Exactly my thoughts. The first time I saw the Apple watch, all I could think was "that's it?!" I saw the light and left Apple's walled garden (prison camp) a couple of years ago, but I must admit that traditionally they've always had the most aesthetically pleasing hardware. It's the main driver of their continued success with the non-technical majority. Apple watch and the iPhone 6 are just mediocre though compared to what Apple has put out in the past.
The Apple watch is way too geeky looking, and it's just not very pretty when when looked at as hardware alone. As a nerd who'd have no problem wearing a geeky watch around, Apple watch just looks tacky to me. It's the equivalent of spending $20k pimping out your Honda Civic. They kept the same calculator watch design that's been around forever and just made it shiny and slapped on an astronomical price tag. It's not a "compelling" (hahaha) form factor. This is exactly what Apple was supposed to change amount smartwatches.
I'm not saying round is the way to go, but a flat rectangular screen in a rectangular case just isn't an elegant look. Being that Apple is totally willing to sacrifice practicality for aesthetics on the iPhone - sacrificing battery life and ergonomics to make it unnecessarily thin, one would think they'd do the same when the item is actually a fashion accessory. The only reasonable explanation is that they went that way to keep the BOM cost low and boost profit margins. Either that or they've lost their touch.
Same thing with the iPhone 6s. They're just a less attractive copy of the HTC One's design. They're using LCD screens even though AMOLED are objectively better at this point to cut costs. They both have huge bezels making the already huge iPhone 6 Plus have larger dimensions than phones with larger screens. It's 7mm thin though, since shaving that extra mm of thickness off makes it easier to fit a lunch tray into your pocket. Then there's still only 1 Gb or ram and the base model is crippled with 16Gb of storage.
Even if you love Apple's products, do you not realize that Jobs and Ive aren't Gods. They're really both just talented guys who got lucky. They were in the right place at the right time for their skillsets to shine. Talented I'd apply to Ive more than Jobs. Jobs' secret to success was largely being an extremely arrogant sociopath. It didn't work out so well earlier in his career, but once he got in a position of power, his ability to claim superiority over others and manipulate people put Apple on its path to success. I won't go into it, but it's just like how women tend to be more attracted to guys who don't act interested in them. Apple's elusive nature is exactly that. They treat you crappy and don't care about your concerns, so they must be superior!
Apple's corporate structure is itself marketing. Do you really think Ive has that much influence over Apple's products? And if he does, like others have stated, that's not necessarily something to be proud of with the latest products.
There is a very real possibility that Ive would be just another nameless designer in the trenches at Apple if he didn't have that sexy British accent that Americans love. Seriously, his position at Apple has little to do with his design skills at this point. I'm not saying he doesn't still sign off on things etc or even that he's not very talented, but Apple is a religion, and the followers need a leader to show them the way. Now that Jobs is gone, Apple needs another figurehead with an air of superiority and exclusivity to keep it's followers in line. Someone to tell them what's good for them, so they don't have to make their own decisions (paradox of choice). And what's best for people just happens to be whatever pulls the most money out of their pockets every year.
Announcements like this one are literally propaganda. Apple wants you to be loyal to these infallible Godlike figures rather than the product itself. Why do you need to know anything about these guys? I'm sure there are other products that you like. Do you closely follow every detail of the management of those companies? It's one thing to see someone as a role model in your field, but it's a huge conflict of interest when that person is constantly preaching about a "compelling" new product that you need, and how you shouldn't be making any decisions yourself because they'll tell you what's best for you. And if you don't like something that doesn't mean the product isn't for you, you're just wrong, so don't speak up.
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