Jony Ive On iWatch: Switzerland is in Trouble

[antonis]

If they do surprise us, I'll be truly amazed and never again say a bad word about Apple. Because, to date, I've not seen or read any great ideas for a wearable, no matter how crazy or off the wall. And every other tech company has brought out various smart watches that are all pretty ugly and very pointless. They're all creating a product for a problem no one has.

Personally, I think Apple with come out with a much better designed but equally pointless wearable.

I couldn't agree more. With such products, they create a solution first, and then they create a problem to match it. Although I hate predictions without having anything to based on first, I also feel very secure to say that this is not going to be something useful and that I'd be really surprised if this proves to be something great.

 

[D-Dave]

People who own $10,000 watches will also own an iWatch. Just wear them at different occasions, lots of people have more than one watch. I have a nice watch which I enjoy wearing. I can also see owning an iWatch if it provides function that's useful to me at different times of the day or on different days of the week.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing on one device.

I am in on having the iWatch as an additional Watch, but (and this is a big one) if the iWatch has it's main usefullness when being worn all the time (tracking steps, vitals etc. only realy makes sense if you do it all day) I can't see myself getting one. A watch is too much of a visible statement for me that is just as much a part of my outfit as the pants I wear and being "forced" to wear the same outfit every day is just not my cup of tea.

As people have realised: hardly anyone wears a watch anymore. Most people just use their phone. If you can give most of this crowd a smart watch, would you have dominant market share?

Why does everyone keep repeating that false statement?
In the US alone there has been a steady growth in sales since 2009 (check http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-watchs-time-isnt-up-2013-07-01 and maybe you guys should check the article linked above in post #60 as well to see what is the trend away from nerdistan where we guys live ;-)

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Well, that's not entirely true. Some of the Leicas are rebranded Panasonics with slightly upgraded sensors and lenses, all with a more premium housing. A bit similar to Vertu..

While this is certainly true, I would dare to say that any currently sold system with interchangeable lenses is so vastly superiour to any mobile phone camera that they are just not compareable...well, unless somebody only shoots in perfect conditions and does not use any depth of field.
Plus Leica has that Luxury Aura around it that attracts so many Dentists ;-)

 

[s2mikey]

As if phone screens aren't tiny and useless enough..... We are going for something even smaller? Completely comical. Can't wait to watch the knit cap wearing, Prius driving thirty something's stuffing their faces into a watch trying to surf the web or stream a TV show.

Grab the popcorn, this is going to be free entertainment.

 

[DriedTurnip]

Why does everyone keep repeating that false statement?
In the US alone there has been a steady growth in sales since 2009 (check http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-watchs-time-isnt-up-2013-07-01 and maybe you guys should check the article linked above in post #60 as well to see what is the trend away from nerdistan where we guys live ;-)

I have three watches, one a Rolex, that I never wear, even to special occasions. Too annoying and my phone covers all the bases.

 

[LobsterMan]

And what's stopping Rolex (and others) from making a Android Wear smartwatch? Apple best "watch" its step!

Why do you think that the thing Apple will reveal is even remotely similar to the Android wear system?

If it is, then Apple lost

 

[peterdevries]

Unless the iWatch is also a piece of jewelry. Different models, different price points... No one knows that there's a single device to rule them all. With the different hand sizes of men and wonen, it also makes no sense.

Putting some diamonds on the bezel and some gold on the housing won't make any iWatch a true competitor to luxury watches. A jewelized iWatch will be a bad value proposition, because it will have a lifespan of about 5-10 years at the most, making it not very valuable as a jewellery item.

A major portion of luxury watches are sold because of their intricate mechanical complexity and longevity.

 

[iPadPublisher]

I think people are taking it a bit too literally... He's proud of his new baby... He thinks it's the ****. A guy can brag.

 

[nebo1ss]

Jony Ive never said this. He is way too professional to make silly comments. Totally manufactured by the press. There will be no Iwatch announced on September 9th.

 

[Aluminum213]

Johnny boy is right, I just canceled my order of a $50,000 Rolex for a couple hundred dollar plastic iWatch

 

[W2u7Yw4HaD]

Jony Ive never said this. He is way too professional to make silly comments. Totally manufactured by the press. There will be no Iwatch announced on September 9th.

I agree with you 100%.. Its bull and he wouldn't comment about an unannounced product.

85% of swiss market is the above $950 price range also, so the effect will be felt only on the 15%.. This isn't the quartz fiasco of the 70's.. But agree, they have a missed opportunity here I think..

 

[myforwik]

I agree with you 100%.. Its bull and he wouldn't comment about an unannounced product.

85% of swiss market is the above $950 price range also, so the effect will be felt only on the 15%.. This isn't the quartz fiasco of the 70's.. But agree, they have a missed opportunity here I think..

Did you even read it? It said the comments were made inside the company to collegues... Either way I'd this rumor is 100% fake. If you had a contact inside the design team... you would ask for some information about.. you know... the design, not what Johny was supposedly talking about. After all: anyone can make up words and never be proven wrong. Where as you can't make up design details, as you will get caught out when they turn out to be false.

 

[CFreymarc]

Lol! Here we go!

Yup, one more legacy industry about to get smacked up -- woohoo!

 

[kappaknight]

Like many people, I also stopped using a watch after getting my first mobile phone, an Ericsson GH688, in the nineties. The mobile phones then even turned itself on for the alarm sound, a feature I miss in smartphones.

Personally I'll eventually get a smartwatch for sport usage since it is much more convenient than carrying a phone. However, current models are very unimpressive, only the Sony Smartwatch 3 (presented yesterday) look mature enough.

However, I think we generally underestimate the range of possible uses when having access to dynamic information and a control panel, more quickly accessible than reaching in the pocket for the smartphone.

provided the watch has NFC and GPS, the watch can be used for (on the top of my head):

verification in electronic door locks
Payments
TV/camera/mediaplayer-remote
sound recording
Handsfree phone use

As others have pointed out, the real threat of other watchmakers is of course not that the Iwatch (or wathever smartwatch brand) will beat the design of other watchmakers. The threat is that this device will be used to such an extent that there will be few occasion the average user will want to miss out on these features by putting on a traditional watch.

Yeah, I stopped wearing a watch when I was a teenager; didn't like the tan lines.

On a separate note, if you have the iOS 8 beta, have you opened Health to see the amount of data this app can track? Holy crap, if this watch is also a health monitoring device, (and exercise/movement reminder) on top of everything else mentioned above, I can see a huge segment of people willing to put this on their wrist or arms all the time for measuring those data.

 

[jacobj]

It's coming!!! Woof, woof! Say goodnight, Victorinox!

They're the good guys. Affordable well made watches - unlike overpriced Tag (for example)

 

[Fenez]

The iWatch will be unlike anything you've ever seen. Just like the iPhone.
Image

Fuuny how the lg Prada isn't in that picture, it was pictured in 2006 widely.

 

[Jimrod]

On a separate note, if you have the iOS 8 beta, have you opened Health to see the amount of data this app can track? Holy crap, if this watch is also a health monitoring device, (and exercise/movement reminder) on top of everything else mentioned above, I can see a huge segment of people willing to put this on their wrist or arms all the time for measuring those data.

I can see many insurance companies insisting on having that data too, I expect it'll work out very lucrative for Apple in 5 years time when it becomes a standard for insurance companies to insist on your iWatch health data before letting you have a policy...

 

[b3ats]

They're the good guys. Affordable well made watches - unlike overpriced Tag (for example)

Hey, don't diss TAG. Have had my Formula 1 for over 10 years, worn it daily and it works perfectly and has never let me down.

 

[jacobj]

It's interesting that this forum seems to assume that the Swiss only make $10k+ watches. I'd be surprised if the bulk of their income doesn't come from the $500-$2000 bracket. This bracket may well be in deep trouble because it's possible that this whole market switches it's loyalty to having the latest smart watch on your wrist.

Let's look at the mentality here: it is a piece of jewellery that is often worn as a badge of your success. Having a 3 year old Tag isn't as cool as having this year'a best smart watch.

I know this forum will cry that they're all sensible, level headed purchasers, whilst concurrently listing out all the cool kit they own. However the world like fashion and cool and Apple are a serous threat to this market.

Rolex, PP, Zenith, etc have little to worry about as that circle is smaller and more exclusive. I don't think Jony was referring to them. He's not an idiot.

 

[Mildredop]

I couldn't agree more. With such products, they create a solution first, and then they create a problem to match it.

Spot on. I think the iPad is an example of this. It fills a whole that didn't really need filling.

 

[Rogifan]

Do people really believe Ive was serious and he really thinks the iwatch is going to upset the designer watch industry? Just curious if people actually think that he wasnt speaking tongue in cheek. Trying to understand the mentality of some who post here...

Good luck with that.

 

[cdmoore74]

Why do you think that the thing Apple will reveal is even remotely similar to the Android wear system?

If it is, then Apple lost

I think a watch is a lot more difficult than producing a single flagship phone. Apple might be able to get away with one premium phone but when it comes to watches people have different styles and price points. If they release a $400 watch they will eliminate a huge number of individuals from getting one. Even $300 is tough to swallow when all you have to do is whip out a phone. And they have to be careful not to make the watch huge or too small. Just studying people responses to the various Android Wear devices it's either you love it or hate. The only watch that might have the edge is the moto 360 but there have been 3 watches announced after they first showed it.
And any one of the many watch manufacturers can make a Android Wear device in either round, square or both configurations. Apple will have the single best selling model but theres going to be a lot more models of Android Wear being sold.

 

[Arran]

traditional watches are jewelry that can be handed down generations.

Any watch apple makes will be obsolete after the next revision, or within a couple years.

Not if Apple introduces a modular watch concept where a wide assortment of upmarket bracelets (produced by established fashion/jewelry houses in partnership with Apple) accept a replaceable Apple electronics module.

As technology proceeds, the user just swaps out the electronics module. At a cost of $300-400 every few years, it's comparable to having your old-fashioned mechanical watch fully serviced every year.

In this business model, the beautiful, expensive (Cartier, Tiffany, Chanel, YSL, etc.) bracelet becomes the "heirloom" that gets handed down.

Something like this:

 

[shoppy]

I just saw this and thought what tosh, I have no interest in any smart watches, I love my mechanical watches for the heart and soul, history. I am one of the biggest apple fan boy for devices but at no point have I any interest in replacing any of my high end Swiss watches for an apple toy. Even apple with there aim of looks will match the finish on a movement by Patek, JLC or VC.

 

[Mildredop]

See my other post in the thread for some potential uses.

verification in electronic door locks
Payments
TV/camera/mediaplayer-remote
sound recording
Handsfree phone use

These are all things my phone can do. So if I got a smartwatch, it would simply be replicating my phone, but in a smaller package.

When the smartphone was released, I got very excited at the idea of suddenly being able to browse the net, check emails, have my calendar etc. with me all the time, without the need to lug my (then very heavy) laptop around all the time.

But I don't have that same feeling about the watch. I'll always have my phone on me. Even if the watch does everything my phone can do, it's tiny screen will make it less pleasant to use than my phone, so the phone would still win.

Apple will need to come out with some epic, incredible, unbelieveable features that literally no-one has yet thought of to make it such a massive success.

It's like Google Glass. Interesting idea, but I can't see it honestly being anything more than a very niche, rather geeky product.

 

[jacobj]

Hey, don't diss TAG. Have had my Formula 1 for over 10 years, worn it daily and it works perfectly and has never let me down.

I know those with very different experiences. Sorry.

I wear a £15 Casio so I am. A watch is purely functional for me and so a smart watch with more function may tempt me.