Jony Ive Apple Watch Comments

[Rogifan]

From the Met Gala last night. I found these comments quite interesting, especially admitting they have a lot to learn and hinting that the next 3-4 years will be dramatic for this product.

http://www.businessoffashion.com/ar...institute-anna-wintour-andrew-bolton-jony-ive

While Ive declined to discuss the future of the Apple Watch directly, he was willing to speak more broadly about his general approach when it comes to the progression of a product. “It’s quite interesting that if you look back at the first generation of the iPod or the Phone — what happens in the next two, three, four years is dramatic. You’d be very surprised about some of the things you would absolutely assume that the first Phone did and it didn’t have,” he said.

“Of course, this is a new category for us, one that we think is such a natural one because we think in a very authentic way. It’s not us being opportunistic in the way our competitors are. It’s not us thinking, ‘Well, this is a growing category.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Regardless of whether we declare an interest in fashion or not, we are making products that are more and more personal… products that you wear and you wear every day. We’ve not done that before and we’ve got a lot to learn. Just talking to Andrew [Bolton] is hugely informative. I think we have always had a very clear and a very singular approach to how we design products that are more familiar to people, more established in terms of product categories. I think it’s very hard to have that same clarity and singularity when you’re not absolutely confident in your subject matter.

 

[jasonklee]

Sad that he had to say this at all. Apple Watch is first gen. First gen is like the pilot episode of a TV show. Pilots are rough and nowhere near as polished and well-written as later episodes. One has to wonder if the iPod was released today, would people recognize its value and the human achievement or just dump on it like everything else?

 

[vincenz]

I have always found Jonny Ive to be honest and truthful. Hearing these words from him are reassuring that Apple is still trying to do what it does best. They are thoughtful, deliberate, and considerate when designing and engineering their products. These are qualities that make Apple unique and are missing from competitors and as a result, it reflects in those products.

Looking forward to what Apple has in store for future gens.

 

[WarHeadz]

Sad that he had to say this at all. Apple Watch is first gen. First gen is like the pilot episode of a TV show. Pilots are rough and nowhere near as polished and well-written as later episodes. One has to wonder if the iPod was released today, would people recognize its value and the human achievement or just dump on it like everything else?

It would be dumped on. Every first gen apple product is dumped on and called a flop, no reason for the Watch to be different. You would think at this point people would realize that and not dismiss it so quickly, but nope. People have short term memories.

 

[richpjr]

It would be dumped on. Every first gen apple product is dumped on and called a flop, no reason for the Watch to be different. You would think at this point people would realize that and not dismiss it so quickly, but nope. People have short term memories.

Things are much worse now, with everything massively scrutinized and opinions on everything going viral so quickly.

 

[WarHeadz]

Things are much worse now, with everything massively scrutinized and opinions on everything going viral so quickly.

You could actually go back in the macrumors archives to the day Apple announced the iPod and see what people were writing on the forums. It wasn't pretty.

 

[BlueMoon63]

Things are much worse now, with everything massively scrutinized and opinions on everything going viral so quickly.

So true... Reading posts about Tim Cook is out of control. The hatred for Apple is growing every day. The references to Steve Job wouldn't do this or that is so annoying. As smart as Steve was, he was a not a nice human but he was there when the iPod came out and that is the product that changed Apple and lead to the phone and iPad and made the laptops vogue.

I'm so tired of reading posts about how awful Apple is and Tim needs to go because Apple is falling apart. Such a joke. They made 10bb in profit this last quarter. The horrible quarter where they had no really big product release and they made $10 billion in profits alone.

Tim Cook was hand picked by Steve Jobs. Tim Cook gives away 100's of million of his own cash to non profit groups. If Steve was a genius he must have been that to hire Tim - right?

Rant done.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Things are much worse now, with everything massively scrutinized and opinions on everything going viral so quickly.

This is probably why Apple has declined to reveal the sales number, because they know people would call it a flop if they don't sell as many units as the iPhone, even though it's a first generation product and they've sold more AWs than the original iPhone and iPad in the first 6 months after debut.

 

[Ghost31]

So true... Reading posts about Tim Cook is out of control. The hatred for Apple is growing every day. The references to Steve Job wouldn't do this or that is so annoying. As smart as Steve was, he was a not a nice human but he was there when the iPod came out and that is the product that changed Apple and lead to the phone and iPad and made the laptops vogue.

I'm so tired of reading posts about how awful Apple is and Tim needs to go because Apple is falling apart. Such a joke. They made 10bb in profit this last quarter. The horrible quarter where they had no really big product release and they made $10 billion in profits alone.

Tim Cook was hand picked by Steve Jobs. Tim Cook gives away 100's of million of his own cash to non profit groups. If Steve was a genius he must have been that to hire Tim - right?

Rant done.

I'm sure Steve was a gigantic douche sometimes, but the way he is characterized as practically evil is just flat out false. The more I read about him from different sources and books, the more I think he was dead serious/focused at times while loving and nice at others. It's not like he was JUST a douche nozzle 24/7. He was also good to people. Nobody ever talks about that though

 

[maflynn]

Things are much worse now, with everything massively scrutinized and opinions on everything going viral so quickly.

They are worse for a number of reasons imo.
First expectations from apple are higher today then they ever were in the past. Nobody expected apple to rollout a portable music player back in the day, and look what happened.

Second reason is the product itself, unlike an iPod, iPhone and to some extent an iPad, the Apple Watch has limited appeal, its more complex to use. One of the great hallmarks of prior apple products was the sheer simplicity to use. You cannot say that with the apple watch. Also its not solving a specific need, like an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Its a nice to have, a luxury item that can and does make life better but its not something that people find integral in their day to day life.

 

[throAU]

Sad that he had to say this at all. Apple Watch is first gen. First gen is like the pilot episode of a TV show. Pilots are rough and nowhere near as polished and well-written as later episodes. One has to wonder if the iPod was released today, would people recognize its value and the human achievement or just dump on it like everything else?

Pretty much. Pretty much every version 1 Apple (or any other vendor) product is for early adopters only and if looked at objectively, other than breaking into a new category of product, for most people just not good enough and too much of a narrow niche use.

As per the original iPhone, iPad, Macintosh (128K RAM and no expansion in a 16/32 bit machine? Please), etc.

The Apple watch will get there when technology takes off. I'm sure its great for what some people want from it today. for most people, as with any new product to platform, wait for version 2.0 or 3.0.

 

[papbot]

You cannot say that with the apple watch. Also its not solving a specific need, like an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Its a nice to have, a luxury item that can and does make life better but its not something that people find integral in their day to day life.

I'm not seeing this as a luxury item. Every day I'm seeing more and more people wearing one both where I work and just when out and about. Plus recently I've seen quite a few people with some other smart watch. I couldn't tell what the manufacturer was but a year ago I didn't see anyone with such a device. I've always been into watches so it's one of the first things I look at when I meet someone. I've maintained for a long time that as these devices advance in functions the number of people using them will increase dramatically just as the transition from the basic cell phone exploded into smart phone usage.

The convenience and utility of these devices will continue their acceptance and it may not be an Apple product that everyone is using but it will be something similar. I work in a hospital and I've already seen patients being advised on the use of such devices for monitoring purposes. Apple products are not being pushed but most of the medical applications and monitoring functions I've read about mention the Apple Watch. It already has the circuitry necessary for measuring oxygen saturation and no other device at this time does. The transition to these devices may be slow now but from what I've observed recently it won't be for long. Just one personal experience, I've never used Apple Pay from my phone but I use it every day from my watch. And unlike when I first used it that way last year no one even blinks an eye when I do it now. They are so used to seeing people do the same thing.

 

[maflynn]

I'm not seeing this as a luxury item

I still do.

Every day I'm seeing more and more people wearing one

Same here, I do see more people wearing one.

The convenience and utility of these devices will continue their acceptance

To a point yes, but the convenience, which by the way I appreciate, has limited appeal. Apps continue to struggle on that platform. It extends the power and utility of the iPhone and to that end, I believe its a luxury item. The AW is a nice product that makes life easier but unlike other apple products its not as critical in people's lives

 

[throAU]

It's definitely a luxury item.

There's basically nothing you can do on an iWatch that you can't do with other devices you probably already own.

Therefore, it's not a NEED, it's a WANT. An expensive WANT. So pretty much the definition of luxury item.

Not to say that its desirability and capability will not increase, but right now.... hard to justify imho.

 

[maflynn]

Therefore, it's not a NEED, it's a WANT. An expensive WANT. So pretty much the definition of luxury item.

That's the bottom line, its a nice to have, not a must have. I think Apple helped themselves by cutting the price and introducing new color options in the sports model. Clearly the SS (and higher end editions) have limited appeal and the sport is where they're trying to leverage the sales.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Also its not solving a specific need, like an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

I disagree. Not having to take out the iPhone constantly to screen notifications is solving a specific need in my book.

 

[papbot]

I primarily consider it a communication device and find it essential as well as convenient since I don't have to have my phone with me in certain environments. That's how my wife uses it at work. Her phone stays locked in her office and since both are on the same wifi network she can communicate with other staff or anyone else whenever she wants. Now from rumors and speculation that I've read the day may come that direct cellular, gps and wifi connection are added and that day may be soon.

But for now not one person that I've spoken to who has the watch would ever be without it. A smartphone was (and really still is) considered a luxury but almost everyone has one now. If you just want a phone for calling and texting you don't need an iPhone or droid smartphone, but I don't see flip phones ever coming back. Every futuristic novel I read or movie I see features some type of forearm, wrist communication device. These watches are just the start of the wave. For people like me it's a necessity and has cut my usage of my phone by almost 50%. You may not 'need" it but one day most if not all of you will have something similar. And between Pebble, Fitbit, etc. as well as the less expensive and discounted Apple watches these really aren't luxury items.

 

[maflynn]

notifications is solving a specific need

I think that's where we're going to disagree. Its a useful feature, to be sure, and one that I truly appreciate. That's the reason why I bought an Apple watch, but I can't qualify that as a need - at least in terms of addressing an omission or a feature, because pulling out an iPhone is at worst inconvenient

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I think that's where we're going to disagree. Its a useful feature, to be sure, and one that I truly appreciate. That's the reason why I bought an Apple watch, but I can't qualify that as a need - at least in terms of addressing an omission or a feature, because pulling out an iPhone is at worst inconvenient

So how did the original iPhone address an omission when there were other smartphones at the time capable of checking email, etc.? The iPod wasn't the first MP3 player on the market and didn't address an omission either. They just did the tasks better.

 

[BSG75]

Of all the Apple products I own, the Watch is one of my favorites. It's definitely not a necessity, but I'm enjoying the convenience it provides me. Yes, it's a first-gen product with some first-gen issues but I'm very happy with it after nearly a year of ownership. I'm excited to see what functionality the next generations of the Watch will bring to the market.

 

[lauramayer]

Jony Ive is a sexy men.

 

[Mac 128]

Sad that he had to say this at all. Apple Watch is first gen. First gen is like the pilot episode of a TV show. Pilots are rough and nowhere near as polished and well-written as later episodes. One has to wonder if the iPod was released today, would people recognize its value and the human achievement or just dump on it like everything else?

Yes and in saying it, he might just as well have said 'save your money and don't buy the gen 1 Watch, because the next watches will be amazing'.

 

[Night Spring]

Also its not solving a specific need, like an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

The iPod I can see as solving a specific need, namely, carrying your music everywhere with you and playing it whenever you want. But the iPhone and iPad have so many different uses, I don't think it solves any SPECIFIC need. My own reaction, when the iPhone first came out, was "why would anyone need that?" And I remember a lot of "what is that good for?" type reactions when the iPad first came out. I think it's still difficult to specify why anyone needs an iPhone or an iPad. I start trying to explain why I need my iPhone and iPad, and I end up with a long list of things I do with them, rather than being able to narrow it down to one or two things, like I could with the iPod.

 

[papbot]

Yes and in saying it, he might just as well have said 'save your money and don't buy the gen 1 Watch, because the next watches will be amazing'.

You could say the same about any model years iPhone too. For many(most?) of us we knew what we wanted the device for even before it was released. If it had not been Apple I would have gotten one of the Pebbles or some other similar device, just as I was about to do when the first iPhone came out. I had been looking at Blackberrys and such back then. As soon as Apple announced the phone I knew I would get it. And I still use it every day, as an iPod.

 

[Defender2010]

They are worse for a number of reasons imo.
First expectations from apple are higher today then they ever were in the past. Nobody expected apple to rollout a portable music player back in the day, and look what happened.

Second reason is the product itself, unlike an iPod, iPhone and to some extent an iPad, the Apple Watch has limited appeal, its more complex to use. One of the great hallmarks of prior apple products was the sheer simplicity to use. You cannot say that with the apple watch. Also its not solving a specific need, like an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Its a nice to have, a luxury item that can and does make life better but its not something that people find integral in their day to day life.

Nothing about the Watch is more complicated than any feature of iOS. I don't believe the learning curve is higher than a first time iPad user for example...