Former Apple CEO John Sculley: Apple Watch 'Doesn't Have Enough Utility'

[UltimaKilo]

I have to agree. The Apple Watch doesn't yet provide that "must have" feature of other Apple products, and it might not come until AW3 in 2017.

Likewise, the iPad line is stuck in limbo: the technology isn't there yet to make the iPad Pro a real laptop replacement. Fortunately, once 10nm CPU tech has matured, Apple will have a lot to work with for both the iPad and MacBook lines.

On the other hand, Kaby Lake's improvements might be enough to kick-start iMac and Mac Mini / Mac Pro sales.

Apple was in this limbo once before around 2008/2009, but it had it's iPhone sales to fall back on; something they don't have right now.

 

[2457282]

As an Apple Watch user, the product is simply not there yet

Shockingly slow, making all apps useless. If the information isn't on the watch screen to see instantly it's too slow

As another Apple Watch user (your avatar is my watch), I find the watch to be great. The problem was too many apps. email on the watch was the first app I disabled. the constant buzzing on my wrist was driving me crazy. At this point the only apps that I actively use are Activity, Calendar, Clock, Maps, Message, Apple Pay and Timer. These all work great with no issue. Trying to do anything else would be slow and frankly not really for the wrist anyway. Well... maybe remote to skip songs in a playlist.

 

[Number-Six]

When he left Apple, the company had $2 billion in cash and $200 million in debt.

Hmm...isn't he the one that led apple one step from bankruptcy due to bad product choices ?

I know nothing at all about running a business of any size, but I am very confused about the above statements.

How can a business be one step from bankruptcy when it has so much cash on hand versus the debt owed?

Note that I'm not bashing the comment from antonis, I'm just trying to understand

 

[Pakaku]

Who the hell doesn't have an iPhone (or other smartphone to use with another smartwatch) ?

Cue all the Android, Windows, cellphone, and iPod Touch users

And the fact remains that the Watch needs to be independent before it can be considered a true success.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I know nothing at all about running a business of any size, but I am very confused about the above statements.

How can a business be one step from bankruptcy when it has so much cash on hand versus the debt owed?

Note that I'm not bashing the comment from antonis, I'm just trying to understand

My guess is that sales were going down. And it was trending down with people going to Windows. Jobs fixed it by reducing the confusing product line and getting Apple to focus on products that people would like to purchase.

 

[iBluetooth]

So the use case there is when you're unable to reach for the phone, for whatever reason (kid in one arm shopping in the other, up a ladder painting a wall, etc, etc)

Or driving a car. Or like me when at home and the phone in the Kitchen.

 

[Black Magic]

As another Apple Watch user (your avatar is my watch), I find the watch to be great. The problem was too many apps. email on the watch was the first app I disabled. the constant buzzing on my wrist was driving me crazy. At this point the only apps that I actively use are Activity, Calendar, Clock, Maps, Message, Apple Pay and Timer. These all work great with no issue. Trying to do anything else would be slow and frankly not really for the wrist anyway. Well... maybe remote to skip songs in a playlist.

Yea, you really need to tweak the notifications on your phone as well so that only useful and important stuff is getting through. Every time you install an app then launch it, you need to tweak notification settings for it. This will make for a more pleasant experience on both the watch and phone.

The Apple Watch is a niche product. I doubt it will ever truly take off even if it gains independence from the iPhone and had it's own app for Android. The usefulness is just not there and the price point is obnoxious. Apple didn't go all in on the fitness side of things so it's mediocre at best. Battery life should be a lot better. Developers have pretty much abandoned it. Additional bands are a non-starter due to the prices being ridiculous. This product was doomed from the beginning.

I don't see this product lasting 10 years.

 

[dwaltwhit]

I have an applewatch and look forward to buying an improved version in the future. Maybe not this next one, but the 3rd gen. I think the one now shows promise. I have not had any battery issues. Processing can be a bit slow on third party apps, but I think this is simply the first step in a great journey.

I think it is apropos to compare this to the first gen iPhone. Good, but plenty of room for growth

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

Either he's misinformed or a senile old man…the Apple Watch CAN do what he's saying "it can't". Reminds me of many others pissing and moaning about things it "can't" do, almost like they're reading stories to get their info instead of trying it out for themselves.

 

[routine_analyst]

I'm not a watch person, which is probably why my Apple Watch sits on it's charger all day long. My phone already knows the distance I walk during my commute to the train in the mornings and it already inputs that into the Health app. I use my watch for exercise, primarily when I'm on the bike. My biggest gripe about the product is it's inability to concede to another data input, in my case STRAVA, which inputs distance, watts and calories recorded by my PELOTON cycle app... thereby overriding those data points. Apple watch shows I exercised for 55 minutes with increased heart rate.. Peloton argues that I did far more than just an increased heart rates.. Apple watch doesn't care and deletes progress.

 

[LordJohnWhorfin]

You know what doesn't have enough utility? John Sculley. Having worked at one of the companies the dufus ran into the ground, I can't understand why anybody listens to anything he has to say, other than to have a good laugh.

 

[johnnygee1955]

Mine works fine. Maybe you should ask Dr. Gil Amelio what he thinks.

 

[Black Belt]

John Sculley. iDumb.

 

[Robert.Walter]

His example of where the Watch could be improved is incorrect. It counts steps just fine without needing an iPhone connected to it. It would need an iPhone to give you walking directions, but not to count steps or tell time or to even play music. This is a misconception that so many get wrong.

Isn't Sculley the father of the Newton?

Perhaps, but just as if it had been powered by steam, it wasn't practical, feasible or useful in its time. In the '60's Yeoman Rand also had a tablet for Kirk to sign, but it was an idea then, just as Newton was in the 1990's. Releasing an impractical idea just shows that you jumped the gun and delivered a flop.

The iPad wasn't a success because of the idea from Star Trek or Newton, it was a success because it was feasible and practical and useful.

Skully has to be credited with a bit of courage to try something, but really gigged for not knowing the limits of contemporary technology. He was the father of a flop, not the grandpa of the iPad.

Ps I'm not even a hater of Skully, it's just how I think of this situation regardless of the Skully - Jobs tussle.

 

[sidewinder3000]

NEWSFLASH: you don't need to carry your iPhone with you when you go "jogging" in order for your Apple Watch to count steps. It does that fine all on its own, John Scully. Mr. big time tech exec.

Next time you wanna give a review of an Apple product:
A) own it
B) know something about it

 

[cruggles]

It has two killer features for me:

1. Notifications (my phone stays silent)
2. Current/Next calendar item right there on the watch face

These two killer features (for me) are enough that I take the effort to put in on every morning and put in on the charger every night. I also find it very handy to set reminders or timers via Siri. Sometimes I ask Siri to play music in the car. I don't really use it for anything else, but that's enough for me.

I do NOT want it to have standalone functionality. If it did, it would require it's own GPS & Cellular chips which would cause it to be bulkier and heavier and affect battery life. That would make it a useless device!

I do NOT want it to have a week of battery life. If it did, it would be bulkier and heavier. My iPhone goes on the charging dock every night - it's no hassle to dock the watch next to it (usually has 70% remaining).

Yes, the watch could be improved, but not in the way Sculley or many others in this thread suggest.

If v2.0 is snappier and thinner, I will upgrade.