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iPhone 4s Inspired Fitbit to Redesign Fitness Trackers With Bluetooth 4.0 Support in 2011
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All true. But the watch will get more useful, more robust in its build, with longer battery and it will not get more expensive. The fashion issues will still be there. I wear an Apple Watch all the time, but it doesn't look as good as my mechanical dress watch. I don't think any update or upgrade is ever going to change that fashion issue in my mind. But setting aside the fashion issues, the smartwatch is going to be hard to beat. This is just like how the smartphone is putting the camera companies out of business. The only way I can see the fitbit stuff working long term is if they get their devices much, much smaller, so you can really incorporate them into a different fashion look that the full feature smart watch can't compete with.
Agree. I have a FitBit Blaze. It didn't come cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch, but it got me into the wearables market and now I'm more open to picking up an Apple Watch. If the next Apple Watch has significantly better battery life, I'd seriously consider getting one at some point.
I'd imagine there are just as many people looking to move down to a FitBit as there are who experience the FitBit as a gateway to move up.
Fitbit and others will continue to compete in areas where Apple traditionally hasn't -- at the lower end of the spectrum. Apple charges a lot for its products which is why, despite making more profits, they sell fewer units than Android. Add the fashion issue to that price tag, and it doesn't really matter how good the Watch gets. If the price doesn't come down, or the design choices open up; then if someone doesn't need all the things the watch can do, they aren't likely to spring for it.
And we are talking about a smartwatch here. So far it doesn't do anything more than the iPhone does, and in some respects it does much less. Making it more autonomous may make it a substitute for an iPhone, in some situations, but until they come up with a way to provide a large enough display to browse the internet, then one of the most important aspects people use the iPhone for will necessitate people continuing to carry their phones. And that will always offset a customer's decision about whether to spend the money on an Watch, or pay a lot less on something that does whatever specific task they need, and possibly looks nicer with their outfit. All Apple has right now over the competition is something people really like the look of, and would want to pay the money to wear. If they don't like the look of it, then it's not worth the money, and there are much cheaper alternatives that might also address their fashion sense as well.
It's how Apple is judged. First time in more than 10 years that Apple didn't grow and look at the news. Apple is doomed, catastrophic iPhone sales etc. It's a joke
I think pairing the watch with the phone is still the way to go. It will never replace your phone and folks are increasingly unlikely to go "phoneless". Instead of adding Cell Service, I'd add the ability to log into a Wi-Fi service independently from an iPhone. That feature is already there once the phone has taught the watch. But the watch could do this independently. Then for the folks who want to go for a run without their phone, they can, in an emergency, jump into a business that has wifi and make a quick wifi call. That feature seems like a software update. Yes typing in the password would be a pain, but this would be for emergencies or it would be a one time thing to enter the password if you regularly stop somewhere with wifi.
The watch has a better connection with the body (the sensors) and more convenience in its location.
Congrats on your FitBit! I really want to pick one up soon. I believe FitBit is so good because their products are so focused. "Let's make one of the very best health trackers possible, at an accessible price." That simple. And man, do they have a good product. As you said, I'm definitely interested in gen 2 of the Apple Watch. Could be the game changer for Apple. Are you familiar with the term "minimum viable product?" Like with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, it could take a second generation to truly bring to market the Apple Watch that Apple envisioned.
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You're free to call me out if I'm wrong here: I've read articles as well as forum posts where people complain about the Apple Watch HR monitor not being entirely accurate. To add to that, you can't wear the Apple Watch while sleeping (because you're having to charge it). And the price. Price is king. FitBit is hundreds of dollars less than the Apple Watch.
Apple always has articles and posts about some of their tech being faulty. This is driven mainly by the fact that news organizations get clicks if they write about Apple and by the volume Apple sells at. For a complicated bit of new tech which is to a good extent assembled by hand a failure rate of at least 1% is to be expected. So when Apple sells a million units, there will be at least 10,000 duds. Sell 5 million and we have 50,000 duds. That can make a lot of stories. And the people Apple sells to are also in many cases first adopters who are more likely to be forum dwellers. This results in all the mistakes getting press or easily noticed. But buying fairly big ticket items with a failure rate of 1% means you are unlikely to experience a failure personally more often than once a decade.
I've got a heart rate app on my phone and it reads within one beat of my watch consistently. I've also run the watch while at the doctor's office and it has been within a beat or two of the doctor's reading. So I'm pretty sure it is as accurate if not more accurate as any other wrist wearable.
The watch can be worn while sleeping, if you want to charge it some other time. It needs to be charged about an hour per day. But yeah it can't really sleep track very well because of charging issues. When I forget to take my watch off at night, I put it on the charger as I get ready to go to work. It is ready to go before I get out the door and I don't really have much in the way of notifications at 7 a.m. so it isn't a problem.
If it is just price, then I've got no answer there. Price is really important as you say.
I don't actually own an Apple Watch and have never used one extensively, so no, I didn't know that.
That aside, the Apple Watch price point is the main barrier to my ownership. The Fitbit Flex is cheaper new, and I bought mine used. Though I must admit if i had the cash I would upgrade to an Apple Watch or at least a wearable/fitness tracker that has a watch.