Curious on thoughts on certain Apple Watch aspects.

[audirs5]

Would like to know what others think of the following,


1- refresh cycle.. Are we going to get a new watch yearly or maybe a longer span in between?

2-do you think we will get a new design every 2 cycles like we usually get with the iPhone?

3-Do you think we will see a refresh this year? Given the watch was announced last year but released this year.

 

[viachicago22]

Would like to know what others think of the following,


1- refresh cycle.. Are we going to get a new watch yearly or maybe a longer span in between?

2-do you think we will get a new design every 2 cycles like we usually get with the iPhone?

3-Do you think we will see a refresh this year? Given the watch was announced last year but released this year.

Good questions. My guess would be a refresh happens only occasionally and not every year, and that when they do refresh they will also tweak the design. I would highly doubt it is updated in 2015 but who knows. I will say I'm sure you'll definitely see a tweak on the buttons. Digital crown seems to be a winner but the friend button seems like a waste.

 

[audirs5]

Good questions. My guess would be a refresh happens only occasionally and not every year, and that when they do refresh they will also tweak the design. I would highly doubt it is updated in 2015 but who knows. I will say I'm sure you'll definitely see a tweak on the buttons. Digital crown seems to be a winner but the friend button seems like a waste.

They won't remove the friend button. I see that being very important, especially with the SDK opening up more for devs. and it honestly just blends into the watch..


I think :

1- refresh every year. The iPhone is the same thing. Something you will use everyday and it gets refreshed every year. Same with every apple product besides a chosen few (apple TV).

2- New design (slimmer, bigger screen options) will be offered as well. I think they might eventually push one size larger. Also new materials. I DONT think they will put out a ceramic watch, which is a big seller right now. That is way to fragile.

3-I'm not sure on this one.. I know we will probably see a HUGE o.s announcement during next months conference. I can see apple showing off new features and letting Devs way more access to the watches functions.. But re-design. I don't think we will see one this year, or any sort of internal upgrade. I think apple is still a but confused on how to handle this situation. Phones can be bought for 200, so getting a new one yearly isn't that bad. But 4-1300 for a watch that wanst necessary. I think this is going to be a bit of a toss up. I think we will have more OS changes and maybe same design, more sensors.

 

[placidity44]

I'd bet you'd see a new watch every year-year 1/2 but I doubt after a while it will be as big of a deal as the iPhone/iPad launch. I think it'll slide under the radar a bit. Kind of like Apple TV launches. I don't think Apple thinks they'll redesign a product every 2 years. They redesign the iPad whenever they see fit. The iPhone every 2 usually. I think they'll redesign the watch whenever they are able.

 

[eifer]

I would expect that the watch will be updated in about 1.5 years.

 

[pjh]

1- refresh cycle.. Are we going to get a new watch yearly or maybe a longer span in between?

I'd go for yearly. The technology and uses of the watch will evolve rapidly and I think Apple will want to capitalise on this.

EDIT For clarity, I mean yearly upgrade of the gubbins inside and sensors on the back, but the look remains the same.

2-do you think we will get a new design every 2 cycles like we usually get with the iPhone?

I agree sort of. Because of the way the watch is designed we might see a separation of the watch and strap cycle. I think Apple have put a lot of effort into considering the shape and dimensions of the watch (especially on how this impacts how we interface with it). So I don't see a major redesign for 2 years. When that does finally come, I'm hoping the existing bands will remain physically and aesthetically compatible. Apple charge a good chunk of change for some of their bands. If they want to continue to do so, they need to give them a decent life cycle across model upgrades. If they don't I suspect revenue from them will plummet as people opt for third party solutions (especially when some big names start producing high quality ones).

3-Do you think we will see a refresh this year? Given the watch was announced last year but released this year.

Nope. If they do they be taking a massive proverbial dump on early adopters and would also be admitting that the initial design was weak. I think Apple released the watch when they were happy with it, not because they felt forced to. I just don't see a need for this.

Time will tell, I'm most probably completely wrong.

 

[anez]

1- refresh cycle.. Are we going to get a new watch yearly or maybe a longer span in between?

I would say yearly. I'm guessing between the health stuff they had to hold back because of FDA regulations, and general things they've learned from this device, they will want to push a new version fairly soon. It could be two years, but I think there's a lot of strides to be made in the wearable field in the shorter term, and Apple will want to be making them.

2-do you think we will get a new design every 2 cycles like we usually get with the iPhone?

Sort of, is my prediction.

The accessories/bands for these are not cheap, and I think they're aware they'll have a lot of unhappy customers if the $600 band somebody bought this year doesn't work with next year's version. My guess is the current shape will stay the same for v2, and the shape will change for v3 and stay in that design for v4, but the same bands will work up to v5.

3-Do you think we will see a refresh this year? Given the watch was announced last year but released this year.

I really, really doubt that. They will have lots of developer tools becoming available and I'm sure we'll get many OS improvements as the year wears on, but until production becomes more reliable for them, I don't see them trying to put anything new out until April/May next year. They'd be lucky to satisfy holiday demand with this gen, honestly.

 

[redman042]

1- refresh cycle.. Are we going to get a new watch yearly or maybe a longer span in between?

I'm thinking a longer cycle than the iPhone, say 1.5-2 years. There's not as much reason to keep upgrading the watch hardware. There's no camera, cell chip, etc. No one is editing video or playing 3D games.

There's plenty to do in software and it seems like the current watch has the horsepower to handle quite a bit of software evolution.

 

[jafingi]

I think, with the Watch, release cycles will be a little different. We'll probably see longer cycles in 2-3 years.

Apple will release a new one when it makes sense. And with upcoming software updates for native apps, your Watch will be a new experience. Apple has not yet unleashed the power of the Watch

 

[Cassady]

Curious on thoughts on certain Apple Watch aspects.

It's a bit of a conundrum. I'm in need of a new watch - after a decade of use, my old trusty Tissot is seriously past it's sell-by date. Thing is, buying an Apple Watch is not cheap, and more akin to buying a laptop. With the latter, one can quite easily skip several generations without there being a massive compromise i.t.o. functionality. The Watch might be different. It surely makes far more sense for someone like me, who wants to maximize time of use, to go for a Gen2 device. Like my original iPad 2, that sees far more continued use, unlike the iPad 1, which is/has been struggling for a while now...

So - wait for Gen2 - and risk waiting 2(?) years, or go for it now, and at least get 4(?) years of use out of it...