Apple Watch Dominated Holiday Season With Estimated 5.2 Million Shipments

[ftaok]

I'm not going to pick up an Apple Watch until they make it so you can use it without having your phone near you.

Maybe I'm not thinking outside the box enough, but I can't think of anything I need to do with the AW alone. Certainly not needing it badly enough to the point where I would want to pay AT&T a monthly charge for my watch.

What would be your use case for needing a watch that is iphone independent?

 

[Juicy Box]

I picked up a 1st gen for $180 shipped on Black Friday. Love it! Would have never paid more than $200.

Good deal!

Something that is interesting about the AW when compared to Apple's other products is the resale value. The AW has not been out that long, but it seems like the older models have dropped a lot. This is partly because of how Apple has released the S0 S1 and S2 watches, but I don't remember this much of a drop of any of their major products, in such a short time period.
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Maybe I'm not thinking outside the box enough, but I can't think of anything I need to do with the AW alone. Certainly not needing it badly enough to the point where I would want to pay AT&T a monthly charge for my watch.

What would be your use case for needing a watch that is iphone independent?

Exercise for one.

 

[imola.zhp]

I'm not going to pick up an Apple Watch until they make it so you can use it without having your phone near you.

I could swear this is already happening. There are two buildings at work, one has wifi, one does not. A few weeks ago I left my phone in the building without wifi and was in the building with wifi, a text came through on the watch. I haven't attempted to duplicate it, maybe it was a fluke.

Maybe I'm not thinking outside the box enough, but I can't think of anything I need to do with the AW alone. Certainly not needing it badly enough to the point where I would want to pay AT&T a monthly charge for my watch.

What would be your use case for needing a watch that is iphone independent?

My AirPods arrived yesterday, I cant wait to listen to music from the watch with the AirPods in while on the elliptical. Phone can stay safe and away from the elliptical, though the reviews look like you can skip the watch and just listen from the phone using AirPods, but you get heart rate, etc on the watch. I don't think I would have ever paid over $200 for one, but $180 new (shipped) for a S0 was perfect for my needs.

 

[JoeyEatWorld]

I couldn't find a Series 2 right after Christmas, resulting in me picking up the Series 1. But yeah, Best Buy and other retailers in my area had them all sold out.

 

[deasys]

I'm not going to pick up an Apple Watch until they make it so you can use it without having your phone near you.

Huh? The Apple Watch has always been useable independently from the iPhone.

 

[OllyW]

Huh? The Apple Watch has always been useable independently from the iPhone.

With full functionality?

 

[spazzcat]

What sold?

They couldn't keep them in stock over the holidays. So all of them.

 

[OllyW]

They couldn't keep them in stock over the holidays. So all of them.

Series 2 were had to get hold of but there seemed to be decent availability of the Series 1 models.

 

[deasys]

With full functionality?

I'm not sure what you're asking here. The answer is, yes, with full functionality. Obviously, functions that relate to the iPhone will not be present. Both devices are independent; when they're together they're synergistic.

 

[OllyW]

I'm not sure what you're asking here. The answer is, yes, with full functionality. Obviously, functions that relate to the iPhone will not be present. Both devices are independent; when they're together they're synergistic.

I think the person you quoted wants it to do everything without being tethered to the phone but I'm sure you already knew that.

 

[Apple 26.2]

I would love, love, love to get an Apple Watch - but not until the day it can match my Garmin Fenix 3.

 

[5105973]

What do you think your cell company will charge you for LTE connection to your watch? I'm guessing $10 per month at least initially like they do for tablets. I think that added cost is going to be a real issue for an LTE watch.

And while there is no real evidence of cell phones causing cancer, I'm expecting that it is likely that I will have a smartwatch touching my wrist in exactly the same spot all day every day for the next years or decades to come. So if LTE and radio waives or just the heat from that type of activity causes any issues, you can't do it because the constant exposure in exactly the same spot on millions upon millions of people for years upon years or even decades will exacerbate any potential hazard. If Apple has to worry about anything that could be a real adverse material event, it is a health scare or health related class action.

I don't know what AT&T charges my husband for the LTE coverage from his Frontier watch. I'll have to ask him. I think the coverage on my Gear S2 sport is $5 a month but again I'm not sure because it was part of a promotion and if I remember correctly discounts were applied.

At any rate it's a choice. Some people can and will want to pay for the service and convenience. Those who don't want to will surely have models that don't have a cellular radio. The Gear S2 Classic watch I got for Christmas does not have a cellular radio and works the same as an Apple Watch does via Bluetooth connection to a phone. It's currently tied to my Samsung S7 but can now be paired to my Apple Watch if I decide to download and install the necessary app.

As for the health risks, none of us knows for sure yet. I'm 50 and so far the first showing of cancer I've had to face down is one I was genetically predisposed to anyway, though I sometimes wonder what triggered it 20 years earlier in me than in my dad and grandfather. So I don't take your concerns lightly. I just don't know what to say about it. I wouldn't let a kid wear one of these. But at 50, I am willing to wear my cellular capable watch on occasion.

 

[truthertech]

I wish all of the sites like MacRumors would clarify that all of these numbers that these "analysts" put forth are suspect. The articles should highlight that they are estimates and liberally use words like "purportedly" "allegedly" "guesstimated" "assumed" "swagged" etc.

 

[ftaok]

Exercise for one.

you can already do workouts on the Apple watch without the iPhone. Of course you won't be able to make a call while you're running though.
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My AirPods arrived yesterday, I cant wait to listen to music from the watch with the AirPods in while on the elliptical. Phone can stay safe and away from the elliptical, though the reviews look like you can skip the watch and just listen from the phone using AirPods, but you get heart rate, etc on the watch. I don't think I would have ever paid over $200 for one, but $180 new (shipped) for a S0 was perfect for my needs.

you can already listen to music on the AW without your iPhone. You are limited to a single playlist though

 

[TallManNY]

As for the health risks, none of us knows for sure yet. I'm 50 and so far the first showing of cancer I've had to face down is one I was genetically predisposed to anyway, though I sometimes wonder what triggered it 20 years earlier in me than in my dad and grandfather. So I don't take your concerns lightly. I just don't know what to say about it. I wouldn't let a kid wear one of these. But at 50, I am willing to wear my cellular capable watch on occasion.

Yeah with the smartwatch health risks are something Apple and others need to get 100%. I really expect to wear one precisely in the same point on my left wrist for at least the next decade and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wearing a computer there for the rest of my life. What would replace it? Implants? That seems unlikely. Not wearing one? Nope the current generation is useful and they are only going to get more useful.

Though funny thing about cell phones. The fear was we were going to get brain cancer holding them next to our head talking on them. But texting has drastically decreased phone calls and bluetooth headsets have stopped most of us from even putting them next to our heads during most long calls. Tech partly killed the phone call and it definitely killed the "hold phone against head" phone call.

 

[Mac 128]

I really expect to wear one precisely in the same point on my left wrist for at least the next decade and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wearing a computer there for the rest of my life. What would replace it? Implants? That seems unlikely. Not wearing one? Nope the current generation is useful and they are only going to get more useful.

Clothing. A shirt cuff might have electronics built-in one day. A bracelet. A wristband. Anything more comfortable. Certain features of the watch will be offloaded to other devices carried or attached to the body and linked via a mesh network. Lots of ways to go without embedding anything.

 

[macdragonfl]

This year I have also seen many FitBit users upgrade to AW. Lower priced models and more functionality when i asked them why. So that one goes both ways.


This isn't true at all. Possibly in the smart watch specific area that is true, but there are still a lot of people I see that use a basic FitBit and some I know that never plan to switch to something like the Apple watch because they don't need or want the added features.[/QUOTE]

 

[OllyW]

I wish all of the sites like MacRumors would clarify that all of these numbers that these "analysts" put forth are suspect. The articles should highlight that they are estimates and liberally use words like "purportedly" "allegedly" "guesstimated" "assumed" "swagged" etc.

Like this?

It is important to acknowledge that these are estimated figures, and that shipments do not necessarily reflect sales.

 

[truthertech]

Like this?

Exactly. Touché

 

[psac]

I'm not sure what you're asking here. The answer is, yes, with full functionality. Obviously, functions that relate to the iPhone will not be present. Both devices are independent; when they're together they're synergistic.

You're being silly. I love my AW, but saying it works with full functionality without the phone is ridiculous. Texts? Nope. Notifications? Nope. Email? Nope. I could keep going...

 

[Juicy Box]

you can already do workouts on the Apple watch without the iPhone. Of course you won't be able to make a call while you're running though.

I don't think you stream music or return a text on the AW without your phone.

Anyone with the AirPods know if they work with the AW without the iPhone? This probably works, but if you stream music, I think you have to have your phone with you.

 

[OllyW]

I don't think you stream music or return a text on the AW without your phone.

Anyone with the AirPods know if they work with the AW without the iPhone? This probably works, but if you stream music, I think you have to have your phone with you.

The AirPods should work but you won't be able stream music or use Siri to control them.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT205547

 

[TallManNY]

Clothing. A shirt cuff might have electronics built-in one day. A bracelet. A wristband. Anything more comfortable. Certain features of the watch will be offloaded to other devices carried or attached to the body and linked via a mesh network. Lots of ways to go without embedding anything.

While I agree that electronics will end up in lots of places, I doubt it will stop me from wearing a smartwatch. First of all, I'm certainly not getting electronics built into each of the forty or so odd shirts and sweaters that I own. Unless you think we are going to soon approach the sci-fi future where we all wear the same jump suit every day, I think there is almost no chance of integrated electronics into clothing done on a mass scale. At least not during the next 20 years or so. So electronic devices need to be modular so that I can wear them with my regular clothing. You can make cheap electronics, but that cheap stuff will have to compete with the three or four good pieces you own and use each day.

I could strap electronics to other parts of my body, but I doubt there are many places where it would be more comfortable than on my wrist. Computers are basically two things, a CPU and a display to get the info to the user. CPUs keep getting smaller and more powerful so off loading the processing to something more than just my smartphone seems unlikely to be necessary. But maybe. The wrist is the logical place for a display because I can bring it up to my eye. I can't strap a display to my ankle or around my shoulder and then see it. All my devices will talk to each other (they basically all already do), but there will be a limit to how many of them I carry.

I think we are going to be set with the combo of phone, watch and earpieces for a very long time. Maybe some sort of eyewear like Google Glasses will prove so useful that folks will wear something on their face. I'd guess that this is likely (augmented reality glasses), but still a really long way off as something tons of people wear daily. I'd guess that a second band/watch on your other wrist is also possible. I don't think it would be for more computing power than what I get through phone and watch. The CPU in phones is already really powerful. But maybe one band could be devoted solely to health monitoring (maybe even monitoring my blood on a periodic basis), it would have long battery life, and it wouldn't have a display since all info would go to my phone. Or maybe we wear a health strap somewhere less conspicuous taking periodic readings. But I think I will always want a miniature display on my wrist for glance notifications (though maybe the glasses will change that).

 

[ftaok]

I don't think you stream music or return a text on the AW without your phone.

True. I can see wanting AW independence for streaming music. For me, personally, I don't stream music (more of an iTunes guy), so it's not a big deal. Even if I did stream music, I don't think I'd find it worthwhile for the $5/10 per month for the AW to have a SIM card.

As for texting, I don't text when I'm working out. But I do see lots of people at the gym that do, so yeah, I can see that as well.

EDIT - Actually, I do text while I'm at the gym ... to coordinate with my wife on the drop-off/pick-up of our kids. But I keep my phone with me, so I didn't even think about that as a use case. The connection between the AW and the iPhone is pretty seamless, when it works properly. But if I were to leave my phone in the locker, then I wouldn't be able to do that.

 

[Mainsail]

I think Watch OS 3 made a big difference. I have the original AW, and the performance improvement in terms of responsiveness from the new OS was significant.

The Series 1 with updated processor starting at $269 is good deal. During the holidays, I saw them advertised at big box stores for closer to $200. I think that is pretty good considering the most popular fitness trackers run $150.

I wear my watch everyday and use it frequently to respond to notifications and track workouts. It cost $300 new over a year ago on sale at BB. So, if I keep it 3 years, that's $100 per year or $8 per month or a large coffee and scone. In no way is the Apple Watch a necessity, but I enjoy it.....kind of like a scone.