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No confirmation the battery will last 24 hours. Instead, an elastic "about a day," whatever that means.

Maybe future iterations will address current problems. But as currently constituted, this product is not compelling.
 

And the 1st Gen iPod wasn't that great and didn't really take off until one or two updates later. Plus the iPod was an improvement on an already existing and very successful product category of portable music players. The iWatch may end up being successful but that requires Apple convincing people that they need a smartwatch, and I'm not sure they can do that.
 
Same with the ipad, people didn't like it at first, and it didn't have many features, but the iWatch (in my opinion) seems like it could possibly be a 2nd gen device, other than no gps
 
No confirmation the battery will last 24 hours. Instead, an elastic "about a day," whatever that means.

Maybe future iterations will address current problems. But as currently constituted, this product is not compelling.


So, one has to have an iPhone to use it, and needs to be plugged in after a few hours and now along with that, one has to plug a darn watch in after a day. Not for me. No way. All these doohickies that need to be plugged in after just a few hours, and now more of them.

I have a flip phone that needs plugging in after about a week, and a watch that needs a new battery every few years. You guys can play that other game if you want. Silly :p
 
ALL of Apple's recent product have been total successes

I am sure lots of people are loving their iPhone 4C's.
 
I'm not a watch person at all, and can't fathom buying one simply because it's an Apple product, but I think the :apple:Wa will be a huge success. Do I think it will sell in the numbers of the iPhone or iPad? No. But neither do I think that it's something that will be relegated to a hobby-esque existence. My daughter is a cross country runner, and the potential for the watch to be used with tracking steps, distance, elevation change, heart rate, etc., is a HUGE thing for her. Like all things Apple, the first iteration won't be the final answer, but I think by the time two or three versions are released, it is going to be quite the useful gadget.
 
The serious problem with the Apple Watch is that its not independent of the iPhone. People do not want to have to carry around their iPhone to use the Watch as it defeats the purpose of the thing. There's little the Watch can offer that one can't do simply by taking their iphone out of their pocket. The Watch needs to fly solo before it has a chance to become popular.

My understanding is that there is a significant subset of functionality the watch will do independent of the phone, hence the idea of leaving your phone at home while you're going jogging, which is mentioned in the promo materials. What you will not have when you're away from phone is likely anything that needs to leverage WiFi or cell netowrking - Messages, email, payments, etc. But it will still tell time, track your activity, let you view the last-synced view of your calendar and reminders, and so on.
 
I think it's potentially great.
I don't think it's dressy enough to replace a nice michael kors watch (or insert other trendy favorite)...but I think it'll still be popular enough.
 
The serious problem with the Apple Watch is that its not independent of the iPhone. People do not want to have to carry around their iPhone to use the Watch as it defeats the purpose of the thing. There's little the Watch can offer that one can't do simply by taking their iphone out of their pocket. The Watch needs to fly solo before it has a chance to become popular.

Why would you even own a cell phone if you're not going to carry it around with you? And what is quicker: having to reach into your pocket, pull out your phone, and oriented to your face, or raising your wrist?
 
It's been a very long time since Apple put out a dog. They're due and I think this might be the one that barks. It'll be interesting to watch Cook spin the sales numbers on this thing next year.

But don't mind me. I once predicted nobody would ever pay $1 for water in a cheap plastic bottle.
 
It's been a very long time since Apple put out a dog. They're due and I think this might be the one that barks. It'll be interesting to watch Cook spin the sales numbers on this thing next year.

But don't mind me. I once predicted nobody would ever pay $1 for water in a cheap plastic bottle.

Oddly enough, between my iPods, iPhones, iPads and Macbook Airs, the Apple Watch could be the first time I buy one of their products in its first generation. Go figure.
 
The guys who predict failure are simply trying to get their article read.

The watch will be a huge hit, selling millions in the opening week and changing the way that people think about their watch.
 
I'm very skeptical about this product as well. It's certainly interesting, and has some appeal, but a lot of draw backs as well that have already been mentioned.

I don't think it's fair to compare the negativity to those who said the iPad would fail. I've been an Apple fan for many years and have been very excited about all their products. The iPhone was obviously the big one, largely because of the brilliant multi-touch implementation, and just the general feeling of "wow, this IS the future!". The iPad's appeal then, was obvious, as a large format touch screen offered tons of possibilities. I never doubted its success - I was genuinely shocked at the negativity after that announcement. This doesn't feel the same.

The Watch lacks such clear appeal and potential as the iPad. There are aspects that are cool, but again, those downsides. Notably it requires an iPhone 5 or 6 for most of its functions. The screen is necessarily small, but that limits its capabilities substantially. This is also, at least, one reason it makes some sense to tether it to a phone, but definitely limits the possibilities of what the Watch can be used for. The format itself is inherently limited. And for a device that mostly functions as an accessory, the high cost is problematic - it literally costs as much as a smartphone. I get that compared to normal watches it's not so bad - but normal watches aren't really popular these days.

The upsides are, basically you can do smartphone things without getting out your smartphone, kind of a controller for your phone. And fitness/health stuff. Call me crazy, but the fitness/health stuff is still pretty limited. I'm pretty into fitness and know others who are as well, and I don't think those features are substantial or useful enough to justify the cost to any fitness enthusiast. I'm an active dude and tracking how much time I spent standing, walking, or whatever just isn't useful. I already know I'm active enough, and besides tracking some cardio stuff, which tons of cheaper products already do, it offers little. The fitness stuff seems targeted squarely to those who aren't really into fitness.

So I don't know, this one is a wait and see for me. I think future product revisions will improve this quite a bit, but even then I don't know if it will ever be something I actually use a lot. With phones become thinner, lighter, and more capable every year, it seems more burdensome and unnecessary to have an accessory like the Watch. The sensors have potential, but are too bare bones ATM, in my opinion. It certainly is attractive, however, and they did a pretty good job with the various apps.

I still think Glass like devices are going to be the most successful wearable technology.
 
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Why would you even own a cell phone if you're not going to carry it around with you? And what is quicker: having to reach into your pocket, pull out your phone, and oriented to your face, or raising your wrist?

So you can look at your wrist, but the question then becomes do people still pull out their phone anyway because it's faster to type out a text when Siri gets it wrong? Do you pull out your phone to check a map because it isn't detailed enough on your watch? Do you pull out your phone to view a web link or picture or video someone sent you, because the watch screen is too small? How useful is the Watch, really, if people still pull out their phones most of the time, as I suspect they will?
 
Putting my marker down for future reference.

It's too clunky. Requires iPhone. Doesn't do anything that a pedometer/fitband can do. And women won't wear this brick on their wrists. They simply won't.

Suppose it does fail. Then what? What will you gain by it with this post?
 
FWIW I think the "cool factor" amongst kids will see it sell by the bucketload.

As an actual Watch, it won't win over many aficionado's (Collectors may invest in it) - it's just not Different or groundbreaking enough to warrant the price tag and short battery life.
 
Suppose it does fail. Then what? What will you gain by it with this post?

Adoration from the unwashed masses.

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It's been a very long time since Apple put out a dog. They're due and I think this might be the one that barks. It'll be interesting to watch Cook spin the sales numbers on this thing next year.

But don't mind me. I once predicted nobody would ever pay $1 for water in a cheap plastic bottle.

Every new product Apple has announced has been called a dog.

Check out this post from Horace Dediu about all the iPad naysayers. Gems like this:

“There could literally be millions of first-generation iPads gathering dust in people’s home offices already. This product is the tech industry’s biggest MacGuffin yet.”Paul Thurrott, Windows IT Pro, 23 October 2010

“The iPad is useless. Beautiful, but useless. The iPad is too heavy. It’s awkward to hold and view in public. It’s fragile. It requires expensive accessories to protect it and extract more functionality. ”Josh Belzman, MSNBC.com, 20 May 2010

“In short, I don’t get the ‘magical and revolutionary’ vibe that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs touted at the iPad’s January unveiling.” Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post, 9 April 2010

“I don’t get it. It costs $500 for the basic model, when you could get a laptop with a lot more functionality for about the same price. The iPad hype machine has been in full effect this week, and I still think it’s just that—hype. ” Alex Cook, Frontier Outlook, 3 April 2010

“I think I’ve mentioned this once or twice before, but it bears repeating until it sinks in: the Apple iPad is not unique, nor necessarily the best of breed in the media tablet sector it is spearheading. And it ain’t gonna help Apple shareholders any.’”Anders Bylund (TMF Zahrim), 11 March 2010
 
The serious problem with the Apple Watch is that its not independent of the iPhone. People do not want to have to carry around their iPhone to use the Watch as it defeats the purpose of the thing. There's little the Watch can offer that one can't do simply by taking their iphone out of their pocket. The Watch needs to fly solo before it has a chance to become popular.


Claim chowder material. See MacRumors reader's reaction to the original iPod.
 
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