Apple Watch Beats Original iPhone and iPad in Customer Satisfaction Among Early Adopters

[coldsweat]

Why is it so impossible for people to believe that a very well design, very well built, and well liked product could also be a flop?

As I typed that, I was reminded of the Sega Dreamcast. It had better graphics than any other game console out at the time. It was the first game console with a built-in modem for online multiplayer. Not to mention dozens of other innovations. Everyone that had one absolutely loved it. Yet, it is considered a huge flop.

Thank you for bringing back all those happy Dreamcast memories that I'd forgotten about - Sir I salute you!

 

[macduke]

The main problem with Apple Watch is two parts:

1. It's not as intuitive as an iPhone
2. It's a lot slower than an iPhone

It's meant to be an iPhone accessory—which is why the above points matter so much. It's not difficult to use, but there is more friction because things are less obvious. I still get a little mixed up every now and then and I'm a fairly tech-savvy person. Some things just work amazingly well, and other things are fairly abstract.

The biggest problem, however, is that it's partially meant to be an accessory that lets you quickly check things that are on your iPhone. But when I open many Watch apps, they're extremely slow to respond and sometimes just spins for a minute and crash. That definitely needs to be fixed and I think Apple's solution in Watch OS 2 will only help partially. The logic will run on the watch, but I think many of the resources still need to load from the phone such as interactions with the UI. Right now even Apple's Weather app can be extremely slow. Some of my apps have gotten updates that make them more stable, so maybe part of the blame is on developers. But this is my biggest complaint.

Other than these issues, I really do like my Apple Watch. I can see myself getting another one in a few years. It has helped me become more healthy. However I don't recommend it to people unless they really have money to blow because most people don't need this thing…yet. Most fitness freaks can get by on a fitness band. I think in a few years it will be more useful for a person's everyday life—just like most people didn't need smartphones at first. I wouldn't have gotten one myself without the cash incentive my work was offering for fitness tracking.

Unlike the smartphone boom, Apple is here at the start of smart wearable devices. Usually Apple jumps on board well after the fact (aside from the personal computing revolution), so this is fairly early in the game for them. If anything that makes their entrance unprecedented and it will be interesting to see how things shake out. I think if Steve were around he would bide his time for a couple more years so that he could identify the exact problems and address them with one amazing device. Instead Apple released something that is better than the competition but not significantly so. They tipped their hand a little early. Eventually competitors have caught up to the iPhone—but the key is that it took them a long time because the iPhone was so ahead of everything else. The Watch isn't, and it will be easy for them to copy it. A big key to Apple's success is secretly coming up with all these amazing features while everyone else in the industry is asleep at the wheel with little innovation. Apple then comes in and disrupts everything with a fully realized, complete design thought. The Apple Watch is not a complete design thought. It's really good, but it's not at that level. Nobody will look back at the launch and compare it to the iPhone. They'll look back on it as a successful device that had a very long run. But it's not at that extreme, game changer level—and sometimes that's ok.

TL;DR: Using an Apple Watch has some friction, especially with app responsiveness. It's a really great device but not a game changer like the iPhone. Most people don't yet need one. It's an accessory and not significantly better than the competition, so Apple will need to work hard to keep ahead.

 

[iConnected]

You mean a group of people who actually signed up on a website dedicatd to Apple Watch likes the Apple Watch ?
Color me surprised.

You do understand that a customer satisfaction survey is a survey of customers who actually own the product in question?

Color you surprised indeed!

 

[goobot]

• 3rd party apps running over bluetooth.. doesn't count because, yeah, that was known before people even started buying.. and we've known local apps are coming.

Lol, you honestly believe everyone who bought the watch knew the apps ran over Bluetooth? Also it still counts even if people know cause it makes the experience ******.

 

[AndyUnderscoreR]

All this means is that Apple did a good job of setting people's expectations. For example the battery life is terrible, but the surveyed people are satisfied with it because they were pre-warned about the terrible battery life, and decided to get one anyway.

 

[Tycho24]

Glad you're satisfied.

I've stopped being an early adopter cause I'm cursed.

In that case, thx for not getting an Apple Watch & cursing it as well!!! =P
Lol, jk... I really hope it becomes available in a style you dig & the features you crave soon.

 

[iConnected]

All this means is that Apple did a good job of setting people's expectations. For example the battery life is terrible, but the surveyed people are satisfied with it because they were pre-warned about the terrible battery life, and decided to get one anyway.

Define terrible, please - with practical examples of the supposed inadequacy.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Why is it so impossible for some to understand that that well-designed and built product is indeed a great solution for many people?

There are some people who think the watch is just a tiny screen version of an iPhone and will immediately judge it as lacking in what a smartphone should do and be. That's silly.

Others will get the Watch's utility immediately, and know it was not intended to be a phone replacement, rather an assistive communications device that helps people get through a busy day much more efficiently providing curated information and data (including time/day/date) that is easily read and digested through quick glances while their phone stays in their pocket. That, as well as other aspects (such as health tracking) is its value.

It's WAY too early to see whether people overall gain utility from the product. I'm not talking about personal anecdotes - I mean solid measurable evidence that the product changed the workflows of some people or businesses. That said, even Apple executives in charge of the Apple Watch explained that they first designed the product before seeing a utility for it - and that is it's fetal flaw.

This interview of Apple vice president of technology Kevin Lynch and head of human interface design Alan Dye put it best.

APPLE DECIDED TO make a watch and only then set out to discover what it might be good for (besides, you know, displaying the time). “There was a sense that technology was going to move onto the body,” says Alan Dye, who runs Apple’s human interface group. “We felt like the natural place, the place that had historical relevance and significance, was the wrist.”

So they decided to make a watch before knowing what for? That is the antithesis of what makes a good product. Imagine the iPod designers saying "we decided to make an pocket-sized hard drive with a spinny wheel and a screen, and only then set out to discover what it might be good for (besides, you know, storing files). There was a sense that technology was getting smaller to fit into clothing. We felt like the natural place was the pocket. Later we figured out to put MP3s on it." That would be ludicrous.

Just because a particular solution is better or more efficient, it might still be overall rejected in due time. Most often this happens when, as discussed above, the product isn't designed with a particular problem in mind. Look back at blog posts, forum posts, and news articles about the iPhone from right before the Apple Watch was rumored. There were a lot of problems people complained about: battery life, reception, voice recognition accuracy, app quality, pricing, storage amount, etc. I don't remember reading about any of the issues the Apple Watch is purported to solve.

 

[dannys1]

"But who would want a device that tethers to a phone"
"But who wants a watch?"
"But it sells nothing compared to the iPhone and everything has to sell as much as the iPhone or its a waste of time"
"But I don't like it so I want it bizarrely fail and Apple to stop making it so that I can gloat in how right I was about it being rubbish on Mac Rumors message boards"

etc etc

(see post below me....whats wrong with people?)

 

[robeddie]

Oh, well, as much as I'd like this stupid product to fail, it may not be in the cards.

 

[dannys1]

All this means is that Apple did a good job of setting people's expectations. For example the battery life is terrible, but the surveyed people are satisfied with it because they were pre-warned about the terrible battery life, and decided to get one anyway.

Err, it last for 2 solid days, the iPhone lasts for the day time of one day... Considering you need the latter to use the former its almost pointless the watch battery is so good - you don't even need to charge it up over night, just sling it on its stand when you have a shower and breakfast in the morning and its good to go.

 

[__dontpanic__]

You mean a group of people who actually signed up on a website dedicatd to Apple Watch likes the Apple Watch ?
Color me surprised.

This.

Sure, you have to be an Apple Watch user to answer a customer satisfaction survey - but to limit the survey to those on an Apple Watch based online community means that you're targeting a devoted subset of an already devoted subset. It's like running an Apple satisfaction survey on this site - the results will be skewed far more in Apple's favour than they would be if you asked a randomised group of customers. Not saying that they're completely wrong, just that they probably aren't anywhere near as accurate as the headline would suggest.

 

[Kroo]

Three months in, the product is sill in it’s honeymoon phase and there have been no glaring issues - like the radio band for the iPhone 5, or bending - from misuse - for the 6+. We’re seeing early adopters wanting to like their new device, and ‘somewhat satisfied’ shed some light on a bit of buyers remorse.

So you equate people saying they're somewhat satisfied as having buyers remorse? Geez, didn't know we had a mind reader in our midst. Are you for real or what?

 

[QuiteSharp]

The main problem with Apple Watch is two parts:

1. It's not as intuitive as an iPhone
2. It's a lot slower than an iPhone

It's meant to be an iPhone accessory—which is why the above points matter so much. It's not difficult to use, but there is more friction because things are less obvious. I still get a little mixed up every now and then and I'm a fairly tech-savvy person. Some things just work amazingly well, and other things are fairly abstract.

The biggest problem, however, is that it's partially meant to be an accessory that lets you quickly check things that are on your iPhone. But when I open many Watch apps, they're extremely slow to respond and sometimes just spins for a minute and crash. That definitely needs to be fixed and I think Apple's solution in Watch OS 2 will only help partially. The logic will run on the watch, but I think many of the resources still need to load from the phone such as interactions with the UI. Right now even Apple's Weather app can be extremely slow. Some of my apps have gotten updates that make them more stable, so maybe part of the blame is on developers. But this is my biggest complaint.

Other than these issues, I really do like my Apple Watch. I can see myself getting another one in a few years. It has helped me become more healthy. However I don't recommend it to people unless they really have money to blow because most people don't need this thing…yet. Most fitness freaks can get by on a fitness band. I think in a few years it will be more useful for a person's everyday life—just like most people didn't need smartphones at first. I wouldn't have gotten one myself without the cash incentive my work was offering for fitness tracking.

Unlike the smartphone boom, Apple is here at the start of smart wearable devices. Usually Apple jumps on board well after the fact (aside from the personal computing revolution), so this is fairly early in the game for them. If anything that makes their entrance unprecedented and it will be interesting to see how things shake out. I think if Steve were around he would bide his time for a couple more years so that he could identify the exact problems and address them with one amazing device. Instead Apple released something that is better than the competition but not significantly so. They tipped their hand a little early. Eventually competitors have caught up to the iPhone—but the key is that it took them a long time because the iPhone was so ahead of everything else. The Watch isn't, and it will be easy for them to copy it. A big key to Apple's success is secretly coming up with all these amazing features while everyone else in the industry is asleep at the wheel with little innovation. Apple then comes in and disrupts everything with a fully realized, complete design thought. The Apple Watch is not a complete design thought. It's really good, but it's not at that level. Nobody will look back at the launch and compare it to the iPhone. They'll look back on it as a successful device that had a very long run. But it's not at that extreme, game changer level—and sometimes that's ok.

TL;DR: Using an Apple Watch has some friction, especially with app responsiveness. It's a really great device but not a game changer like the iPhone. Most people don't yet need one. It's an accessory and not significantly better than the competition, so Apple will need to work hard to keep ahead.

Excellent analysis and I agree that Apple is in this market very early. Having said that, I'm very excited as it will only speed up innovation and acceptance of the market. Whenever there is talk about smart watches or wristbands the Apple Watch is mentioned. People keep forgetting that this requires an iPhone to work fully so it should still be considered an accessory. When you think about it, this must be one of the most successful accessory for any Apple product.

I think the full potential of the smart watches will be met in three or four years when it will truly be a standalone product. Only then will we see it eating up a share of the iPhone market just like iPhone did with the iPod five years ago. I'm positive we will eventually get all the computational power of the iOS device on our wrists while also having dummy screens with us whenever necessary that talk to the Apple Watch through bluetooth. So the roles of the phone and watch will be reversed where the latter will be the primary device and the former an option (buy a 5 inch screen for when leaving home and a 10 inch screen to keep in the living room).

 

[Kroo]

I've seen many glaring issues reported, from erratic heart beat tracking to freezing apps to incredibly slow third-party apps, as well as terribly basic fitness tracking.

The common knowledge seems to be that if you are a serious athlete, you need a different wearable.

But have you actually used one, or you just read "glaring reports" to make assumptions?

 

[PotatoLeekSoup]

I've seen many glaring issues reported, from erratic heart beat tracking to freezing apps to incredibly slow third-party apps, as well as terribly basic fitness tracking.

The common knowledge seems to be that if you are a serious athlete, you need a different wearable.

So, what's that better wearable?

 

[AdonisSMU]

That's a disingenuous conclusion to make from this survey.

I'm more inclined to look at the detail:

Only 66% are very satisfied.
31% are somewhat satisfied.

I'm pretty sure that the very satisfied rates for the iPad were much higher than that. As such, this is the most disappointing reception for an Apple product in the post-Steve Jobs era, and probably the worst customer satisfaction rating for a new product since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90s.

But I guess that sales have been dismal and the return rate substantial, so this is a desperate scrap to cling to.

You don't remember the whole... "It's just a big iPhone."

 

[amirite]

So, what's that better wearable?

He'll tell us whenever his employer releases it.

 

[goobot]

Excellent analysis and I agree that Apple is in this market very early. Having said that, I'm very excited as it will only speed up innovation and acceptance of the market. Whenever there is talk about smart watches or wristbands the Apple Watch is mentioned. People keep forgetting that this requires an iPhone to work fully so it should still be considered an accessory. When you think about it, this must be one of the most successful accessory for any Apple product.

I think the full potential of the smart watches will be met in three or four years when it will truly be a standalone product. Only then will we see it eating up a share of the iPhone market just like iPhone did with the iPod five years ago. I'm positive we will eventually get all the computational power of the iOS device on our wrists while also having dummy screens with us whenever necessary that talk to the Apple Watch through bluetooth. So the roles of the phone and watch will be reversed where the latter will be the primary device and the former an option (buy a 5 inch screen for when leaving home and a 10 inch screen to keep in the living room).

Deffiantly an interesting idea, but it may be a while till we can fit battery and power in such a small package.

 

[concentrateddon]

Is nobody else amused by the fact that this "Wristly" is a self-proclaimed "analysis firm" that focuses exclusively on Apple Watch, hasn't existed for more than a few months at most, has zero track record at analysis, and doesn't list any actual analysis on their website?

 

[Kroo]

All this means is that Apple did a good job of setting people's expectations. For example the battery life is terrible, but the surveyed people are satisfied with it because they were pre-warned about the terrible battery life, and decided to get one anyway.

Only a person who hasn't used the watch would say this. Mine has 60-70% battery left each night after a full 15 hours of use. So much for your "terrible battery life". You must be mistaking it with that samescum watch.

 

[DynaFXD]

Why is it so impossible for people to believe that a very well design, very well built, and well liked product could also be a flop?...[snip]..
Sometimes great products flop. It's not impossible.

I don't know that in these forums I have ever heard that argument. Generally it is put forth it is a flop because of <insert negative reason here>. Whilst what you say [edit: in regard to products n general] is true, in this instance, in regards to the Apple Watch, it reeks of moving the goal posts.

 

[daftpunker909]

I still think that smart watches are only going to be a major success if they are capable of replacing your phone - who needs two devices with similar functionalities? The concept of cheap (compared to the iWatch) smart wristbands as fitness trackers do make sense to me though

 

[ryanasimov]

For a first-generation Apple product it's very polished, but even though I enjoy my Apple Watch I think it's far from a "must have" item. When I first got my iPhone I couldn't stop talking about it to other people; not even close to the same enthusiasm with my Watch.

 

[peterdevries]

The question is: to what degree does being satisfied with the product mean that the customers are actually using it regularly? I own an Apple Watch, and I don't have many complaints about the device, it functions well... but it still doesn't find its way onto my wrist very often.

That doesn't really make sense. I guess you bought it to wear it regularly, so there must be a reason why you don't wear it often. So isn't it impossible that you are as satisfied as you expected it to be?