I Think Apple Purposely Held All Their Cards

[MICHAELSD]

No matter how much Tim sings its praises trying to sell it, the Apple Watch is as simple as it could be. It's almost the bare minimum of what could be expected from Apple in this category. Chiefly, it's a well-designed smartwatch with few bells and whistles. That's all the first-generation needs to be though: a concept to be built upon for years to come. Looking at the lack of innovation in the Apple Watch in terms of features (the design and interface are fairly innovative), it seems blatant that it may very well be strategic: they've saved groundbreaking features for upgrades to come in future generations.

This is a pattern that seems to have begun with the iPad: they begin with a basic template of a product to test the waters with, then make minor but drastic upgrades that entice owners to constantly upgrade.

Pricing I believe is also a calculated gamble, and should decrease over time. Hopefully the Sport model outsells the other two so drastically that the product pricing is made more uniform. $599 for a standard Watch, which doesn't necessarily make sense as the iPad is a much better value, is fine but at that price I would expect a choice of band rather than a $599-$1099 range.

 

[VirtualRain]

No matter how much Tim sings its praises trying to sell it, the Apple Watch is as simple as it could be. It's almost the bare minimum of what could be expected from Apple in this category. Chiefly, it's a well-designed smartwatch with few bells and whistles. That's all the first-generation needs to be though: a concept to be built upon for years to come. Looking at the lack of innovation in the Apple Watch in terms of features (the design and interface are fairly innovative), it seems blatant that it may very well be strategic: they've saved groundbreaking features for upgrades to come in future generations.

This is a pattern that seems to have begun with the iPad: they begin with a basic template of a product to test the waters with, then make minor but drastic upgrades that entice owners to constantly upgrade.

Pricing I believe is also a calculated gamble, and should decrease over time. Hopefully the Sport model outsells the other two so drastically that the product pricing is made more uniform. $599 for a standard Watch, which doesn't necessarily make sense as the iPad is a much better value, is fine but at that price I would expect a choice of band rather than a $599-$1099 range.

There's no doubt that Apple has a multi-year roadmap of potential updates already put to plan. It is their MO. By year 3 or 4 this thing will be twice as capable and half as thick.

My concern is that I'm not sure the killer app is there for this so when the average joe sees an early adopter demo it... What will it be that makes everyone go... "Oh, I gotta get one of those". I distinctly remember those moments with the iPhone and the iPad. Looking at your wrist to see a text message, ain't it.

The pricing just blows me away, but it seems like few are daunted... Check out the current state of this poll...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1853455/

The Apple shareholder part of me is thrilled that people are going to pay anywhere from the cost of a few iPads to the cost of a few good Mac Pros to put an Apple Watch on their wrist. Insanity.

 

[/dev/toaster]

Apple has been doing this way before the iPad. It's a very common strategy. Why give away everything on the first version.

a) You want people to upgrade
b) Over generations you find what people really want and refine that

Some marketing drone might come up with an idea they think is awesome. You invest a ton of resources into it ... nobody uses it.

Better to test the waters and see where it goes.

 

[Night Spring]

My concern is that I'm not sure the killer app is there for this so when the average joe sees an early adopter demo it... What will it be that makes everyone go... "Oh, I gotta get one of those". I distinctly remember those moments with the iPhone and the iPad. Looking at your wrist to see a text message, ain't it.

Can't say I had a moment like that with the iPhone or iPad. What was the killer app for you?

For me, what happened was someone gave me an iPod touch, and I was just using it as an iPod, then one day the software update landed and it got the Note app (original iPod touch shipped with almost no apps). And I started typing up a letter in the Notes app, and it hit me that I had a pocket-size computer in my hand.

I think the Apple watch is a computer on your wrist. And once people realize that, that it can be anything they want it to be, not just a device for text messaging, that's when they realize that they want / need this thing.

 

[VirtualRain]

Can't say I had a moment like that with the iPhone or iPad. What was the killer app for you?

For me, what happened was someone gave me an iPod touch, and I was just using it as an iPod, then one day the software update landed and it got the Note app (original iPod touch shipped with almost no apps). And I started typing up a letter in the Notes app, and it hit me that I had a pocket-size computer in my hand.

I think the Apple watch is a computer on your wrist. And once people realize that, that it can be anything they want it to be, not just a device for text messaging, that's when they realize that they want / need this thing.

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but one evening just after I got my iPhone, my GF and I were in a new part of town and thought a smoothie would be nice... I went to Google Maps and typed in "Bubble Tea" and a pin landed on the map just around the corner and to both our astonishment was a sushi place that also made Bubble Tea. It was a game changing technology moment for us as frequent travellers.

Watching people load and interact with their fav websites on the iPad was a similar game changer. One of my best friends went and bought an iPad the next day after using mine.

I'm not sure what it's going to be for the Watch that makes my GF or friends want one badly after seeing me demo it. I'm not even sure I'm going to be in that position this time. For the first time in the history of Apple products, im not lusting for this. I actually am more drawn to the new MacBook (at the same price as the Apple Watch I like)

 

[bob24]

I'm not sure what it's going to be for the Watch that makes my GF or friends want one badly after seeing me demo it. I'm not even sure I'm going to be in that position this time. For the first time in the history of Apple products, im not lusting for this. I actually am more drawn to the new MacBook (at the same price as the Apple Watch I like)

I am in the exact same position.

What I saw the demo of the iPhone, I knew what it woudl do for me and that I wanted one. iPad was the same. Even the first generations were game changers for me.

The Apple Watch ... until now nothing has convinced me to buy one.

Maybe it also is Apple overload: I see it as yet another fairly expensive device to upgrade every year or second year; and compared to and iPhone or an iPad I see much less value in these 500 euros.

If Apple could convince me the Watch could last me 5 years and not frustrate me with slow software or lack of support for the latest featues maybe I would consider it, but as it stands I doubt it will be the case.

 

[Night Spring]

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but one evening just after I got my iPhone, my GF and I were in a new part of town and thought a smoothie would be nice... I went to Google Maps and typed in "Bubble Tea" and a pin landed on the map just around the corner and to both our astonishment was a sushi place that also made Bubble Tea. It was a game changing technology moment for us as frequent travellers.

That reminds me of the time we were in an unfamiliar part of town, and trying to figure out if we could get home by bus. We just took out our iPad (with cellular) and looked up the bus map. Bus route took us through some scenic sections of the city we hadn't been to before. It was such a great ride, I thought about writing Jobs to thank him (this was before he passed away). Now I wish I had.

I want the watch because I'm always getting separated from my phone, and keep on missing texts. Like the phone would be in the bedroom and I'll be in the living room, you know? But then today, I was watching the presentation, and when the guy was talking about using the watch to open hotel doors and check in at the airport, I thought, yes, that'd be great. Going to take a while for such systems to become common, but if and when they are, it'll be so convenient. No more fumbling through your purse while juggling luggage to get out your boarding pass!