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Is WatchOS 3 going to lead to no Watch 2 this year ?

Laserducky

Laserducky

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 29, 2013
235
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Is WatchOS 3 going to lead to no Watch 2 this year ? Even Apple's WWDC preview page for the watch plays on the catch line : 'Feels like a whole new watch'.

Just curious. What do you guys think ? A better hardware specs watch with an optimised WatchOS 3 would be a real good deal !

Cheers !
 
Laserducky said:
Is WatchOS 3 going to lead to no Watch 2 this year ? Even Apple's WWDC preview page for the watch plays on the catch line : 'Feels like a whole new watch'.

Just curious. What do you guys think ? A better hardware specs watch with an optimised WatchOS 3 would be a real good deal !

Cheers !
Click to expand...

As soon as I saw everything they were releasing in this update, I started completely doubting they were going to release a new one this year. Even posted it in another thread here earlier. People had been saying for months that the watch was slow because of the hardware and my position was always, "How do you know?" You know, because how many Apple engineers do we have posting here?

People were saying the second watch would be faster. And then there was some of that unrelenting paranoia about current watch bands not working with a newer apple watch, LOL.

The watch just got so much better. No watch 2 anytime soon.
 
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IphoneIssues said:
As soon as I saw everything they were releasing in this update, I started completely doubting they were going to release a new one this year. Even posted it in another thread here earlier. People had been saying for months that the watch was slow because of the hardware and my position was always, "How do you know?" You know, because how many Apple engineers do we have posting here?

People were saying the second watch would be faster. And then there was some of that unrelenting paranoia about current watch bands not working with a newer apple watch, LOL.

The watch just got so much better. No watch 2 anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's my gut feeling after watching the announcements. If this new update really lives up to its name, it will make the current watch a whole lot more relevant : I hardly use mine for apps on account of them being so slow to load.

But then again, only Apple know when they are releasing a new one and its all guess work/assumptions for the rest of us!

Cheers!
 
Laserducky said:
Is WatchOS 3 going to lead to no Watch 2 this year ?
Click to expand...
That's a leap of logic, that I don't think you need to make. Apple was going to update the OS and they were going to make it better for existing watch owners, so I don't think you can say that the improvements mean that apple won't roll out a new version.

They may very decide not too, I have no idea, but I don't think we can base that, on watchOS3
 
No. The competition for your wrist is tight esp with Fitbit who does come out with new models every calendar year (not nec. every 12 months). This year so far they've pushed out the Alta and Blaze, the Blaze being the closest to AW. So Apple news at least a new entry, if not a direct replacement to the original AW this year.

Specifically though, WatchOS transmits there will be an AW2 release this fall b/c WatchOS 3 is just a usability tweak, not something to help AW keep pace with competitors. The new features will be exclusive to AW2.
 
jbachandouris said:
Honestly, if watch OS 3 works the way they say it will, I don't need a second gen watch.

If it were a 'given,' as a previous poster stated, there would be leaks (credible leaks). There are none.
Click to expand...
I agree. In fact I was looking for responses here from those people who last year insisted there would be a new watch last fall, then by the end of the year, then again by this spring. It never made sense to me. And now seeing how the watch performed with the new OS shows there is no need for one.

Plus those people who spent 10,000 or more would not have been happy to see a new model just a few months after their purchase. Even with the kind of money those people have to spend I'm sure there would have been a lot of very loud and publicized complaining.

As for me I can't wait for the fall to install this on mine and would not be interested in a new model if one appeared. New iPhone 7, yes, new watch no. Not this year anyway.
 
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JayLenochiniMac said:
It's pretty much a given that AW2 will be released along with wOS3. It's already unprecedented that they updated to wOS2 without updating the AW.
Click to expand...
Unprecedented based on what? I don't think watch can be looked at the same way other Apple products are. I don't see the engineering teams being able to make major improvements that quickly with this device. My guess is we see new hardware every 2-3 years but continuous software tweaks. That said I hope we do see new hardware this fall because I'm not convinced the latency is only software based.
 
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Rogifan said:
Unprecedented based on what? I don't think watch can be looked at the same way other Apple products are. I don't see the engineering teams being able to make major improvements that quickly with this device. My guess is we see new hardware every 2-3 years but continuous software tweaks. That said I hope we do see new hardware this fall because I'm not convinced the latency is only software based.
Click to expand...

Unprecedented based on past Apple products. They really only need to add one new feature to make something a new product. E.g., Siri in iPhone 4s.

It's different with the AW because they can just introduce new bands to create "new models" despite the same old AW1 to keep it fresh, but it can't go on forever.
 
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jbachandouris said:
If it were a 'given,' as a previous poster stated, there would be leaks (credible leaks). There are none.
Click to expand...

No credible leaks is why we thought they won't debut the AW2 at WWDC. However, it's too far away for a fall debut, although we did get various rumors suggesting AW2 in the fall.

The reason I think it's a given is that hardware basically becomes a dinosaur when nearing the 2-year mark, especially considering the rapidly progressing technology.
 
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hallidc said:
I personally don't think Apple will push the watch every year like they do with the iPad/iPhone. I can't see consumers upgrading devices on a consistent basis.
Click to expand...
If the current model is still selling well and attracting new customers Apple will have little incentive to release a new model. If sales have already dropped off you can bet there will be a new model out in September or October as I can't see a software update driving a huge increase in new customers, even if it does improve the user experience.
 
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Sweeperdk said:
That really depends on who you ask.

For a tech device, I agree. For a watch? Not so much.
Click to expand...

It's true, but it's in the wearable category, against a pretty fierce market right now. Apple aren't going to abandon it, so I'm sure they want to grow it, that means they need some more features or more polished hardware so it's the health accessory that everyone has to have. Of course we are both guessing!

You know how they release a beta of the new iOS for example, everyone tests it, loves it. Then a month before the gold master comes out they announce the new iPhone, with a set of features on that device that no one saw coming. I feel like the next gen will be that type of device. Again, I just feel like it, nothing to go on ;)
 
OllyW said:
If the current model is still selling well and attracting new customers Apple will have little incentive to release a new model. If sales have already dropped off you can bet there will be a new model out in September or October as I can't see a software update driving a huge increase in new customers, even if it does improve the user experience.
Click to expand...
My guess is that we will still see an updated Apple Watch with an S2 processor. If nothing more, they can improve the battery life (I would not be surprised if watchOS 3 increases power consumption). They could also add more health-related sensors.
 
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JayLenochiniMac said:
It's pretty much a given that AW2 will be released along with wOS3. It's already unprecedented that they updated to wOS2 without updating the AW.
Click to expand...

It is not unprecedented. iPad 2 didn't ship with the new release of iOS. iPad 3 didn't ship with the new release of iOS. iPad Pro 9.7" didn't ship with the new release of iOS, so how is it different than AW2 not launching with watchOS 2? Lets not forget the iPhone SE as well. By your logic, all three iPads should have been updated when iOS was being released in the Fall. All three units launched in the Spring.

Lets face it, Apple has become unpredictable compared to past. Every year for the last 3 years MBA were updated at WWDC. Nothing happened yesterday with MBA.
 
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AW1 is sometimes slow and laggy with wOS3. AW2 is more than likely going to be fast enough to run everything smoothly.

I don't see any reason why Apple wouldn't or shouldn't release AW2 this year. No one is forced to buy it even if (when) they do. And we keep hearing this "no one is going to buy new ____ every year". But still Apple updates MacBooks, iMacs, iPads, iPhones, - you name it - every single year. And have been doing so for quite a long time now.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
It is not unprecedented. iPad 2 didn't ship with the new release of iOS. iPad 3 didn't ship with the new release of iOS. iPad Pro 9.7" didn't ship with the new release of iOS, so how is it different than AW2 not launching with watchOS 2? Lets not forget the iPhone SE as well. By your logic, all three iPads should have been updated when iOS was being released in the Fall. All three units launched in the Spring.
Click to expand...

You have it reversed. All your examples involve updated hardware without updating the OS. In AW's case, they debuted wOS 2 without updating AW hardware.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
You have it reversed. All your examples involve updated hardware without updating the OS. In AW's case, they debuted wOS 2 without updating AW hardware.
Click to expand...

Except I don't have it reversed. When iPad 2 came out in March 2011, iOS was launched in and October 2011. When iPad 3 came out in March 2012, iOS was launched in and October 2012. iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 came out Spring 2016, iOS won't be released until Fall 2016.

You can make a point two ways, the hardware was released without software, or that the previous software was released months before the new hardware. My point being, these devices received new software updates after their launch and without new hardware. Therefore, it does not mean we will see an AW2 this year. I'm sure we will, but to call it unprecedented is not true.
 
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