I 100% agree. If I wanted to count my steps I'd buy a $1 pedometer. Why spend $350 on an ugly, bulky Apple Watch to tell me the same thing?
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For one thing, the Montblanc is a real luxury timepiece. I can't help but think the Apple Watch is just an expensive and kitchy gadget. We'll see but I don't think the luxury high-end timepiece manufacturers have anything to worry about. Apple's trying to tap the luxury fashion timepiece market--a market that they have zero experience competing in. I can see the Apple watch perhaps being useful for health reasons and for working out, but beyond that it has no appeal to me at least.
I'm not sure why you turn my statement to make it seem like smth you agree with because I was definitely not in agreement with what you had previously said. Further, i call bs on your pedometer statement as it vastly understates the health aspect of the Watch and makes it seem like those that would prefer an exquisitely complicated and expensive mechanical timepiece would be satisfied with an inintricate bubble gum machine quality pedometer.
What I do agree with are your thoughts about Apple not necessarily being a huge risk to the top tier brands or models. I think there is a bifurcated market, where models north of 10k$ will see little effect on their sales. But south of that figure, and fashion creds be damned, If Apple reveals a good product, Apple will hoover up large swaths of other watchmakers customer base.
I'd say that in the range between 100$ and 5k$ It is apple's game to lose. Between 5 and 10k$ The Watch will have decreasing penetration, but given that the sweet spot of volume and profit is probably between 350$ and 7500$, Apple is very well positioned.
Anybody with product in the range between 100$ and 10k$ will feel the erosion of their sales numbers and better be prepared for the consequences of this (margin erosion, volume and turnover loss, restructuring and up to market exit or merger for others - after Watch, this industry won't be nearly the same.)
The incumbent watchmakers who will begin to really push themes like "real luxury", "tradition", "true fashion", "heritage", "artesian", "Swiss", etc., will find these won't stand up quite as well as in the past when customers see the new kids product as offering "utility", "information", "global interface", "fun", "personality" and eliminate the need of fishing ones phone out of ones pocket to take a call or check an appointment or review a map.
As I think on it further, I also see that the Watch will offer exceptional utility to high net worth individuals who can actually afford much more than an expensive showiff watch. These are the folks that will easily afford the IoE universe of connected home devices and no luxury watch seems likely to offer wrist mounted connectivity to those devices.
And as for having to charge an Watch on a daily basis? Much ado about nothing. I don't recall ever not taking off my Omega before bed and then not putting it back on until after my morning shower. That line of rhetorical defense reminds me of how publishers tried to stem the tide of books by promoting the meme of "I like the feel of paper in my hands" (LoL).
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Are you kidding ? The concept has not changed , the hardware has.
Pick up the original iPad and the air . You might be shocked . Browse a few pages, you might be shocked.
This thing could evolve to be very thin with an excellent screen. Not everyone one has a war chest like apple to refine thier products before launch. Guess they are just testing the waters.
Although generals have to go to war with the army they have, all MB will accomplish by launching a half-baked response to Watch will be to improve the appearance of the competition in the minds of its own customers.
