Apple Watch compared to other first generation Apple products

[convergent]

I've only had my Apple Watch for a couple of weeks and really like it. I have seen a lot of love and hate on here regarding the AW. Clearly its a product that is not for everyone, but it seems that the bar for the AW has been set by some pretty high compared to other Apple products, and in particular regarding Apps.

The first generation iPhone didn't have apps at all, and for Apple TV the first several generations didn't have apps. Introducing apps in a brand new platform is fraught with risks. Until the product is in the wild, you really don't know how its going to perform and how many hidden bugs exist. Adding 3rd party apps to that equation dramatically increases the potential for problems. Apple took a bit of risk rolling out the 1st generation with full 3rd party app support.

We are still very early in the lifecycle of this product, and its just now becoming available in some parts of the world. I don't think the AW will ever sell in the volumes of the iPhone... and in fact it can't since its a subset of that user base... but to me it seems to be well on its way to being a success for Apple. I don't think it will be on as rapid a cycle of new versions because of the impact of users investing in bands and the more expensive models; but of course eventually a new model that is slightly thinner and faster will come along. In the mean time, I think they have a great product and happy to finally be using it.

 

[artfossil]

I had the first iPod. 5 GB, a click wheel, a text screen and $399 for "1000 songs in your pocket." The only reason I bought it was that I was getting a new PowerBook and there was a $100 rebate.

I had a difficult time bonding with it, finally getting an armband case so I could easily take it walking.

I bought the first iPod Shuffle, the one that was about the size of a pack of gum, charged with USB like a flash drive and had a lanyard. There was even a plastic water resistant case. I bought the cheaper 512 MB model and I think the price was $79 or $99. I loved that thing! Apple's first wearable! It also taught me that for me there are more important interface concerns than sheer capacity.

What I've learned from the iterations of Apple products over the years is that Apple often designs to a need that I didn't know I have, and that the expansions and refinements to a product don't take away from the utility of the first generations.

I am delighted with the Watch. And pretty sure I'll be longing for Watch 2 or 3.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

It's difficult to compare AW to other 1st Apple products like iPhone or ATV b/c iPhone was bill as the phone to beat all phones and marketed as such. The ATV was billed as a "hobby." Apple markets the AW like the the watch to beat all watches to the public but then sells it as a "hobby" to Wall Street. It's like it's being pulled in two different directions and that causes confusion as to where it sits in Apple's product priority.

AW is nice and a decent tech buy at $350-400. I've come to enjoy mine overtime. But it wasn't immediate like the iPhone. Initially I was disappointed b/c Apple oversold the fitness features. Still looking forward to native apps that might load faster.

I think from a tech perspective AW2 will be thinner and more full featured, no doubt. But the problem w/ AW's growth IMHO is that Apple is willing to limit its usefulness for the sake of marketing and style. It COULD be a great running/cycling watch with the right apps and external accessories like a HRM/accelerometer chest strap or bike cadence sensors rather than insisting everything run onboard even it it's not accurate. Then there is the issue that the watch goes "dumb" w/o a nearby iPhone. Apple needs to disconnect that requirement just as they allowed PCs to use iPods and iTunes.

 

[convergent]

It's difficult to compare AW to other 1st Apple products like iPhone or ATV b/c iPhone was bill as the phone to beat all phones and marketed as such. The ATV was billed as a "hobby." Apple markets the AW like the the watch to beat all watches to the public but then sells it as a "hobby" to Wall Street. It's like it's being pulled in two different directions and that causes confusion as to where it sits in Apple's product priority.

AW is nice and a decent tech buy at $350-400. I've come to enjoy mine overtime. But it wasn't immediate like the iPhone. Initially I was disappointed b/c Apple oversold the fitness features. Still looking forward to native apps that might load faster.

I think from a tech perspective AW2 will be thinner and more full featured, no doubt. But the problem w/ AW's growth IMHO is that Apple is willing to limit its usefulness for the sake of marketing and style. It COULD be a great running/cycling watch with the right apps and external accessories like a HRM/accelerometer chest strap or bike cadence sensors rather than insisting everything run onboard even it it's not accurate. Then there is the issue that the watch goes "dumb" w/o a nearby iPhone. Apple needs to disconnect that requirement just as they allowed PCs to use iPods and iTunes.

This was kind of my point... the fact that they allow apps at all in the first generation is surprising. They have made more problems for themselves, but the tradeoff is that the app developers are learning how to exploit the product and probably feeding information to Apple about what they need to do better.

I don't think you'll see other external accessories... that doesn't seem to be Apple's style. I think they'll keep tweaking and refining this model and probably not deviate too much from it any time soon.

 

[masands]

I feel it's a lot more refined that previous first gen Apple hardware. In terms of software though, it's a joke. It's like first versions of Android. Too many features with little focus.

 

[nalk7]

It reminds me of the original iPad, which I also owned since launch. Both had apps from the get go, and both are underpowered. Don't get me wrong I love my Apple Watch and loved my iPad (didn't replace it till version 4 came out). My guess is it's being replaced in September and will be significantly more powerful, slightly thinner and have longer support than the original. That doesn't mean it'll be useless, just slower than the current gen. Just like my iPad, I'm sure I'll treasure it for years to come.

 

[convergent]

It reminds me of the original iPad, which I also owned since launch. Both had apps from the get go, and both are underpowered. Don't get me wrong I love my Apple Watch and loved my iPad (didn't replace it till version 4 came out). My guess is it's being replaced in September and will be significantly more powerful, slightly thinner and have longer support than the original. That doesn't mean it'll be useless, just slower than the current gen. Just like my iPad, I'm sure I'll treasure it for years to come.

I didn't think the iPad was as comparable, because it wasn't running an entirely new OS. Yes, the developers needed to write better apps for it to use the increased screen size, but it was essentially a big iPhone with a lot more space. I think its much easier to adapt to "more" space vs. trying to adapt to much "less" space, as a developer.

The original iPhone was brand new. The Apple TV was a very different model. And the Apple Watch was probably the most new/different model of all because its more personal, and has to interact with the phone to really do its thing.