If you still need your iPhone, what's the point?

[sracer]

Yes, I agree. You go to your other devices. You don't carry them all with you.

It just seems to me this watch is going to be a niche product. Gobbled up by fitness addicts and Apple fanboys with a lot of disposable income.

Using the word "Watch" to describe what Apple announced simply because one of its functions is to tell time is similar to calling a VCR a "mantel clock". (except that the VCR most likely blinked "12:00")

But I guess aWatch was easier to say than "digital assistant bracelet"

I think that, in a nutshell, is what is at the heart of the resistance to the aWatch.

In a sense I think that Apple needlessly boxed itself into a corner. They tried to make it look like a conventional watch but it didn't need to be. Why not have it as 2 (or more) thinner segments electronically and physically connected to each other? (a single curved element can't take into account different sized wrists)

 

[moonman239]

I just thought of something.
If Google makes glasses that connect to the Internet without a second device, why doesn't Apple make a watch that connects to the Internet without a second device?

 

[Deeds500]

Actually that's exactly what you said. That a smartwatch can never replace a smartphone. I don't think that will be the case down the road.

I don't think anyone is complaining that a current smartwatch can't replace a smartphone. I think it's a given that over time the smartwatch can do more and more things that we currently rely on our smartphones for.

Possibly. However I don't think that Apple would ever allow a situation whereby the watch overtakes the iPhone in terms of functionality and popularity. The iPhone category is arguably Apple's flagship category. Surely Apple won't want to allow another category to overtake the iPhone. Whilst future gen watches will no doubt get better, they won't become "better" than the iPhone, for 2 reasons:

1) future iPhones will also get better, and

2) Apple knows which of its categories is its big money winner and will look to protect it.

I imagine other companies would also do the same. I could note imagine Samsung making its gear more functional than the Galaxy or Note.

 

[blairh]

Possibly. However I don't think that Apple would ever allow a situation whereby the watch overtakes the iPhone in terms of functionality and popularity. The iPhone category is arguably Apple's flagship category. Surely Apple won't want to allow another category to overtake the iPhone. Whilst future gen watches will no doubt get better, they won't become "better" than the iPhone, for 2 reasons:

1) future iPhones will also get better, and

2) Apple knows which of its categories is its big money winner and will look to protect it.

I imagine other companies would also do the same. I could note imagine Samsung making its gear more functional than the Galaxy or Note.

I never implied such a thing. And that's not even feasible. Watches have smaller screen sizes than smartphones which alone is an element that will stop it from replacing smartphones entirely. Also the idea of a company not wanting to make a product too good is pretty silly.

 

[Zellio]

I don't get it.

The point is to make fanboys shell out an extra $350 to apple.

 

[mariotr87]

The Apple watch, apart from providing sensors that would otherwise not be possible, is about leveraging the rest of the devices within the ecosystem by virtually strapping them to your wrist.

The iPhone is the most obvious companion for the watch because it's a communications device, it gives you access to making calls, sending SMS, it's a door to the iCloud, and the iPhone happens to be with you 95% of the time.
I don't think the iPhone is the only device the watch will interact with though, it's pretty obvious they'll leverage all the "continuity" features across the whole ecosystem. You can, for instance, control your Apple TV.

I think it makes perfect sense, and that it is actually a fantastic idea. I do think though, that for the remaining 5% you don't have the iPhone with you, the watch should be capable enough to at least track everything that's going on and store it locally. A GPS, for example, is missing. But I'm sure they will fix that in future iterations.