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Obsolete in one year.

I'm not saying the band, but rather the watch itself. Apple's track record is that it drops support fairly quickly on products. Will iOS 11 still work with the first gen watch?

If I spend 500 dollars on a non smart watch, I'm pretty sure its going to last several years. Where as there's really no guarantee that we will have the same benefit with the apple watch.
 
I wanted to get everyone's thought on the pricing of the entry watch. It is just me, or does it seem that entry level pricing should include a band that is a higher grade than that of a Swatch band? O.K perhaps not a Swatch but the band seems a bit cheap considering that when you think of Apple, you think quality. Or am I just cranky from the time change? :eek:
 
maflynn said:
I'm not saying the band, but rather the watch itself. Apple's track record is that it drops support fairly quickly on products. Will iOS 11 still work with the first gen watch?

If I spend 500 dollars on a non smart watch, I'm pretty sure its going to last several years. Where as there's really no guarantee that we will have the same benefit with the apple watch.
Click to expand...

I'll say again, very little about this product is like anything Apple has done in the past. So looking to the past to determine the future of this product doesn't make sense to me.
 
Rogifan said:
I'll say again, very little about this product is like anything Apple has done in the past. So looking to the past to determine the future of this product doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

Perhaps not to you, but for me, it helps me make an informed decision. The cost of the watch is such that I want to make sure I use my limited resources wisely. I have concerns about how this watch will work in 3, 4, even 5 years.
 
Will I be pissed if the Apple Watch 2 is announced in a year's time? No, because I have been an Apple consumer for years and I know how Apple operates.

I will be pissed however if the $650 link bracelet for my SS Space Black isn't compatible with the Apple Watch 4 or 5 when I feel an upgrade is worth it.

But yeah, this is a totally new field for Apple so who knows what they will do. But I would be surprised if the bracelets aren't forwards compatible especially considering some people are paying thousands for the gold ones.
 
maflynn said:
Perhaps not to you, but for me, it helps me make an informed decision. The cost of the watch is such that I want to make sure I use my limited resources wisely. I have concerns about how this watch will work in 3, 4, even 5 years.
Click to expand...

But I don't think the past is necessarily doing that, at least not with this product. For me the price of this product (at least the SS and gold collections) informs me more than anything else. Apple might be greedy but I dont think they're that greedy. I have a very hard time believing Apple expects people to shell out $1K every year or two for a new watch. Too many people are treating this like an iPhone instead of a Mac or even an iPad.
 
I love the comparisons to the mechanical watch.
Lets face facts here: Other than where it sits and one function tells you the time, they are completely separate ideas.
Stop comparing it to your granddaddy's watch. No one back then thought the pocket watch was a good idea. why? because it did one thing that you really didnt need to know that precisely (at the time) for a boat load of money.
Yet they became popular and spawned wrist worn ones! wow!

This will follow a similar trend of 90% of the iphone users not wanting it, until a few of their early adopter friends tell them how useful it is and how many compliments they get, then all of a sudden gen 2 will be flying off the shelves.
 
The watch is going to be redefined as a health kit tool to help you stay healthy. I promise you that's the direction the watch is going because it's the only "Wearable" that makes sense to do that with. There's a need for that as well.

People look at tri-chorders and think wow if only we had that tech. Imagine that tech on your wrist at all times? Diagnosing, treating, and analyzing your health. Assisting in medical research is a huge plus.

slvrscoobie said:
I love the comparisons to the mechanical watch.
Lets face facts here: Other than where it sits and one function tells you the time, they are completely separate ideas.
Stop comparing it to your granddaddy's watch. No one back then thought the pocket watch was a good idea. why? because it did one thing that you really didnt need to know that precisely (at the time) for a boat load of money.
Yet they became popular and spawned wrist worn ones! wow!

This will follow a similar trend of 90% of the iphone users not wanting it, until a few of their early adopter friends tell them how useful it is and how many compliments they get, then all of a sudden gen 2 will be flying off the shelves.
Click to expand...
 
pragmatous said:
The watch is going to be redefined as a health kit tool to help you stay healthy. I promise you that's the direction the watch is going because it's the only "Wearable" that makes sense to do that with. There's a need for that as well.

People look at tri-chorders and think wow if only we had that tech. Imagine that tech on your wrist at all times? Diagnosing, treating, and analyzing your health. Assisting in medical research is a huge plus.
Click to expand...

Agreed. That medical research kit announcement wasn't included with the Apple watch announcement by accident. I imagine next year, or even later this year, research participants would start entering data through the watch. For example, let's say some researcher wants to track caffeine consumption. It's so much easier if all people need to do is tap their watch every time they have a cup of coffee.
 
rowdt1 said:
You were terribly wrong.
Click to expand...
No, we continue to not know if the watch is upgradable. Thanks for stopping by though.

Also, if you look at my posts, I said it was plausible but not guaranteed. I never said it was a definite.
 
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Apple watch ?

I like Apple products but I don't know if there will be a big demand for the watch in general, maybe Apple will kick start the demand for wearables like this.

On the top end watches will be very exclusive but as a watch collector as well I would prefer to spend this kind of money on a watch that will last generations and I can pass my watches on to my sons.

I tried a wear ble watch but didn't feel right and it was a pain to charge it every day.
 
Will the AppleWatch be obsolete in a year? Depends on the Apps that are created for the watch. We already know it's not a Fitness monitoring device
Apple is marketing this as a 'fashion' device as it's not a stand alone gadget but merely an accessory So remember when you buy it what it is
 
docprego said:
Obsolete: hardly.

Replaced by a newer model: guaranteed.

How is this different than any tech product? It comes with the territory and IMO does not represent a valid concern.
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Very true, although the expectation is when you spend 1k on a watch, it's something you can wear for a very long time. That's something you can get with other fine watches, and IMO is a valid concern when buying the Apple watch.

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maflynn said:
Perhaps not to you, but for me, it helps me make an informed decision. The cost of the watch is such that I want to make sure I use my limited resources wisely. I have concerns about how this watch will work in 3, 4, even 5 years.
Click to expand...

Exactly. As a nice watch, it really just isn't there. And I'm not seeing a whole lot on the tech side to make the purchase worth it. We'll see how that changes as developers work with it, but the UI (outside of the home screen/watch face) really didn't impress me. For example:

http://photos.reportinglive.com/p/2015-03-09/f1425924707.jpg

"re-
minder:"

...really?
 
Lotusman said:
$349, really?
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You didn't read the OP, did you? The OP was referring to spending $5k-$20k and how it should be like any other tech product. The reference was not to the base model.

However, I would still argue that cost is an issue if the watch is obsolete in a year. In reality, $349 will only be paid by a small minority. Most will at least buy a new strap, and since I would imagine that the vast majority of buyers will be male, especially for the Sport, you are realistically looking at spending well over $400 to get a 42mm :apple:Watch with an extra band. That is a hefty price tag for a device that does very little on it's own, and could be surpassed by a far superior product in a year. The other collections are an even worse proposition value-wise.
 
A better product being released is inevitable. A better product does not mean that the existing product is obsolete. Currently iPhones up to the 4S are support by iOS 8. Even if Apple releases a new watch every year, I doubt they expect everyone to upgrade every year, so they will continue to support the existing watches. The new watches may have new features, but that won't stop you from using all the features on your existing watch.

Eventually all of this tech will be obsolete. The question is can you get enough value out of it before you feel the need to upgrade? I see myself upgrading my watch about as often as I upgrade my iPad, every 2-3 generations. Whereas I like to upgrade my iPhone every year. But the use cases are different for each.
 
Some one that could afford a $17,000 watch can afford to buy a new watch every year. There are people that buy $500,000 watches without issues.

For that people buying a $17,000 watch is like buying a casio watch

About a Rolex it last hundred of years not 50 years
 
lke said:
About a Rolex it last hundred of years not 50 years
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To be fair, not with out a $600+ service every five years or so. If you bought a standard $8K Rolex today, and kept it in proper service condition, it'll cost you at least $20K over 100 years, and that assumes the cost of a service doesn't go up.
 
Obsolete, that's a definite no.

Stop worrying, I think the first watch won't be updated until the end of 2016 then annually after that, and it won't be leaps and bounds year by year. Remember it uses the iPhone for a lot of processing and such so technically, if you upgrade your phone, your watch gets an upgrade.
 
FrankySavvy said:
Obsolete, that's a definite no.

Stop worrying, I think the first watch won't be updated until the end of 2016 then annually after that, and it won't be leaps and bounds year by year. Remember it uses the iPhone for a lot of processing and such so technically, if you upgrade your phone, your watch gets an upgrade.
Click to expand...

Interesting way to look at it but I think the Watch is a product that Apple can make leaps and bounds better each year. It only takes one major feature/sensor addition each year.
 
MICHAELSD said:
Interesting way to look at it but I think the Watch is a product that Apple can make leaps and bounds better each year. It only takes one major feature/sensor addition each year.
Click to expand...

Apple can add all sorts of things to the next watches, but it doesn't diminish what the first watch can do. People who still have the 4S can use all the features of the 4S, even though they can't use Touch ID or Apple Pay. The existence of Touch ID and Apple Pay doesn't make the 4S obsolete, it just means that there are things the 4S can't do that other phones can. Same with the watch.

People get this attitude that as soon as the next gen of a device comes out, the previous gen is a paperweight. It's ridiculous.
 
Supermallet said:
Apple can add all sorts of things to the next watches, but it doesn't diminish what the first watch can do. People who still have the 4S can use all the features of the 4S, even though they can't use Touch ID or Apple Pay. The existence of Touch ID and Apple Pay doesn't make the 4S obsolete, it just means that there are things the 4S can't do that other phones can. Same with the watch.

People get this attitude that as soon as the next gen of a device comes out, the previous gen is a paperweight. It's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

It is ridiculous, but it's the way the market works. Frankly a large portion of the market doesn't care whether they have a 6 or a 3QSQ.

Nonetheless once I've tried a new generation of iPhone, the previous really does feel outdated in more ways than one. I couldn't happily go back from my 6 Plus to a 5S, and the Watch will likely be the same way for better or worse.

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FrankySavvy said:
I don't see a redesign for a couple of generations though
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It'll probably be redesigned within four years if not the two-year iPhone cycle but I am sure they have some major features ready to go for the next gen.
 
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