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Jony Ive On iWatch: Switzerland is in Trouble
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I'd submit that an El Primero looks pretty freaking tight on the outside, as well as in.
LOL maybe Apple will simply release watch bands with sensors on the inside that you can throw onto the lugs of your Swiss watch. Now that would be funny, and I might even be down.
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You need to embrace luxury on the daily, yo.
Unfortunately, the big Swiss makers still depend on mid-range product for the bulk of their revenue. Say from a few hundred to a few thousand dollar range.
China and Hong Kong took over the bottom end. Perhaps the mid level product is the next under attack? What will the Swiss do when half their customer base starts spending a bunch of their cash on something else?
The iWatch is a threat to Swiss mechanical watches in the same way as the Segway is a threat to Harley Davidson. They can do different things, and neither of them can do everything the other can.
I'm not saying that nobody who owns a fine mechanical watch will buy an iWatch. But I don't have to say that to claim that the makers of Swiss watches will be fine. I'm aware the watch looks a bit like a shackle, but you don't have to wear the same one all the time. Many people who appreciate fine watches already today own more than one of them. The limitation of having only one left arm does not stop these enthusiasts from getting a Submariner like Thor Heyerdahl and also a Speedmaster like Neil Armstrong. And if they're so inclined it will not stop them from getting an iWatch to blend in with everyone else in line for the iPhone 6s next year.
This is likely a joke, more than a factual statement.
People who love watches, love watches! Its like saying a Jewelry store in a high end mall will be going out of business because Kmart across the street is getting its own budget jewelry department...Or saying GShock line will put Hublot out of business simply because it tells time. Come on!
Apple iWatch will fill a niche market, because at the end of the day its an extension to your iPhone. I doubt they will be cramming a lot into it because it would defeat the purpose of having an iPhone.
People who love watches, love watches! Its like saying a Jewelry store in a high end mall will be going out of business because Kmart across the street is getting its own budget jewelry department...Or saying GShock line will put Hublot out of business simply because it tells time. Come on!
Apple iWatch will fill a niche market, because at the end of the day its an extension to your iPhone. I doubt they will be cramming a lot into it because it would defeat the purpose of having an iPhone.
You do realize that the Swiss makers make watches in low price ranges as well, like Swatch? There are lots of Swiss brands in the $250 - $500 as well. And the Swiss did have trouble back then because of the Japanese when the first digital watches came out. The Swiss were so focussed on traditional analog watches, while the trend in those days was LCD and watches with all these functions. That is what the young people wanted. And again, that is what will happen here.
If young people who used to spend $100 - $500 on a watch don't want to wear traditional watches anymore, because a phone and an iWatch are sufficient, then the Swiss makers will feel it in the long run. Casio will feel it too. It is already the case that young people don't wear watches that much, and it will become even more.
Yes, the high end watches will remain, and while that segment is profitable for the Swiss, it is not big volume.
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Let's not forget that the Swatch group also produces Omega, Longines, Mido, Hamilton, Certina, Flik Fla and Tissot watches - so while it might hurt them in the low-range sector, that would hardly be a bigger issue for them.
Remember the watch company CEO who said he was glad his exec who had been hired by Apple wasn't going to a competitor?
That's what Nokia said.
Now Apple seems to be saying it outright. Look out!!!
That's what Nokia said.
Now Apple seems to be saying it outright. Look out!!!
Switzerland on Jony Ive: http://weblog.sinteur.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/327963886_ae35499c34.jpg
If products were based upon the quality of their keynotes then Samsung would be screwed. As for watches, the Gear S adds some cool new features and limited indipendence from the phone. Yes you have a sim to receive calls but aounds still tied in to the phone and just forwards calls to that sim. Also to download anything you need to connect back to the phone.
And it looks meh.
If Apple want a decent iWatch it either needs to be a band with near full curved screen or an offering akin to Motorolla's which has a classy look to it even with limited functionality.
And it looks meh.
If Apple want a decent iWatch it either needs to be a band with near full curved screen or an offering akin to Motorolla's which has a classy look to it even with limited functionality.
Yep. This story seems legit. Glad I clicked.
Who will be the first rapper to brag about having one on each wrist? Me.
-MCOJ
Who will be the first rapper to brag about having one on each wrist? Me.
-MCOJ
At the risk of sounding like one of those anonymous people who brag on the internet, I *am* one of those people who buys high quality time pieces and I think the mechanical watch industry should be concerned.
As much as I love my collection of watches, since 'wearable tech' has started to become popular I find I'm favouring the functionality provided from a gadget over the style of a high-end watch.
Not counting social events I find I'm wearing a Polar over A. Lange & Söhne most days, something that I suspect will become an even bigger issue as younger people who are growing into the market dry up.
There's no overlap in Segway and Harley Davidson because they are products used either only occasionally or in vastly different surroundings. A useful smartwatch is something that stays on your wrist nearly all the time, directly competing for the wrist space, just like a smartphone vs. a featurephone. One may appreciate a beautiful featurephone and its various virtues, but you don't want to carry it with you all the time instead of the smartphone and eventually it'll become a niche market product.
If people buy and use smartwatches all the time, the market for watches will contract. There just will not be the same level of demand, even for the high end watches. I would predict most watchmakers will be forced to either downsize or at least try making smartwatches, IF Apple and others are able to find the compelling reasons to make us want smartwatches.
Jony is British, and this is just a bit of British humour.
IF Jony actually said this, it was almost certainly delivered with more than a hint of irony.
Non story, another piece of humour that got lost in translation.
All you people who have been so quick to tell us about your $15,000 watches, sit back down. Nobody cares.
IF Jony actually said this, it was almost certainly delivered with more than a hint of irony.
Non story, another piece of humour that got lost in translation.
All you people who have been so quick to tell us about your $15,000 watches, sit back down. Nobody cares.
Lol seriously?
What kind of big ego this from Apple.
I'm Swiss and well the watches, I mean the real big beautiful watches that cost at least 10K$ will never die, this is piece of art, home made movement with tons of complication that only an experienced employee/artist can craft... For the "common" watches market, yes I believe that now the industry can produce the parts using automated process but for "cheap watch" up to 100$, so well don't worry for Swiss watches, they still exists after the japan digital watches invasion and they will still exist, maybe the Iwatch will introduce new category and make more challenging competition in this NEW market of smart watches.
Anyway I loved the Samsung presentation of their new Watch... It does this this that and this.... And well also optionally display date and time
What kind of big ego this from Apple.
I'm Swiss and well the watches, I mean the real big beautiful watches that cost at least 10K$ will never die, this is piece of art, home made movement with tons of complication that only an experienced employee/artist can craft... For the "common" watches market, yes I believe that now the industry can produce the parts using automated process but for "cheap watch" up to 100$, so well don't worry for Swiss watches, they still exists after the japan digital watches invasion and they will still exist, maybe the Iwatch will introduce new category and make more challenging competition in this NEW market of smart watches.
Anyway I loved the Samsung presentation of their new Watch... It does this this that and this.... And well also optionally display date and time
Anyway I loved the Samsung presentation of their new Watch... It does this this that and this.... And well also optionally display date and time
People are (erroneously) fixating on the word "watch". Think of it not as a device that tells time, but as something that is strapped on your wrist, no matter what its function.
I'm actually quite doubtful Ive said this. Given what we know about corporate tactics it's more likely to have come from a competitor. Apple does stuff that will lower expectations (the iPad will cost $1000 and then comes out at half price). This sounds more like it's leading to a disappointment. I'm sure the iwatch will be nice, but "better" is tough when you are making a watch to compete with many different styles at all price ranges that appeal to different people.
Nice timed leak after the iCloud desaster.
These are responsible executives. Tesla does the same whenever bad news comes out.
You want to get out of a company if your executives aren't fighting to bolster your stock price.