Apple Watch Chipmakers Said to Be Gearing Up Production

[Foggydog]

I am skipping to the end here. I am thinking that I just might like the watch.
Reason being is that I'm getting the 6 plus and really would like to keep it on my hip on a clip when I'm running around. ( I am a trucker so just mounting it in my cab most of the time should be easy) With the watch, I could easily use Apple Pay without pulling up the bigger phone. Still, I havent worn a watch for 20 years now since I always break the bands.
As for notifications, it sounds good except I will get a good bluetooth for answering calls. Just not too sure just yet as I am not really into the sport watch, but the middle one looks nicer without getting stratospheric.
I also may just wait to see if Apple can make it thinner. This is one device that could be much thinner and be more comfortable to wear

 

[Rocketman]

Who are some of the publicly traded chipmakers in Apple Watch likely to be? It would aid in investing around Apple as an anchor.

Rocketman

 

[HurtinMinorKey]

This will be Apple's biggest fail in years.

 

[guzhogi]

I don't think I'll get one. Sure, I like having a watch, it has a lot of cool functionality and I like how it interfaces with my iPhone, but $350 is a bit out of my price range. Plus, ≤ 1 day of battery life is not good enough for me. I, like some people need at least a week's worth of battery life for a watch.

This will be Apple's biggest fail in years.

I don't know about that. People said the same thing about the original iPod and iPad. I'll wait and see. Something tells me that a bunch of people will rush out to get it when it's first available.

 

[Popeye206]

Personally, I'm on the fence on an Apple Watch… I think it's interesting and there may be something there… but, I'll wait for the 2.0 version. It will be slicker and more of what it needs to be…at least this is what history has shown.

Secondly… I wish Apple would put more focus on helping me dump cable forever and give me a better Apple TV. One that runs games and let's me buy the channels I want. I see this as a huge winner if they could overhaul this category more.

 

[Razeus]

Niche product. I'm another Tim Cook fail.

 

[samcraig]

Selling the first edition will be an interesting # to watch. Pun not really intended.

However - I will be very interested in the upgrade path for these watches before I even think of buying one. Right now my interest is nil. Happy with my pebble because I don't want a computer on my wrist. Just simple notifications.

Buying a new phone every 1-2 years isn't a big deal to me. But if each watch that is released (and OS updates) follows a similar path, not sure how happy people will be overall.

 

[RedCroissant]

Apple will sell many of these because there is indeed a demand for smart-watches, whereby only some will buy it because they will actually use it and some will buy it as a status symbol.

You're also missing another portion of the population that will also buy this, because they like the design and actually want to use it as a watch.

I owned the iPod nano 6th generation and wish that I hadn't sold it. I used it as my primary watch instead of as my primary media player/radio device/step counter...etc. I just liked the design and had a cool watch.

 

[62tele]

cellphone makers - are just trying for dear life to create a new category that nobody cares for.

Steve jobs once said not to chase the trends but to create them

Apple has failed

Perhaps, but many laughed at Jobs when the iPod was introduced. "What's all the fuss?" they said. "Is this your big product to save Apple?" The iPod became the iconic device of the new millennium (until the iPhone).

I'm not sure about wearables but, if anyone can pull it off, it's Apple. When I watched the presentation I immediately thought the design was better than anything to date.

I am skeptical because it's not a standalone device. However, I am sure that the folks in Cupertino have thought this out pretty well. We'll see.

 

[mdlooker]

I'm still not seeing why I'd want to spend $500-$2000 for another 2 year lifespan device that won't add alot to what I can do with my iPhone and a dedicated (& much cheaper) fitness tracker (which would be water resistant)...

I do wonder what the life cycle will be for the watch. Will it work with iOS 11 or will the revised iOS's phase the watch's functionality out and render it useless? Watches that cost hundreds/thousands of dollars last an extremely long time so I wonder about this.

 

[Rogifan]

Niche product. I'm another Tim Cook fail.

Another Tom Cook Fail? What exactly has failed in his watch? Apple stock is at record hight right now. How is that failing?

 

[Jeff Meredith]

Running off topic, but I'm looking forward to international deployment of Pay. I think the rest of the 1st world is much more ready to really use Pay as NFC is often everywhere.

Would assume Canada, Europe and Australia will be in that first wave and probably much more successful in use than the U.S. (as long as Apple/Banks don't seriously screw something up during that 1st year...).

Not that it isn't successful in the U.S. but you have to look for places you can use it here - that would be radically different if we could just use it everywhere.

Apple Pay is great in the US already and is ramping up here in the US. Having Pay on the watch is the chief reason I would buy one. I don't even have to bring out my phone. I am normally not a user of a fancy watch but secure payments is a deal maker for me.

Just my opinion but I think the success of Pay is what is driving them to ramp up production.

The list of vendors is impressive and the use with Apps has very strong potential. I have used Pay at 10 different locations and 3 different apps. Even bought a gift card from the Target App. The fact that the app is always on your phone, you don't have to find the app, don't even have to turn on the phone and with a slick interface and secure makes it a very nice experience. The Whole Foods market chain is already seeing 1% of transactions through Pay which is shocking this soon after 8.1 was released.

Since NFC has large deployment world wide and Visa and MasterCard are behind this with advertising (World Series), sweepstakes and corporate backing and they control EMV (the MV behind Chip and Pin), it does seem like this is something that should and could happen very quickly.

I have heard of people using Pay in Australia but I do not know if they were using US cards or not. Anyone know?

 

[Rogifan]

This will be Apple's biggest fail in years.

Some good clam chowder for John Gruber.

 

[ctdonath]

Good time to remember:
"No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."
And it went on to define the industry and earn hundreds of billions of dollars.

Watch isn't for everyone ... but if you're faced with getting a $500 watch that tells time, or a $500 ($350-$4000) watch which does a great deal _including_ tell time better than the other watch ... really?

Sure, many will be satisfied with an iPhone and cheap Timex. I'd like to not have to pull my phone out of pocket to tell time, check email/etc summaries, make secured digital payments, etc.

There IS a smart watch market with lots of products available. Customers are looking at those offerings and saying "nope, not quite yet". If anything's going to "make" the smart watch market, it's - just as they've done elsewhere numerous times.

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Battery life of 1 week MINIMUM needed before i touch any "smart watch"

Many said that about smart phones too.
Most people got over it.

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I think a lot of MR members are going to be shocked when Apple announces the prices for these bands.

I think a lot of MR members are going to be shocked at how many third-party bands will be available. Get it with the cheapest band, put on whatever you want.

 

[BruceEBonus]

''Watch Out. There's A White Elephant About"

Apple got rid of physical music with the iPod.
Apple got rid of music shops with iTunes
Apple got rid of desktop computers with the iPad
Apple got rid of the wrist watch with the iPhone

Will the Apple Watch succeed? See above. What can't speak ....

 

[vartanarsen]

Just had my card details stolen (don't know how) and have been defrauded $2.5k. I'll get the money back but not having the card for a week and the temporary reduced balance is a hassle.

The price of the Watch at $350 is justified for me solely for Pay, especially as I do not want to upgrade my iPhone 5S. Pity there is no news of Pay rollout here in Australia. We are ready! 90% of my payments are already 'tap and go'.

Will we 5s owners have to update? I'd rather stay on iOS 7

 

[MacDarcy]

The iwatch with its endless looks & wristbands is beautifully designed no doubt...but I just don't desire one. Firstly, because I've never been a watch guy lol, and secondly, I personally don't see the need for the tech. I could do everything I want on my iphone or ipad. Why do I need a watch too? I don't.

Others may. I'm just not lusting for one like I do other apple products.

 

[Sasparilla]

Will we 5s owners have to update? I'd rather stay on iOS 7

For new functionality? Not a doubt, 8.x will be required. However by then alot of the big 8.x bugs should have been fixed and the 5s has the horsepower to run 8 well.

Some good clam chowder for John Gruber.

If only the folks commenting on Mac Rumors warranted Gruber putting their name and quote aside for that. He mostly goes for high visibility press and tech icon folks who put their often wildly pessimistic predictions out there.

 

[doelcm82]

''Watch Out. There's A White Elephant About"

Apple got rid of physical music with the iPod.
Apple got rid of music shops with iTunes
Apple got rid of desktop computers with the iPad
Apple got rid of the wrist watch with the iPhone

Will the Apple Watch succeed? See above. What can't speak ....

• Apple stopped the trend toward smaller and smaller (Zoolander) phones with the iPhone.
• Apple succeeded with tablets after many had failed.
• Nokia and Motorola and Sony Ericsson got rid of the wrist watch. Apple may bring it back.

 

[Rogifan]

If I buy what I want, the stainless steel 42 mm version with Milanese loop, it will probably be obsolete in a year and then I'll have an expensive piece of last year's tech on my hands (not on my wrist as I'll buy the newest). If I go in at the lowest price point, then it's less of a hit when the tech improves, but at what point do I buy the version I really want? You know that they're already working on the S2 chip and maybe the S3 and S4.

What's going to make it obsolete in a year?

 

[derbladerunner]

I really don't believe in these high shipment numbers for year one (also because DigiTimes has such a poor track record on rumors and numbers).

The estimates can be logically verified:

- The current versions of the iWatch need an iPhone 5 or higher to work

- Apple shows the number of iPhones sold every quarter

- There were about 200 million compatible iPhones at the time the Watch was presented

- There may be 300 million when the Watch is on sale (Q2 2015) and maybe 400 by the end of 2015.

- 30-40 million therefore equals to an attach rate of almost 10%, that is simply too high in my opinion.

Apple will probably be happy to sell 20-25 million in 2015. I see higher numbers coming in a few years once the Watch can work stand-alone with a mobile radio chip (Samsung Gear S already offers that option with a SIM card) and especially better battery life. This however could take until around 2018-2020.

PS: Also, these watches may only be replaced every 3-5 years. The sales numbers may therefore drop off in year two and later since a lot of iPhones are upgrade sales to the same customer base. (Apple recently noticed the same with iPads, people keep using them longer than Apple anticipated).

 

[Sandstorm]

I'm wondering if Apple Pay will work in this combination: iPhone 5s + Watch...

Technically it definitely should work. But knowing Apple and their aggressive artificially forced obsolescence practices, probably won't.

 

[Smartass]

Just my opinion but I think the success of Pay is what is driving them to ramp up production.

success? You got whole forums full of threads where people are cursing how they cant pay anywhere with apple pay.


I know i wouldn't buy apple watch, even if it was something really special, and that is solely because if a lot of other people buy one it'll just look weird when two or three people show up in a room with the same watch. At that point it really stops being a fashion item that apple is trying to portrait is and becomes something common, uninteresting and nothing special. And dont even start with "but you'll be able to have a different strap for it" - nobody EVER looks at straps on a watch.

 

[lombax54]

Pay $500 for something that needs to be upgraded every two years? No thanks.

Most people around the world pay $650 or more for an iPhone every time they upgrade, since most carriers don't subsidize the price like they do in the U.S.

Also, like others have said, we know nothing about this device yet. It could be completely upgradeable, the stainless and sapphire could start at $349 as well, they may not release a new gen every two years, etc, etc.

 

[Fiestaman]

I'm actually glad so many people are clueless and claiming the Apple Watch will fail. This will make it so much easier for me to get one when they come out. Please stay away for at least a little while people!