Is The Stainless Steel Watch Upgradable?

[technosix]

But no way in hell will you see a new one in 6 months.

You're probably right but those predicting more than one year are incorrect. I've read more than one article lately saying it could come in a mere eight months. I failed to grab the link, but I have no reason and nothing to gain by making up any rumor.

One thing's for sure, this watch will keep rumours flying and it'll never be dull.

 

[Wishbrah]

If my 6+ seems fast now, my 7 will make it look silly. At that point, the watch will probably start show its age as it is tethered to newer phones. Navigating apps, loading apps, etc will likely be much slower on a watch with 2 year old tech compared to a new iPhone 7. I guess it also depends on the software, and which piece is doing most of the computing. If a majority is on the phone, it may suffice. I hope it's upgradeable!

 

[/dev/toaster]

You're probably right but those predicting more than one year are incorrect. I've read more than one article lately saying it could come in a mere eight months. I failed to grab the link, but I have no reason and nothing to gain by making up any rumor.

One thing's for sure, this watch will keep rumours flying and it'll never be dull.

Maybe 8 months for an announcement and 9 - 10 for a shipment. I can't imagine anything less than 8 .. and even 8 is a bit of a stretch.

If they release them too often you will end up with a lot customers thinking ... oh well, this doesn't have everything I want. Wait 6 months for the next, then the next, etc.

Besides fashion, there isn't a ton of hardware to put into a watch. So I imagine they will have an S level upgrade next year. Thinner, improved battery and software features.

 

[TallManNY]

Agreed. It's going to really deter people to purchase the watch if its updated too often. On the other hand, Apple will have to give people a reason to upgrade their watch, and that won't be new colors.

I don't think Apple is going to need people to upgrade their watch for years. They will add functionality through the OS updates and the Apps. Also the functionality is there already, it is the rest of the world that needs to change. Cars have doors and engines that start based on keyless entry. Why shouldn't that be a blue tooth connection that your watch can speak to? How about the door to your home? There has never been a scenario where millions of folks have something this connected sitting not their wrist all day. That all changes this month.

I think Apple just sells new watches to folks who don't own Apple Watches for years. Yes, folks will upgrade. But I don't think that is the key. The key is convincing folks to wear a smart watch at all. And as the rest of world gets built around interacting with the Apple watch that will convince folks to buy that watch.

Also the fact that Apple Watch only works with the iPhone is going to be about as limiting as a software program that only runs on Windows. The iPhone is already the majority of smart phones sold in the U.S. This trend is going to continue. Samsung has just unveiled a fantastic to Android phone and the silence to that release was deafening.

 

[Vanilla Face]

I don't think Apple is going to need people to upgrade their watch for years. They will add functionality through the OS updates and the Apps. Also the functionality is there already, it is the rest of the world that needs to change. Cars have doors and engines that start based on keyless entry. Why shouldn't that be a blue tooth connection that your watch can speak to? How about the door to your home? There has never been a scenario where millions of folks have something this connected sitting not their wrist all day. That all changes this month.

I think Apple just sells new watches to folks who don't own Apple Watches for years. Yes, folks will upgrade. But I don't think that is the key. The key is convincing folks to wear a smart watch at all. And as the rest of world gets built around interacting with the Apple watch that will convince folks to buy that watch.

Also the fact that Apple Watch only works with the iPhone is going to be about as limiting as a software program that only runs on Windows. The iPhone is already the majority of smart phones sold in the U.S. This trend is going to continue. Samsung has just unveiled a fantastic to Android phone and the silence to that release was deafening.

The iPhone is an enormous success because people upgrade it every two years because it appears to be cheap with the carrier "subsidy". Compare that to the iPad which has declining sales. People are still quite happy with their iPad 2, and the newer models haven't given customers a reason to upgrade. Same thing was seen in the iPod. The question is if Apple will allow the watch to take a similar track, or if they have something different planned for it.

 

[hobbbz]

Is it true the stainless model will be upgradable in the future?

Today I tried on a 38" stainless steel and space grey black aluminum model. Amazed that my 175 inch male wrist didn't look good with the 42". I really liked the look and weight of the stainless steel version, but the price is hard to justify if v2 comes out in 6 mo.

This is what the Watch is and does today. Do you like it $500+ worth? If yes, buy it. If no, don't.

 

[TallManNY]

The iPhone is an enormous success because people upgrade it every two years because it appears to be cheap with the carrier "subsidy". Compare that to the iPad which has declining sales. People are still quite happy with their iPad 2, and the newer models haven't given customers a reason to upgrade. Same thing was seen in the iPod. The question is if Apple will allow the watch to take a similar track, or if they have something different planned for it.

Apple sold 20 million iPads last quarter. It is tremendously successful. It isn't iPhone successful, but I suspect Apple made more in profit off the iPad than any PC manufacturer made selling PCs.

If Apple sells 20 million watches per quarter in a couple of years we will be looking at the first trillion dollar valued company.

I think Apple sells new iPhones to people upgrading because smartphones are super useful and having the best smartphone you can have is great. That is because we use our smartphone constantly all day. If the watch is worn all day and used all the time, then folks will upgrade them for any reasonable cost.

 

[yegon]

There's absolutely massive room for improvement on this version, I'm surprised how misguided some people are to think otherwise. Little to no chance of v2 this year, but most assuredly it will appear in 2016 at some point.

The idea that this will still be the flagship watch at the start of 2017 is laughable, it'll be slow as molasses and horribly horribly outdated by then. Heck, it's a borderline product at launch, the arc of performance will go like this - slow, then slightly better due to optimised software and native apps, then it'll drop off a cliff and become horribly bogged down. Think iPhone 3G.

And yes, I am buying one. The cheapest Sport, simply because it's a essentially a toy at this point and as much as I could easily drop the money on the Space Black SS, I feel it'd be wiser to spend the money elsewhere.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Thanks for the candid discussion folks. So, it looks like it will probably be 12 months before V2 is released and zero upgrade capability.

I'll be plunking down $500 for the SS with black sports strap, maybe adding some reasonably priced aftermarket straps with time. Heck, maybe a nice aftermarket link strap will come along that's reasonably priced.

Just canceled my SG sports that everyone is clamoring about. Another bump up in line for those of you waiting.

 

[bnekic]

These threads are ridiculous! When has any apple product been upgradable?! No the watch will not be upgradable, they will come out with gen 2, 3, 4 etc.