That's a very specific denial. Are you stating that there was, nor will there be, absolutely no quid pro quo from anyone, or any entity, who might benefit from a slanted article about the Apple Watch? Are any of your sponsors in a position to benefit from that article? Do any of your sponsors have interests adverse to Apple's?
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Apple Watch U.S. Online Sales Estimated at 3 Million Through 3 Months
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That's a very specific denial. Are you stating that there was, nor will there be, absolutely no quid pro quo from anyone, or any entity, who might benefit from a slanted article about the Apple Watch? Are any of your sponsors in a position to benefit from that article? Do any of your sponsors have interests adverse to Apple's?
Props to you for backing up the article integrity. There's a lot wrong with posts here at times (grammar, clickbait titles, race or gay-wank drama incited by poorly written articles) but advertisements has never been a problem at all.
Idiot blog piece written by a moron begging for clicks, in other words, typical clickbait!
I was at the Apple store yesterday to look at laptops for my daughter. The place was very busy, except at the watch tables, where no customers were browsing, and sales people were standing, bored, looking at each other. My 17 and 14 year old have no interest. To me, that doesn't bode well, as both are longtime Mac and iPhone users.
My guess is that Apple's trying to fit too many contradictory needs with one device, and the device isn't able to fill any of those needs at a price point that's attractive to make mass adoption happen.
Me, all I wanted was notifications and time. I'd pay $150 for an Apple product that did that well. But that maxes me out. I wonder if they'd updated that old iPod Nano, what would have happened, eh?
Some people want activity monitors; but there are good activity monitors out there for far less than the Apple watch.
Apps... Is it REALLY worth $300+ to check your wrist for that stock quote, rather than pulling out the phone?
I wish Apple had tiered the product. Level 1: bracelet like the Vivosmart with notifications and time; level 2: bracelet with notifications, time, and activity/pulse monitor (same form factor); level 3: the Apple Watch
An Apple device that matched the Vivosmart at a similar price might have sold like hotcakes; I'd have bought one. They could have offered plastic, alumin(i)um, and gold versions.
Me, all I wanted was notifications and time. I'd pay $150 for an Apple product that did that well. But that maxes me out. I wonder if they'd updated that old iPod Nano, what would have happened, eh?
Some people want activity monitors; but there are good activity monitors out there for far less than the Apple watch.
Apps... Is it REALLY worth $300+ to check your wrist for that stock quote, rather than pulling out the phone?
I wish Apple had tiered the product. Level 1: bracelet like the Vivosmart with notifications and time; level 2: bracelet with notifications, time, and activity/pulse monitor (same form factor); level 3: the Apple Watch
An Apple device that matched the Vivosmart at a similar price might have sold like hotcakes; I'd have bought one. They could have offered plastic, alumin(i)um, and gold versions.
I'm willing to do my part to increase that number.
Practice... Practice... Practice...
But it's Apple, and that's the perception the public and business world has about them. If another company made the exact same watch, it wouldn't have sold anywhere near 3 million in 3 months.
I am not a current Apple Watch owner however, most likely someday. The mistake Apple made with me was the internet only purchasing option killed the excitement, the experience, and the personal touch. The final analysis, this will go down as a major marketing blunder. In the end, the Apple watch will continue to develop and will be the wearable device to beat.
It's not going to die because it's not a fad/gimmick. The thing is that smart watches have very legitimate use cases where they can be better than a phone but most of these aren't fully fleshed out yet. Watch this video where Steve unveiled the iPad:
He explains that for a 3rd category to exist between a smartphone and a laptop that it has to do some tasks much better than those devices. He then goes on to list what some of those tasks could be. It's not much different for a watch. For the watch category to be a success it has to do some things much better than other devices.
The obvious one is health and fitness. Sure my phone can track me while I run, swim, play baseketball, soccer, etc, but you're delusional if you can't see how much more practical it is to leave your phone behind and use the watch for exercise. Does the Apple Watch have this perfect? Not even close, but you see Apple working on Health, Healthkit, and ResearchKit. You also see them working on more durable materials for these types of activities. Another use case is the general area of automation. Is it fully fleshed out on Apple Watch? Once again, no, but you can see Apple working on this with things like HomeKit and Carplay. The day you walk up to your car carrying 10 bags and don't have to reach into your pocket to get your keys will be a good one. Another obvious use case is payments. Because a watch is literally attached to your wrist it is inherently more secure and it's harder to lose or get stolen. This goes deeper, but you can already see Apple making moves here with Apple Pay.
Currently none of this matters much because none of them are really fleshed out. HomeKit, Apple Pay, HealthKit, etc are all just getting started. But most people don't remember that the first iPhone couldn't even send picture messages. My guess is that by generations 2-4 of the watch, we will really move the needle here and the actual use cases of these wearables will be more fleshed out.
Exactly
Slice intelligence's methodology seems like it's maybe only a step or two ahead of analyzing sheep entrails.
You make a grim case for Apple linking Apple's decision to not report sales with products that have seen consistently YoY downward sales curves. Fill in the blanks on the AW. Apple even announced sales numbers for the AppleTV at one of it's events. Of course ATV sales have been trending up, so fits Apple's M.O. when it comes to publicizing numbers.
Companies release sales #s for PR. If there isn't positive news to report there then its silly to do so. It would be like Royals announcing they came in 2nd in the 2014 World Series. Apple is the industry leader, not the follower, not the #2.
Yup and what an investment that turned out to be. The guy truly had the Midas touch.
I told bae I wanted a 42mm Stainless for christmas, but I think I'm gonna wait till the 2nd gen.. just to iron out and future proof any kinks
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Fad? Wrist watches have been popular since the late 19th/early20th century (depending on who's version of history you want to believe). Either way it can't be classified as a fad. Smart watches and activity bands are just a new twist on proven product concept.
The phrase "future proof" is such a fantasy in relation to this type of technology.
This whole breakdown is even more meaningless when you consider you could not buy a single watch in stores throughout virtually that entire time.
Yeah I know... I know, its very hard to justify spending that amount of money on a watch that will be outdated next year. A cell phone is one thing. but I'm putting an Apple watch purchase in the same category as buying a Macbook Pro... "This should hold me over for a few years"
So I'm on the fench on getting it period
So I guess the Surface is a real flop since Microsoft has never released sales figures for it. The Watch has been on sale for all of three months and for a good chunk of that time it was online only with supply constraints. I think it's entirely premature for people to be digging it's grave already. But I know people do it because anything negative about Apple is good for clicks/page views.
I've seen the exact same thing in my Apple store. People were using the watch table to stand by and put their other bags on, but nobody looking at the demo watches. I've only seen 1 in the wild. The market for a smartwatch is just very small IMO.
I am kind of like you. All I wanted was time, notifications, and simple activity tracking (e.g. steps), so I bought a Pebble for $99 at Best Buy. This allowed me to try-out the whole wearable thing, without dropping big $$.
I used it for a couple of months and now it sits in my desk drawer. The bottomline: It basically does nothing without my phone as a necessary companion.....so, I need to carry the phone around anyway. Why buy another device? Why wear/carry another device? Why charge another device every few days (Apple Watch would be everyday)? Why have another device buzzing, beeping, and vibrating at me every time a new piece of junk mail arrives in my inbox? So, I just don't bother charging and wearing it. Anyway, I am glad I didn't spend $400 on my little experiment with a smart watch.
BTW - I understand that the Apple Watch does more than a Pebble, but I don't see those features as being of major interest or value to me. For example, mapping and directions.....I have a difficult time imaging using a watch for that purpose, when I have an iPhone 6, with a giant display, in my pocket (The watch won't provide directions without the phone) that provides a far superior experience.
My two cents....I suppose there are folks that have a use case for a smart watch, but it didn't pan-out for me.
I tend to agree with this. The first Apple watch is a far better "placeholder", after all, than what Apple turned out as a placeholder in the music-playing cellphone market. Remember the ROKR E1? Yeah, hmmm... as a candybar phone, it was ok. It was no Ipod though, in the music department. It got talked about a lot, mostly negatively, and deserved it. But it was out there, reserving a space in the bazaar for later on. Then.... wham, the iPhone showed up and rocked the planet. Playing music better was the least of its improvements.
The 2nd gen watch and the apps that turn up for it will likely be more attractive to more people. Meanwhile it's out there and getting talked about, apparently selling well for being a niche product, and no doubt turning a profit for Apple. Think of all the talk about this first generation, positive or negative, as pre-launch buzz for what's coming down the road next time.