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CES 2014: Apple's Competition in the Smart Watch Arena

They are all - FAT!

What Johnny gonna come up:
1. Something real thin - - like watches
2. Something Round - like watches
3. Battery life - comparable to a real watch - they might include a solar panel.. who knows!
4. No touch - you don't touch your real watch a lot.. do you?
5. Gesture controlled - coz you shake your watch... sometimes!
6. Voice - chances are less coz of computational issues

The idea here is - Apply is planning to enter in new domain of watches so the product should compete with watches made by real watch-makers and not these guys! :D
 
I'm half convinced that Apple has no intention of releasing a watch or a TV. I get the feeling they enjoy leaking the rumors and watching every company in the world go on a massive techno-snipe hunt.
 
There are just too many ways to interrupt your privacy/sanity/serenity now. An iWatch sounds Orwellian.

I'm going to develop a Serenity Hood - a paper bag with a beautiful picture printed inside. Pull over head when you want some quite time.
 
firedept said:
Unusual to see Apple behind on things.
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No, it's actually par for the course.

MP3 players existed before the iPod.
Smart phones existed before the iPhone.
Tablets existed before the iPad.

The difference is that smartphones before the iPhone look completely different from smartphones released after the iPhone.

And tablets before the iPad look completely different from tablets released after the iPad.


What we are seeing right now are the "before" smart watches. If Apple does launch an iWatch, wait for subsequent competing smart watches to look and act completely differently than they do now. ;)

The fact that all these manufacturers are churning out the same "brick on a wrist" concept (even some with curved screens) while Apple is allegedly facing challenges with battery life, screen, etc. should tell you that they are doing something completely different than what everybody else is doing. They could easily just produce a brick-on-a-wrist and call it a day-- but nobody would buy it.
 
TimeSquareDesi said:
It would be hilarious if Apple didn't release a "smart watch" after all. :D
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Oh, I want them to release one.... @ $99 or less. If they are going to pair with your phone, then all it need do is use the brains in the phone. have a mic, display, speaker and phone. let the phone do all the work.
 
Bhatu said:
They are all - FAT!

What Johnny gonna come up:
1. Something real thin - - like watches
2. Something Round - like watches
3. Battery life - comparable to a real watch - they might include a solar panel.. who knows!
4. No touch - you don't touch your real watch a lot.. do you?
5. Gesture controlled - coz you shake your watch... sometimes!
6. Voice - chances are less coz of computational issues

The idea here is - Apply is planning to enter in new domain of watches so the product should compete with watches made by real watch-makers and not these guys! :D
Click to expand...

Here's what I want to see: a smart watch that looks like a watch. This is my concept of what an iWatch will be, and it will be nothing like any of the other smart watches.

Imagine a watch that has physical hands and a quartz movement. But the watch face has some capability of displaying dynamic information that seamlessly appear within the watch face material, rather than dedicated LCD panels like the G-Shock analog watches have. Nothing too earth-shattering here, just a more seamless way of integrating digital displays within the watch face (refer to Apple's patents on displaying light through solid materials via microscopic holes).

But, here's the good part: the watch crystal itself is also a touch-enabled display-- transparent most of the time so that you can see the hands. But it can turn opaque, or partially transparent, to display full color content while hiding the analog hands beneath it. When you're done with that content, the display fades back to transparent. And you're left with a beautiful looking watch that tells time, rather than just a black square or ugly e-ink display.

It'll come in mens' and ladies' sizes. :)
 
Flood123 said:
I am having a hard time understanding how a product like this would improve my life. I use my iPhone as my timepiece because I dislike wearing watches so I guess this product really isn't for me anyway.
Click to expand...

Yes, this, I only need one device and a smart watch is not enough, yet. Well, maybe it would be if it projected the view directly on my retina. Guess that would be an iWatch Retina :). Can't wait.
 
Hastings101 said:
Finally! A portable way to know that I'm getting text messages, e-mail as well as check time!! It's like they should have invented something similar years ago... oh wait.

I hope this market fails to catch on as I truly do not see a point to it. Is it just to show off that you're wearing a watch that notifies you what's happening on the phone in your pocket? With flexible, full-featured smartphones coming I see potential for a wrist-based product but these little companion products are useless.
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I'll tell you what the use of a solid smart watch, like the Pine, would be. A good one could be a phone replacement. Right now I carry a phone and a tablet. If the watch could do most of the simple tasks my iPhone does (such as text, call, calendar, reminders, weather, clock, and even a rudimentary camera), I'd ditch my phone in a minute.

The first smart watch to be a true phone replacement will be the winner. (Go ahead and bookmark that last sentence, because I'm calling it right now.) :D
 
MMANN113 said:
Sooooo many smart watch posts on this site now.
Click to expand...
I hear you man. Not only do I miss the days when MacRumors covered Mac rumours, I miss the days when they covered iPhone / iTablet rumours. Lately, they have taken to devoting a lot of their coverage to an iWatch product that nobody except for a few analysts actually wants. Now if MacRumors could figure out what an iWatch will do that will actually justify the price and inconvenience for regular people, I'm listening.
 
TXCherokee said:
I'll tell you what the use of a solid smart watch, like the Pine, would be. A good one could be a phone replacement. Right now I carry a phone and a tablet. If the watch could do most of the simple tasks my iPhone does (such as text, call, calendar, reminders, weather, clock, and even a rudimentary camera), I'd ditch my phone in a minute.

The first smart watch to be a true phone replacement will be the winner. (Go ahead and bookmark that last sentence, because I'm calling it right now.) :D
Click to expand...

I think the iWatch would be something marketed primarily to fitness users. Something with a motion coprocessor than can transfer data to an iPhone, lots of biometric stuff, and ideally being a nice analog watch too (see my post above) unlike the current wrist bricks.

But probably not something everybody will need. People who currently use a Fuel Band, maybe. But they might make it cool enough to have more mass-market appeal than just fitness buffs.

I don't even know if I would want one, I guess I'd have to see it first. I'm old school, I like my watches with springs and gears.

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powers74 said:
This is starting to look A LOT like 2000.
Click to expand...

And 2006, and 2009.
 
proline said:
I hear you man. Not only do I miss the days when MacRumors covered Mac rumours, I miss the days when they covered iPhone / iTablet rumours. Lately, they have taken to devoting a lot of their coverage to an iWatch product that nobody except for a few analysts actually wants. Now if MacRumors could figure out what an iWatch will do that will actually justify the price and inconvenience for regular people, I'm listening.
Click to expand...

Amazing how much coverage Apple rumor sites give to a trade show that Apple doesn't participate in. But I'll take this over running a poll on whether you like/dislike UI changes in beta software (which 9to5Mac is doing).
 
cymerc said:
These all seem so reminiscent of tablets pre-iPad. They look like people are making a smart watch, not because they have a good idea for how they should work, but because they know they should make a smart watch.
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Bingo! I agree… I think there are a lot of "me too" companies out there… The Peeple people at least seem to be on of the more serious players.

However… no one yet seems to have an over the top - ya got-a have it - product yet. The expectations for the iWatch are very high… Apple needs to WOW us all with something really cool.
 
Windlasher said:
Oh, I want them to release one.... @ $99 or less. If they are going to pair with your phone, then all it need do is use the brains in the phone. have a mic, display, speaker and phone. let the phone do all the work.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The price point has to be lower. Why spend ~ $300 for a device that needs a ~ $300 smartphone in order to function? The only product from this list that might be worth it is the Pine, since it doesn't need a host device. But that's basically just slapping a smartphone on your wrist; it looks absurd.

I'm very curious to see how Apple will approach this market (if at all).
 
proline said:
So far nobody has given a satisfactory answer to the question of what a smart watch can do so much better than the phone we are carrying anyways that it justifies spending hundreds of dollars on another device, charging it regularly, and restricting our choice of style to just a couple options.
Click to expand...

You mean, nobody has given YOU a satisfactory answer :)

For those of us who appreciate being able to instantly see the time, or who called, or notifications -- without having to yank out a phone -- they have been quite handy.

Perhaps you have a point about the price. If they were $20, would you use one? $50? What is the tipping point? Or are you adamantly against the idea of convenience altogether? Truly curious. Thanks!
 
CausticPuppy said:
I think the iWatch would be something marketed primarily to fitness users. Something with a motion coprocessor than can transfer data to an iPhone, lots of biometric stuff, and ideally being a nice analog watch too (see my post above) unlike the current wrist bricks.

But probably not something everybody will need. People who currently use a Fuel Band, maybe. But they might make it cool enough to have more mass-market appeal than just fitness buffs.

I don't even know if I would want one, I guess I'd have to see it first. I'm old school, I like my watches with springs and gears.

----------

And 2006, and 2009.
Click to expand...

I agree that Apple could make a great fitness wrist product, and as a runner I would love to see it. I just can't shake the feeling they have something bigger planned. A wearable that is going to make every consumer want one and every current 'smartwatch' maker say "Holy $h!t" and run back to the R&D department.
 
I'm all for wearable computing, and I preface this with the fact that I didn't read this article and only looked at the pictures, but these devices really need some unique features if they plan on being actually useful.

Sure, I'd love to quickly glance at my smart watch and see the time, see text message previews, see who's calling me, see notifications/calendar events, utilize a timer, etc.

But I'd also love it to be a pedometer, a heart rate monitor, for it to be waterproof/shockproof/shatterproof, etc. Things that my phone can't do (or can't do well, at least).

As for battery life - Honestly, as long as it lasts at least 24 hours, that's fine with me. My iPod Nano watch lasts weeks since I really just use it as a fashion accessory, but I really don't mind having to charge something over night. I already do it with my rMBP, iPhone, etc., so it's no big deal IMO.
 
Analog Kid said:
I'm half convinced that Apple has no intention of releasing a watch or a TV. I get the feeling they enjoy leaking the rumors and watching every company in the world go on a massive techno-snipe hunt.
Click to expand...

samsung_troll.jpg
 
I'm still not convinced

Why do these all look like '80s crap? There isn't one here I'd buy. But then, my left wrist has not had a watch on it for about ten years now. You're going to have to go a long way to get one on that wrist again. It better look sweet, and do something that none of these guys have figured out yet.

But look what happens to the market when they get wind of a supposed Apple project! Wouldn't it be funny if it was just a rumor started by Apple?
 
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