Loving mine, still a bit of a novelty, I'm sure there is lots more to come.
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Has Apple Watch been a success so far?
- Thread starter snarlz
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I think for those who like and enjoy theirs its obviously a success.
I bought one upon release. A SS model. It was quite nice, fun to play with, but lacked anything compelling after the newness wore off. It's just personal preference. I returned my very happily after giving it many days of testing and evaluation.
I'll be watching as they roll out version 2 and if they've fixed some issues that bothered me, if they add some features that I find attractive and useful then I'll consider giving it a second chance.
At the end of the day it really doesn't matter. Apple is drowning in cash and can easily afford to save face and keep the watch in the lineup no matter what the sales volume is.
I bought one upon release. A SS model. It was quite nice, fun to play with, but lacked anything compelling after the newness wore off. It's just personal preference. I returned my very happily after giving it many days of testing and evaluation.
I'll be watching as they roll out version 2 and if they've fixed some issues that bothered me, if they add some features that I find attractive and useful then I'll consider giving it a second chance.
At the end of the day it really doesn't matter. Apple is drowning in cash and can easily afford to save face and keep the watch in the lineup no matter what the sales volume is.
I would say it's a success. They will keep selling them. I think it would be a lot more successful if they lowered the price point significantly.
Success is really best defined by the person or entity setting the bar of measurement. What I mean is that as a business professional involved with product sales, unit movement is not nearly as important as profit margins. There are somewhat obvious reasons many do not even consider. If selling a specific product yields a $100 profit lowering the price to say $75 would mean that I have taken a 25% profitability loss. While this may not seem like much I would now have to sell 5 units in theory to earn the same profit as selling 4 previously. However this now requires additional on hand inventory, additional sales staffing, additional insurance on extra product etc... Basically there is more work and less payoff to derive the same or less profit.
The product I work with is similar to apple products insomuch as it is not a necessity and less expensive options exist. The interesting thing to note is much like apple my business is having a break out year for profitability. We raised prices, lowering the total "users" we have. That said our average customer is spending 20% or more per visit while our pricing increase was only 6%. Essentially we have narrowed down our ideal customer base weeding out those who were not ideal for our business model.
success compared to other smartwatches? Yes.
success in getting it on everyone's wrists? Not yet.
The way all these companies are churning out smartwatches lately, Apple must be doing something right. They obviously weren't the first to the market, but they're already easily the biggest, most influential player in the space. And that's after only, what, 4 full months of limited availability around the world?
The AW sales started slow due to the lack of inventory and that had to effect the watches sold.
From what I have seen at the Apple Store the watch is still selling and as Christmas nears I think many people will wish for and find one under the tree. Overall it does seem to me that Apple kind of rushed the AW to market. I say this as the OS and the app seemed like a work in progress.
As far as one saying that Apple is flush with money and they should lower the price . . . Well I can tell you that Apple's way of doing business has caused them to be one of the most successful companies on earth. Today's younger society has been "taught" that profit is a bad thing, it is not.
From what I have seen at the Apple Store the watch is still selling and as Christmas nears I think many people will wish for and find one under the tree. Overall it does seem to me that Apple kind of rushed the AW to market. I say this as the OS and the app seemed like a work in progress.
As far as one saying that Apple is flush with money and they should lower the price . . . Well I can tell you that Apple's way of doing business has caused them to be one of the most successful companies on earth. Today's younger society has been "taught" that profit is a bad thing, it is not.
100% agree. It seems clear that what we'll be seeing with watchOS 2 - minus, perhaps, a few new additions - is what Apple intended the Watch to ship with. I don't doubt that they had some inventory hiccups, and issues with a few models *ahem Space Black*, but I'm almost positive that the OS that shipped was just a placeholder. Peep the "OS 2" cues in the original Reveal video.
It's a watch... there's really only one "must have" feature for a watch. What would you like to see it do natively - not an app or anything that devs will likely do once they have time with them?
Then why are you wasting your time on this sub-forum? It's pointless, right?
To you. The rest of us benefit greatly from using it with key tasks that the AW far better at than the iPhone. Just as iPad is far better at some key tasks than iPhone, the same can be said of the AW.
Exactly.
I posted my other watches in the "Show Off Your Watch" thread; they're expensive and exquisitely made, blah blah... but even in its limited infancy and beta OS, the AW has at least 4-5x the capability. That's not even up for debate.
Of the smartwatches I see on wrists around town, most are Watches. I've seen two LG R watches and a handful of various Gear models, plus one or two Moto360s, and that's it. Plenty of Fitbits, runners with Garmin/Polar watches, and maybe a quarter to a third overall with some kind of regular watch (sometimes in conjunction with a Fitbit).
But, I'd informally guess that 80% of smartwatches I've seen are Watches. That's pretty good to me.
But, I'd informally guess that 80% of smartwatches I've seen are Watches. That's pretty good to me.
A total success for me also. I did resist the temptation to purchase one for months, feeling somewhat like what a lot of folks are posting here. I finally succumbed to the temptation last week and so far I am happy with the decision. It's actually kind of nice to just lift my wrist and see not only the time, but the day and date, the local temperature, and of course my calendar. Notifications of incoming e-mail is also a plus for me. You can configure the watch face and glances many ways to suit your particular needs.
Love mine, but lots of things to be done with the OS:
- notes should be dictated
- don't understand why eMail can't be shown (switch text / graphical mode, using digital crown)
- no Apple pay in my country and very infrequent use of "friends" button - could be used for something better
- link to iPhone is deadly if you have to reset your iphone (it resets your Apple watch too, thanks for the warning)
- watch faces should editable (and a whole lot more) - how about an editor and sending out the faces to friends? That would be fun.
- rating music w/o siri would be nice
- still don't like the icon grid I'm still searching for stuff, it's rather annoying then helpful
- music and remote should be one app (for iOS too)
- cinema / driving mode - stop activating the watch when moving wrist (unless force touch reactivates it)
Other than that: loving it.
- notes should be dictated
- don't understand why eMail can't be shown (switch text / graphical mode, using digital crown)
- no Apple pay in my country and very infrequent use of "friends" button - could be used for something better
- link to iPhone is deadly if you have to reset your iphone (it resets your Apple watch too, thanks for the warning)
- watch faces should editable (and a whole lot more) - how about an editor and sending out the faces to friends? That would be fun.
- rating music w/o siri would be nice
- still don't like the icon grid I'm still searching for stuff, it's rather annoying then helpful
- music and remote should be one app (for iOS too)
- cinema / driving mode - stop activating the watch when moving wrist (unless force touch reactivates it)
Other than that: loving it.
I hope so, but what matters is what Apple thinks. Of course there are many who declare it a failure because it has not become a runaway hit like the iPod and iPhone. I imagine Apple's expectations have been more realistic, but of course they want it to be as successful as possible. I'm glad Apple still has a lot of momentum and enthusiasm behind the Apple Watch.
I'm also glad they are continuing to produce the iPad (and even doubling down on the iPad Pro) despite many who have declared it a failure as well. Not every product needs to be a runaway hit, but that doesn't mean it doesn't occupy an important spot in the product lineup. Many people are attracted to Apple products because they offer a complete ecosystem of products that work well together. They know not everyone will buy every Apple product, but it's about providing the combination of products to satisfy different customers. They need a diverse product lineup to remain competitive.
The iPhone is an anchor product. A lot of people own an iPhone without owning any other Apple products. By offering companion products (like the iPad) or accessory products (like the Apple Watch), Apple gives iPhone owners more reasons to stay with the brand.
Before I bought my iPhone 6, I considered switching to an Android phone. I had been an iOS user since the iPhone 3G, but since I use a lot of Google services on iOS (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Photos, Google Play Music, etc.) I figured why not give Android a try? Several things made me stay with the iPhone, but the big one was honestly the news about the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch. I had been wanting a Smartwatch. I knew Apple's product would be more polished, and have more apps available, than any of the Android watches. That has turned out to be true and the Apple Watch has exceeded my expectations for a first-generation device.
Sean
I'm also glad they are continuing to produce the iPad (and even doubling down on the iPad Pro) despite many who have declared it a failure as well. Not every product needs to be a runaway hit, but that doesn't mean it doesn't occupy an important spot in the product lineup. Many people are attracted to Apple products because they offer a complete ecosystem of products that work well together. They know not everyone will buy every Apple product, but it's about providing the combination of products to satisfy different customers. They need a diverse product lineup to remain competitive.
The iPhone is an anchor product. A lot of people own an iPhone without owning any other Apple products. By offering companion products (like the iPad) or accessory products (like the Apple Watch), Apple gives iPhone owners more reasons to stay with the brand.
Before I bought my iPhone 6, I considered switching to an Android phone. I had been an iOS user since the iPhone 3G, but since I use a lot of Google services on iOS (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Photos, Google Play Music, etc.) I figured why not give Android a try? Several things made me stay with the iPhone, but the big one was honestly the news about the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch. I had been wanting a Smartwatch. I knew Apple's product would be more polished, and have more apps available, than any of the Android watches. That has turned out to be true and the Apple Watch has exceeded my expectations for a first-generation device.
Sean
There was a post a while ago where someone bought an Apple Watch off the shelves from a Apple store. It had a production date of I think it was June. That gives a clear picture on how much the Apple Watch missed Apples expectations.
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I do not think Apple sold quite as well as Apple had hoped but they are looking long term.
I am disappointed in the lack of apps and do not think that will change. Apple left it up to the developers and they seem to have little interest