iPad or an Apple Watch but the Apple Watch currently helps me much more.
 
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Mac Fly (film) said:
Seeing as you're on MR I'm willing to have some doubts as to your reaction.
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Same here.

My take is we will not see a new Apple Watch at all this year. With the stock market recently taking a nose dive, luxury markets are first to take the hit in consumer spaces.

While I am sure Ive and company have kick-butt designs ready, the mass market is not at the right point for this. My take is we'll see a new Apple Watch after a new president is settled in the White House.
 
CFreymarc said:
Same here.

My take is we will not see a new Apple Watch at all this year. With the stock market recently taking a nose dive, luxury markets are first to take the hit in consumer spaces.

While I am sure Ive and company have kick-butt designs ready, the mass market is not at the right point for this. My take is we'll see a new Apple Watch after a new president is settled in the White House.
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You're assuming that the current stock market correction is the precursor to a long recession. That assumption is unwarranted. Markets go down. Markets go up. Volatility is the engine of returns. I'm quite certain that no one in Apple is predicating product launches on the Dow index.
 
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iamrandyellis said:
I really saddens me that Apple thinks someone would buy a new watch every year.
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scaramoosh said:
Tbh I don't think sales justify a yearly release, I cannot see more than 50% of people switching from the Watch 1 to the 2 and I cannot see there being a major demand swing for the Watch. I reckon it'll be something they'll upgrade every 2/3 years, especially after the Watch 2 where there really wont be much to refine. However if they were to make a Watch 2 now... what do they improve? Tech hasn't evolved much at all since last year, the only thing they could do is make it look different.
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Reports are that Apple only sold 8 million Watches in 2015, which if true extrapolates to about 10 million for a year. the iPhone has over 300 million users worldwide. And each one of those iPhones is a potential customer. So do you two actually think that Apple built the Watch to sell to the same 10 million customer over and over? Do you think Apple even cares about those first 10 million customers now that they have their money? The reality here is Apple wants to sell 300 million watches -- one for every iPhone customer. If they're lucky they may get half that eventually. But they're not going to get there very quickly at 10 million a year. At most they expect their next 10 million watches to come from brand new customers, and at most would expect 1/3 of the first gen customers to upgrade. And one way to get new customers, is to offer new features, new marketing and a new product. And that's exactly what Apple is going to do, the sooner the better.

The most surprising aspect of this whole discussion is that there's 5 pages devoted to tech, and not one mention of fashion -- an industry with seasonal upgrade cycles. The Watch is at least half fashion, and is competing with a watch industry that releases new model designs every year. Yet everyone around here is discussing the watch like an iPad -- a device that truly doesn't need to be updated every year -- or a Mac, instead of the most personal product Apple has ever created, hiring away important fashion designers and excutives, and courting luminaries of the fashion world. This last fact alone should inform anyone's understanding of how this product will be handled.
 
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Gudi said:
Nah, the Apple Watch is a gimmick for early adopters and it's second generation won't sell at all. The company is prepared for a failure and hides sales numbers under accessories. We will never know how bad follow-up sales really are, but just assume the worst. Apple had a big winning streak lately, it's about time for another failed product. Not an iphonegate or something, but an actual product which doesn't sell well. Smartwatches are the perfect product category normal people couldn't care less about.
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It doesn't have to be iPhone level success to be profitable and that's all that matters. Apple Watch was the top selling smartwatch and second best selling wearable overall in 2015 and wasn't on sale until April. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea it's a failure.
 
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dogslobber said:
The Apple watch is a pretty lethargic piece of technology. It's bulky, doesn't have a 24x7 display, and it's got a day charge long if you're lucky. In summary it's got three fundamental problems before it becomes anything more than a toy.
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nonsense, and thanks for confirming you've never owned one. it gets better battery life than the device it's an accessory to -- I workout and only use half the battery a day. then it sits on my bedside next to the phone as I sleep.

it's smaller than most popular men's watches today.
 
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Serban said:
so macbook, 4" iphone and maybe ipad air 3? so a 1 and a half hour event
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Updated Mac Pro, updated MacBook Air, new Thunderbolt Display, possible new beats products (unlikely). There are plenty of other things Apple could update. Im much more interested in updated macs than anything else Apple makes right now.
 
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iamrandyellis said:
I really saddens me that Apple thinks someone would buy a new watch every year. They've updated the Thunderbolt display with variants without calling it Thunderbolt display 2, 3, 4, etc. Why can't they do the same for the Apple Watch.
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Before you, and everyone else, start crying, it's entirely possible Apple will have a trade in program that lets you upgrade for much cheaper.

and of course, you could keep your straps, since all the straps should work with the new model.
 
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I would prefer an 18 month or even a 24 month upgrade cycle for the Apple Watch giving Apple more development time for a better product with each release. I think they should also do this with OS X too. I know Apple has to make money but having too many products on 1yr cycles doesn't ensure quality.
 
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Someyoungguy said:
Hoping that Apple not release a new and improved version of anything seems irrational to me, so I have to question your motives. Here's what I think: you know in your heart of hearts that the Gen-1 watch you bought doesn't justify its cost, and seeing a better version come out further erodes the rationalizations you made when you bought yours.

I think you should take comfort in knowing that Version 2 is not going to cause Version 1 to suddenly become pointless (it already was), and that you got to enjoy playing with Version 1 while the rest of us waited for the one we could justify buying. We all need to get comfortable with the fact that these things are not heirlooms, despite the marketing hype, and that they will see regular, frequent updates. Buy the one that works for you, and move on.
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I didn't buy the first gen apple watch. Although I can now see its general usefulness, I was not sold on the need for one. I won't be buying one for awhile if ever. But I love Apple. Been an apple head before it was "cool", so I have no alterior motive against the apple watch, just that I question the need to update the hardware regularly. Aside from adding a FaceTime camera, is there really a good reason to update a watch so soon? I don't think so. And I think a short update cycle for the apple watch will actually hurt sales, not help them. Unlike iphones, I don't think the apple watch would benefit from yearly updates.
 
I don't care if Apple upgrades the Apple Watch yearly any more than I care about annual iPhone updates. If the new version is sufficiently improved to justify the expense for me, I upgrade. Otherwise, I wait until there's an update that's worthwhile.
 
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Mainsail said:
BTW - My iPhone 6s plus cost $850, so with $200 trade-in after 2 years = $325 per year. Of course, a smartphone is much more of a "necessity" than an "accessory". Nevertheless, the Apple Watch kind of enhances and compliments the iPhone experience....it is especially nice combo with larger phones.
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Where are you trading in your iPhone for $200 after 2 years? You can get twice that if you sell it online.
 
blairh said:
Where are you trading in your iPhone for $200 after 2 years? You can get twice that if you sell it online.
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Same here. Some of these "donate your iPhone and a portion of our profits are given to charity" is such a scam. You might as well be handing over cash to a stranger. Sell you used iPhone with an on-line auction is the best cash you can get with little legwork.

nightcap965 said:
You're assuming that the current stock market correction is the precursor to a long recession. That assumption is unwarranted. Markets go down. Markets go up. Volatility is the engine of returns. I'm quite certain that no one in Apple is predicating product launches on the Dow index.
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I can tell your for a fact that the Dow and other stock markets are looked at hard concerning product launches at Apple and other technology firms. How much influence they have is another story.
 
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