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New Apple Watch to Launch in Fall 2017 With Improved Battery Life But No Major Design Changes

OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Funny, many of us that own them find them very useful. Love mine for notifications. It's great for fitness tracking. The "home screen" as you call it is filled with info. Sure you can have it as a simple watch face but you can also have it include temp, workout info, and much more.

In the time it takes to pull your phone from your pocket, I can tell you the time, the temp outside, and how far along I am on my workout goals for the day, and more.

Just because you don't see the use in having such a watch doesn't mean that millions of others don't also. There's a reason the Apple Watch has the highest satisfaction rate of any smart watch on the market.
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Yeah, the thing is, isn't that what every other company has been offering for a long time? All those features you've mentioned have been available before Apple even introduced the Watch, and people weren't so happy with them and didn't think the smartwatch is worth the price for those features. Then people thought Apple would find a way to make smartwatch some worthy new category and waited for them to introduce one, and when it did, it was nothing different from other smartwatches, except the haptic feedback. Don't think I'll pay extra $$ just for that fancy vibration.

I love my iPhone & iPad, and am also planning to get my first MacBook pretty soon. I'd gladly pay $2k for MacBook because it's worth every single penny I pay for it. But the Watch? For those features above, telling temp and workout info, and giving notifications, $350 for base model (Series 1 is cheaper but that's basically the first gen watch with newer CPU) is way too expensive.
 
Channan said:
I don't like that particular band but I couldn't find a more realistic concept than that one and the bands are interchangeable anyway. I would buy an Apple Watch if it looked like that.

View attachment 681601

Still not as good looking as my Huawei Watch IMO but I'd still wear it.
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I like how you can customize the Watch face and it looks like an Omega!
 
thekeyring said:
Thinner, (by a hair) and an edge to edge display?
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They could want a better battery to allow more horsepower without reducing the battery life.
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No they will improve processor efficiency in order to do that. A larger battery isn't required unless they are adding cellular connectivity or some other new sensors
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Stella said:
2.5 days isn't everyone's idea of 'super good'. 5 days and I'll be impressed.

If this rumour is true then Apple obviously think battery life is a problem for potential buyers who are holding off.

A price drop would be nice too. Couldn't justify this existing price just for a watch.
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price drop would be great. Why though would you need 5 day battery life on a device that works with your phone which you are totally fine with charging every day? I can't see anyone who owns the watch complaining about the battery life
 
AppleScruff1 said:
So Series 3 will be out before Series 2 is available in adequate supply?
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This is exactly why I don't believe this article. It doesn't make sense. Apple's last Watch release was 18 months apart from the first generation Watch and now its rumored in nine months from a new iteration Watch is arriving? This will be completely over lapping the Series1/2 Watch, factoring consumer exhaustion and perhaps fragmenting.

And I mentioned earlier Digitimes isn't necessarily accurate on many accounts. If the time frame was accurate, then next major overhauled Apple Watch would March 2018 with a new design, internal and external enhancements.
 
NamE_O said:
Yeah, the thing is, isn't that what every other company has been offering for a long time? All those features you've mentioned have been available before Apple even introduced the Watch, and people weren't so happy with them and didn't think the smartwatch is worth the price for those features. Then people thought Apple would find a way to make smartwatch some worthy new category and waited for them to introduce one, and when it did, it was nothing different from other smartwatches, except the haptic feedback. Don't think I'll pay extra $$ just for that fancy vibration.

I love my iPhone & iPad, and am also planning to get my first MacBook pretty soon. I'd gladly pay $2k for MacBook because it's worth every single penny I pay for it. But the Watch? For those features above, telling temp and workout info, and giving notifications, $350 for base model (Series 1 is cheaper but that's basically the first gen watch with newer CPU) is way too expensive.
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Think that all you like, the fact is that Apple absolutely owns the smartwatch category. All your claims that people don't find them useful or they aren't worth the price, is clearly false as they're selling far better than any other smartwatch on the market and have since they day they were introduced.

IDC-smartwatch-sales-Q2-2016.jpg


You may believe the features it offers aren't worth it, and they may not be for you. Myself and many others find that what the Apple Watch provides is well worth the price. It helps me get more done and pays for itself many times over.

Additionally, you don't realize that watches are far different than other technology. If it was simply about function then no watch in the world would cost more than a $5 Casio. Design and looks are a huge part of the appeal of a watch for many.
 
Relentless Power said:
This is exactly why I don't believe this article. It doesn't make sense. Apple's last Watch release was 18 months apart from the first generation Watch and now its rumored in nine months from a new iteration Watch is arriving? This will be completely over lapping the Series1/2 Watch, factoring consumer exhaustion and perhaps fragmenting.

And I mentioned earlier Digitimes isn't necessarily accurate on many accounts. If the time frame was accurate, then next major overhauled Apple Watch would March 2018 with a new design, internal and external enhancements.
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It really doesn't make sense. IMO, people aren't going to update the watch like they do their phone. If it is true, Apple is heading into uncharted waters and will confuse consumers.
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OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Think that all you like, the fact is that Apple absolutely owns the smartwatch category. All your claims that people don't find them useful or they aren't worth the price, is clearly false as they're selling far better than any other smartwatch on the market and have since they day they were introduced.

IDC-smartwatch-sales-Q2-2016.jpg


You may believe the features it offers aren't worth it, and they may not be for you. Myself and many others find that what the Apple Watch provides is well worth the price. It helps me get more done and pays for itself many times over.

Additionally, you don't realize that watches are far different than other technology. If it was simply about function then no watch in the world would cost more than a $5 Casio. Design and looks are a huge part of the appeal of a watch for many.
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3rd quarter smart watch sales are down over 50% from a year ago. It will be interesting to see what the next quarter brings.


https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41875116#
 
newdeal said:
No they will improve processor efficiency in order to do that. A larger battery isn't required unless they are adding cellular connectivity or some other new sensors
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price drop would be great. Why though would you need 5 day battery life on a device that works with your phone which you are totally fine with charging every day? I can't see anyone who owns the watch complaining about the battery life
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It's bad enough having to charge a phone everyday. I don't want to be charging a watch on a daily or two daily basis.

I'm quite happy with my existing wearable / watch that lasts for five days. I don't want a watch that goes lower.

additionally, on trips - would need to take more cables etc. All becomes a PITA.
 
I love my Watch but I won't be upgrading from my series 0 until we get some additional health sensors.
 
Fozziebear71 said:
Agreed. The insanity with Apple and the amount of products that aren't available to buy by walking in an Apple Store is baffling to me.
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That is if you believe this article. I'm fairly skeptical of it at this point. But the constraint right now for the Airpods and Series 2 are fairly tight. Especially the Airpods (Which I actually received early ironically.)
 
You need to look no further than complications to see that a circular shape makes no sense for an Apple Watch, let alone displaying text.

EDIT: Perfectly illustrated:

img_0305-jpg.681584
 
ErikGrim said:
You need to look no further than complications to see that a circular shape makes no sense for an Apple Watch, let alone displaying text.

EDIT: Perfectly illustrated:

img_0305-jpg.681584
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I never thought of it this was way. Unless Apple can incorporate some way of having the complications on the screen appear or be hidden when not use. Similar to the Gear S3 with the turn dial and accessing widgets/complications.
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Think that all you like, the fact is that Apple absolutely owns the smartwatch category. All your claims that people don't find them useful or they aren't worth the price, is clearly false as they're selling far better than any other smartwatch on the market and have since they day they were introduced.

IDC-smartwatch-sales-Q2-2016.jpg


You may believe the features it offers aren't worth it, and they may not be for you. Myself and many others find that what the Apple Watch provides is well worth the price. It helps me get more done and pays for itself many times over.

Additionally, you don't realize that watches are far different than other technology. If it was simply about function then no watch in the world would cost more than a $5 Casio. Design and looks are a huge part of the appeal of a watch for many.
Click to expand...
Uh, just letting you know but I'm already aware that Apple is by far selling the most units in the smartwatch industry and has the highest customer satisfaction. And I'm also aware that the number of smartwatch that companies including Apple are selling is far lower than what analysts had predicted.

A lot of people wanted the smartwatch to be the next iPhone, a revolutionary product that will change people's life style. Unfortunately, it's not. Just look at the iPhone, Apple sells 200M+ units a year today. Compared to that, the watch is selling a fraction of that, despite being much cheaper. That alone clearly shows there are many more people who think they don't need any smartwatch than those who think otherwise.

If the watch were a great product like iPhone and worth the bucks, then the number of the watch Apple is selling today will be much closer to that of the iPhones, especially considering its more affordable price.

As for design being a big part of the watch, I completely understand that and agree with you, but beautiful design isn't something essential, and more importantly, it's a subjective matter so I decided to put that aside.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
It really doesn't make sense. IMO, people aren't going to update the watch like they do their phone. If it is true, Apple is heading into uncharted waters and will confuse consumers.
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And they won't update their Watch just with a battery life improvement or added health sensor with the same design. That's not enough to justify Apple's price tag on this. Unless Apple has More to offer other than what this article is listing, then count me out until The next major revamp with a complete redesign, larger screen and perhaps a round variant.
 
Would make sense the same Taiwan manufacture the third gen, otherwise it would though a spanner in the works.

Maybe the increased battery life would be more features, but if Apple keeps putting more features in the Apple watch and up the battery to take advantage of it, they'll never get past a day of charging.

I like to see just better battery, and no features
 
No new sensors, unlikely I'll buy. Battery is fine for me, speed could be somewhat improved, Siri really needs to be quicker. Size and form factor is fine but a bigger watch would be nice. One or two more iterations and the Watch 52 mm will start at $700..
 
NamE_O said:
Uh, just letting you know but I'm already aware that Apple is by far selling the most units in the smartwatch industry and has the highest customer satisfaction. And I'm also aware that the number of smartwatch that companies including Apple are selling is far lower than what analysts had predicted.

A lot of people wanted the smartwatch to be the next iPhone, a revolutionary product that will change people's life style. Unfortunately, it's not. Just look at the iPhone, Apple sells 200M+ units a year today. Compared to that, the watch is selling a fraction of that, despite being much cheaper. That alone clearly shows there are many more people who think they don't need any smartwatch than those who think otherwise.

If the watch were a great product like iPhone and worth the bucks, then the number of the watch Apple is selling today will be much closer to that of the iPhones, especially considering its more affordable price.

As for design being a big part of the watch, I completely understand that and agree with you, but beautiful design isn't something essential, and more importantly, it's a subjective matter so I decided to put that aside.
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No one believed the Apple Watch would be the next iPhone, including Apple. It's an add-on device that requires an iPhone to use. They understood that limitation. They don't market it as if everyone needs one in the way they do the iPhone. It's targeted at a specific audience rather than a general audience.

Again, you're making assumptions that because this product isn't on the wrists of everyone it's a failure. The fact is that they're doing very well with it and the Apple Watch has contributed to their earnings in a great way.
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AppleScruff1 said:
3rd quarter smart watch sales are down over 50% from a year ago. It will be interesting to see what the next quarter brings.


https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41875116#
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That it will. It's understandable that sales are down. Smart watches aren't something you upgrade every cycle like we see with phones, unless you have one of those low-end ones where the features added each time are a large jump and the price is low.

Smart watches are going to be much more like a car, where people upgrade every few years, than a phone where they upgrade yearly.

It's going to be much more about keeping ongoing sales happening, rather than year over year growth. If they can continue to get buyers (as they are now), things should be fine.
 
GrumpyMom said:
Anyway, in addition to making money on bands, they could be making some money on watch faces like they do for iMessage sticker packs. It would certainly make the Apple Watch more interesting.
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This is what I'm shocked has not occurred yet. They are missing out on a big market here for additional watch faces with for a small fee.

Just a little more customization, for a little personalization and flare.
 
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