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Apple Watch Loses Market Share as Android Wear Grows in Popularity

gnasher729 said:
You are assuming that Apple is interested in maximising the number of watches sold. Apple could easily sell 200 million watches a year if they wanted (by giving a $5 watch away for free with every iPhone sale).
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No, I am saying it's too expensive for what it is. Therefore shaving perhaps >25% off the current prices might make it more of an impulse purchase than it currently is. More watches sold means Apple might invest even more resources into the project than they currently are as as they see healthy returns, plus we might actually get a smart watch that is actually pretty good instead of incredibly mediocre.
 
MH01 said:
A few more bands will solve the problem!
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I know the last Keynote was shameful and it seems it's all bout the bands.But at least Apple is diversifying the band selection and customizing it for the customer basis. I for one appreciate all the different bands, and it allows for third party and you facture's to develop in their own likeness.
 
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MH01 said:
A few more bands will solve the problem!
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The fickleness of the average Apple consumer always amuses me. Not enough options? Apple sucks! More options? Apple sucks! I mean is it really worthy of criticism that, in between watch releases, they're putting out a few more watch bands?
 
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Mr. Donahue said:
I meant Apple bands. $50 for a silicon band is stupid expensive. Cmon?! I don't care what quality it is it will never be worth $50 to me. That's insane. I think $35 is too expensive but still if be willing to pay that much. But $50?! No way!!!!
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I got what you meant, but was wondering if you thought that you were required to buy bands from Apple or none at all. Apple's price on these is why the three sport bands I own are $10 knockoffs.
 
jmgregory1 said:
Apple doesn't care about market share. They care about profitability and roping consumers into their eco-system, which almost ensures long-term profitability (as long as they don't start selling products for a loss). Frankly, I can't imagine anyone at Apple saying in meetings, we need to be the biggest company in the world or have the highest market share on every item we produce.
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Market share is the way to roping consumers into their ecosystem. If they want the highest possible ecosystem usage, they'll want the most amount of people using their devices.
 
Dr.Chroma said:
Ok. Is that why they discontinued the Urbane to faulty screens due to pixel issues? I believe LG even released a statement on this.
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I think that was a different LG Urbane watch that didn't use Android Wear. It might have been called the LG watch urbane LTE. Gotta love when companies use very very simuler names for 2 different devices.
 
Nevertheless, Apple still maintains a comfortable lead in the smartwatch market, with its wrist-worn sales outpacing all other competitors combined.
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What competitors?

What other watches does Apple allow to have the same access to an iPhone? Right, none.

And what other phone brands does the Apple Watch support? Right, none.

Makes no sense to compare outside the closed iPhone ecosystem.
 
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kdarling said:
What competitors?

What other watches does Apple allow to have the same access to an iPhone? Right, none.

And what other phone brands does the Apple Watch support? Right, none.

Makes no sense to compare outside the closed iPhone ecosystem.
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For sure Apple takes a calculated risk by marketing Apple Watch as an iPhone accessory, but to suggest that they have no competitors in the smart watch category as a result seems a little arch.
 
igorsky said:
The fickleness of the average Apple consumer always amuses me. Not enough options? Apple sucks! More options? Apple sucks! I mean is it really worthy of criticism that, in between watch releases, they're putting out a few more watch bands?
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They could put more stuff in the current watchOS with more substance. More watch faces for starters. Possibly even a more open sdk for others to make watch faces for distribution.

A nice SDK, armies of apple watch devs out there or with this in place aspiring ones to use it and we have watch face complaint topic closed. Lots of users happy about it in that process.

Not all change watch bands like underwear. Its a gimmick that only appeals to a certain market. My watches I tend to lean to dark basic color bands. I just have the 1 band for my mechanical watch, I go for something not out of place in the pool doing laps, at the office or not all dressed up for an event.

Its also a disguised money pit. You've spent a few hundred dollars, thank you. Now allow us to pick that wallet apart some more one band at a time.
 
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MacDarcy said:
Apple hasn't really Wowed anyone since Steve Jobs passing. It's obvious now that something is missing. Apple is slow to update Macs and when they do, it's barely incremental. Even their star product, the iPhone is now suffering declining sales for lack of innovation. And it seems it will continue to suffer as the iPhone 7 looks to be a minor update and not the radical redesign usually reserved for the non S models. Cook is a numbers man. Not an innovator like Steve. And now the numbers are declining. Apple needs a true visionary at its helm again.
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Just bring back Scott Forstall, please. Usability and simplicity was what drew people like me to the mac, and later on to iOS devices. Forstall always championed that kind of intuitive usability. But then Jony Ive and Tim Cook had to start making things complicated and less user-friendly.

Just come back Scott, please. All the cheesy design choices are now forgiven.
 
Probably what u'd expect giving the Apple watch has been out for a while without a redesign. I expected this sooner, but oh well.
 
Whats all this nonsense about "competition will catch up", "Android wear watches will surpass AW".

Many Android Wear watches had surpassed what Apple offered long before they released it. I've had the Sony SW3 since launch - GPS, NFC, Water/Dust proof amongst many other features and this was long before Apple released their offering.
 
biocide said:
Just bring back Scott Forstall, please. Usability and simplicity was what drew people like me to the mac, and later on to iOS devices. Forstall always championed that kind of intuitive usability. But then Jony Ive and Tim Cook had to start making things complicated and less user-friendly.

Just come back Scott, please. All the cheesy design choices are now forgiven.
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Forstall is never coming back ever. To many confrontations, he botched Apple Maps and ultimately cost Apple a tremendous amount of Money in patent law suits.
 
A few observations as an owner of an AppleWatch:
  • It tries to recreate the iPhone on your wrist and that's a losing game. Be the ultimate watch. Not a bad phone.
  • I'm very happy with the hardware. Shape and straps are great.
  • It's nuts that we're 2 years in there aren't many faces. There should be a hundred licensed faces like the Mickey Mouse one. I'm fine if they're all Apple sanctioned and not an open marketplace, but it's the promise of novelty that lead me to the watch and it hasn't kept up.
  • I'd like the equivalent of Google Doodles as watch faces. I'd like to be surprised and delighted by a st Patrick's day watch face or one for xmas, or the anniversary of the moon landing. That would make me excited to wear the watch each day. Celebrate time!!
  • Swiping left and right from the watch face home screen (where it says the time) should do something. I'd actually make this my app switcher. Not that I really use the apps.
  • Waterproofing would be great. My wife would get one if she could use it for swimming laps.
  • I'm hard pressed to find utility reasons for the watch. I think it should serve the fashion role. It should just be so customizable from hardware (good job) and software (bad job) that it appeals to sneaker heads and people who just want to express themselves.
 
Dave.UK said:
Whats all this nonsense about "competition will catch up", "Android wear watches will surpass AW".

Many Android Wear watches had surpassed what Apple offered long before they released it. I've had the Sony SW3 since launch - GPS, NFC, Water/Dust proof amongst many other features and this was long before Apple released their offering.
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But does it have NTP? lol.

I remember that blog/article a bit back from an apple exec going oooh ahh over apple watch's ability to keep time accurately by using NTP. Not a stunning view into the technical aspects of a networked device when this rates a write up putting it on a pedestal. NTP is a very light protocol and dead common really. its not like apple had to figure how to the get the power of a supercomputer to fit in the size of a watch to run this.

Can I find a time server source? yes. Am I on the same time as it? If yes...cool, check back later. If no, adjust time and check back later.
 
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igorsky said:
The fickleness of the average Apple consumer always amuses me. Not enough options? Apple sucks! More options? Apple sucks! I mean is it really worthy of criticism that, in between watch releases, they're putting out a few more watch bands?
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They can launch all the bands they want, I could care less, the point is that when you use valuable keynote time to launch a money grabbing accessory that should just be a silent update, long term apple fans start questioning what happened to innovation, by virtue you have nothing else to showcase. New colours do not require time on stage, use that time to cover development of the Watch OS or launch new "features" , I can use the online store to order a new colour of the bands I own, not at woven nylon did not blow my mind when launched at the last event!!!!

I like my Apple Watch. Though it concerns me that it's heading down the iPod route.

Also, a few more bands? You realise there are now 71 product lines in the bands.

Also a space black Apple Watch with a black Milanese loop is considered a new product.....it's a paint job.... Of the band only...
 
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MisterK said:
  • It's nuts that we're 2 years in there aren't many faces. There should be a hundred licensed faces like the Mickey Mouse one. I'm fine if they're all Apple sanctioned and not an open marketplace, but it's the promise of novelty that lead me to the watch and it hasn't kept up.
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This is classical Apple marketing machine working at its best: make people believe that 1 billion fart Apps for iPhone automatically lead to developers working for anything else. See iPad apps too.
MisterK said:
  • I'd like the equivalent of Google Doodles as watch faces. I'd like to be surprised and delighted by a st Patrick's day watch face or one for xmas, or the anniversary of the moon landing. That would make me excited to wear the watch each day. Celebrate time!!
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This is really a great idea. Kudos to you. But I think a small-sized company like Apple with limited resources (both financial and human) should focus on more important things like new band hues. In this I really appreciate the big executives' work
 
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sofila said:
This is classical Apple marketing machine working at its best: make people believe that 1 billion fart Apps for iPhone automatically lead to developers working for anything else. See iPad apps too.

This is really a great idea. Kudos to you. But I think a small-sized company like Apple with limited resources (both financial and human) should focus on more important things like new band hues. In this I really appreciate the big executives' work
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Sarcasm makes you smug, not right.
 
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