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It needs a compass.

This device could be fantastic for walking/cycling navigation, but at the moment it fails because it doesn't know which direction you're facing. At other times (e.g. in the car), we have mounting brackets, consoles and HUDs so we can navigate without stopping and while paying attention to where we are. We don't have that for walking or cycling - it's place where a smartwatch (with compass!) is actually going to be the best solution.

And that's great - it would make navigating big cities (especially when travelling) much easier, as you can just glance and check you're on the right corner going the right way. It would also be great for cyclists of all kinds - it obviously has outdoors/cross-country uses, but it's also useful in the city for the same reasons as it is for pedestrians, except that it's more important in this case because you want people ideally to keep their hands on the bars or at least their eyes on the road for as much of the time as possible.
 
How many people are going to buy a new watch every year?

As almost everyone who wants an Apple Watch has bought one by now, I question the demand for a new one next year.

My current watch has lasted me for about 30 years and is still going strong. I trust that current Apple Watches will last their owners as long.

Just because Apple releases a new version, deosn't mean everyone has to upgrade.

I wish Apple would put this much focus into their computers.

You have an Hackintosh.

But but... Steve would never make a watch without 2 GB of RAM.

This thing needs a file system to be productive!

This toy needs a USB port!

If it can't run OS X and full apps then it's a failure of a watch!

Am I MacRumoring right?

And Flash support, otherwise "it isn't the full Internet"...
 
You see a trend on MacRumors. That's the first problem with your post. This site is faaaaaar from an Apple enthusiast site. It is nothing of the sort. People here will hate on anything.
Oh yeah? Well, screw you for saying that!!

I seem to remember that there was a good deal of skepticism about Jobs after his return. Even after the iPod came out he still had plenty of naysayers. Hell, even when the iPhone was announced there was negative talk about his performance in some quarters. He didn't become the icon we know today (well known by people outside of Mac rumor sites) until it became obvious that the iPhone was a game changer. There's no way anyone at Apple, including Tim can duplicate what he did. Apple can't come from behind in an unexpected fashion again. An Apple Car, for example, will be expected to change the auto industry, should they come out with one.
 
I really hope Apple adds utility and rethinks the price. I have only seen one in the wild, and current the Apple watch section in Apple stores is always dead. I think with some added functionality, I might be inclined to pick one up.. maybe..


I see a trend happening in Macrumors, people are becoming more critical of Tim Cook and skeptical of the path Apple is taking. If 2nd generation isn't a jaw dropper, then someone should get the boot!

More doom and gloom predictions. Apple has the best line-up of products ever going into their historically amazing holiday quarter, and they continue to break records every quarter. I'm sure Tim is polishing up his resume for fear that he's about to be booted.

The current Apple Watch has out-sold all the other smartwatches combined, and has extremely high user satisfaction (outside MacRumors).

You've never seen one in the wild? I went to a meeting in Paris last week and 3 other people at the meeting had an Apple Watch besides me. On the plane back home the guy sitting next to me had an Apple Watch. This past weekend, I went bowling with my family in NC, and the guy in the lane next to me had on an Apple Watch. I guess you may not be looking hard enough or something, or are not around people that are inclined to buy a smartwatch. I work from home, so don't get out that much and have seen all of these in my few outings over the last week.

As for the Apple Store, I don't think you can make any judgements about that. There are plenty of times I've been into the Apple store and various sections don't have people standing around. Sales numbers are what matters, and the watch is outselling the competition by a significant margin.
 
Cool! it's in need of an hardware update. looks like it wont need to be teather to the phone with wifi...perhaps go to some processing in the cloud??

video display would be nice perhaps I could hold it against my eye for a VR experience...iEye??

I wish they would put that recent patent to use and integrate the iRing trackpad...gotta use this thing with one hand!
 
How many people are going to buy a new watch every year?

As almost everyone who wants an Apple Watch has bought one by now, I question the demand for a new one next year.

My current watch has lasted me for about 30 years and is still going strong. I trust that current Apple Watches will last their owners as long.
Dunno about an Apple Watch, but I've bought about 7 watches so far this year. Not including the :apple:. ;)
 
I really hope Apple adds utility and rethinks the price. I have only seen one in the wild, and current the Apple watch section in Apple stores is always dead. I think with some added functionality, I might be inclined to pick one up.. maybe..


I see a trend happening in Macrumors, people are becoming more critical of Tim Cook and skeptical of the path Apple is taking. If 2nd generation isn't a jaw dropper, then someone should get the boot!

Hmmm....

revenue-q1-2015-6c.jpg
A perfect illustration of the problem! Financial RESULTS say nothing about where the company is going - only where it's been.

Apple is slowly sinking because they have no truly new ideas in the pipeline. And if anyone should know this, it's MacRumors readers!

"Hey, let's create a watch! How about an auto?" These products are so old and established we haven't even had to specify "wrist watch" or "automobile" for 30, 40, even 50 years or more! Talk about a lack of imagination. People had already conceived of Dick Tracy watches and self-driving cars when Tim Cook was a boy. Perhaps Apple should partner with Disney - at least they'd get a little farther!
 
Video calls on a watch is going to be a terrible user experience. Just try holding your wrist up in front of your face for 15 minutes and ask me if this is a feature you want to use numerous times a day, every day. Also as most "selfie" photo takers are all too aware of, taking a picture by placing a camera below your chin usually results in a horrible picture which is why most duck-lipped photos are taken holding the camera above the face. How many people are going to make one FaceTime call on their new watch and realize how horrible they look when they try to look down at their wrist with their double chins bulging out of their turtlenecks. Does this App make me look fat? FaceTime on an Apple Watch will.

If FaceTime is true, Apple is continuing to throw darts against a wall of providing umpteen half-assed features hoping to find something that will make the masses actually want to buy a smartwatch, but I don't think ANYBODY actually wants video conferencing on a watch. While most people are still thinking Dick Tracy style video/voice call features on a watch are going to make them want one and ditch their phones, common sense dictates that usually these concepts work well on a movie soundstage and rarely in real life. Personally I would rather not be in a reality where everyone is screaming into their wrists held perpendicular to their face.

A million useless features is what Apple Watch is turning out to be, FaceTime will be one million and one. It's not Apple's fault really, I just think most consumers don't want smartwatches in general because there is no real purpose to a jack of all trades device on your wrist that only does the kind of things well that a $100 health tracker already does.
I don't think tacking on more features and services on the watch is going to suddenly make consumers want something they have already decided in droves to avoid.
 
I hope you are right on this. I would hate for my watch investment to last so little.

It up to YOU how long your 'investment' lasts.

There have been 9 iPhones. I've only owned 3 of them.
2007 - iPhone... skipped iPhone 3G, 3GS
2010 - iPhone 4... skipped 4S, 5, 5S
2014 - iPhone 6... skipped 6S...

Most of the people I know are similar. Not very many people buy every phone.

2010 - iPad... skipped iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4
2014 - iPad Air... skipped iPad Air 2

Just be reasonable, I'll do the same with my Watch... probably won't upgrade for at least 3 years.
 
A perfect illustration of the problem! Financial RESULTS say nothing about where the company is going - only where it's been.

Apple is slowly sinking because they have no truly new ideas in the pipeline. And if anyone should know this, it's MacRumors readers!

"Hey, let's create a watch! How about an auto?" These products are so old and established we haven't even had to specify "wrist watch" or "automobile" for 30, 40, even 50 years or more! Talk about a lack of imagination. People had already conceived of Dick Tracy watches and self-driving cars when Tim Cook was a boy. Perhaps Apple should partner with Disney - at least they'd get a little farther!

And people wanted videophones that they could carry in their hands 70 years ago. And touchscreen computers that they could put in their pockets 50 years ago. And we had telephones for 100 years before the iPhone was invented. So what?

Just because a "technology" exists doesn't mean you can't improve it and change the game.

You probably scoffed at the iPhone in 2007.
 
I felt like looking at my watch for more than a few seconds looked awkward enough, are people really that excited to FaceTime on a watch?
 
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As almost everyone who wants an Apple Watch has bought one by now, I question the demand for a new one next year.

Wow, I had no idea that almost everyone that wants an Apple Watch already had one....
Thanks for that brilliant insight.
That's wild that you're the only person on the planet with this info!!!!!
Geez.... you should probably let Apple know asap, that way they can pull all their tv ads that are hyping it up for a holiday gift. You should let them know what a waste it is, since zero of them will be received this year as Christmas gifts.
You should let Target know too that they are wasting a monumental amount of time & money by dedicating shelf space to this product that no one wants.
Also... out of curiosity: can you please let me know who it was that funded your clearly exhaustive study that you launched to so boldly claim that you know something so counterintuitive to all the rest of us, who expect the product to continue outselling all other wearables for the foreseeable future?? Could you also please describe the techniques used in your study and their margin for error??

As an alternative: if you just made up some bs & made your ignorant statement, purporting it as fact because you really value your own opinion so much higher than everyone else's, or actual facts, just feel free to reply something like- "that study was done in my own mind; the only place that matters!" or something equally megalomaniacal to clear up for everyone whether they should actually give any credence to your post whatsoever...
 
How many people are going to buy a new watch every year?

As almost everyone who wants an Apple Watch has bought one by now, I question the demand for a new one next year.

My current watch has lasted me for about 30 years and is still going strong. I trust that current Apple Watches will last their owners as long.

I have an Apple Watch that I like but your point is very well made. It was a sizable investment and Apple is going to have to "Wow" me to get me to purchase another one within the next 3 years (about how long I expected to wear this one when I bought it).
 
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Since the Apple Watch was announced and "in the wild" in September 2014, if the Apple Watch 2 is release around September 2016, isn't that technically a 2-year cycle?

No. The original iPhone was announced in January and then released in June of the same year. Every iPhone afterwards was released in summer, up until it moved to Fall for the 2011 iPhone 4S. You wouldn't argue the iPhone was released on an 18-month cycle. Similarly, you shouldn't call this a 2-year cycle for the Apple Watch. The cycle is based on time between releases, not announcements. Apple makes the first announcement early because sooner or later, they're going to be leaked. With later generations, Apple can conceal them better by disguising them as older generations.
 
Please, please, PLEASE let the 2nd gen have built-in GPS and at least 8gb memory. If I can have a gps running tracking app and iPod in one (with BT earbuds), I will be one happy runner.
 
Either thinner or better battery life, and I'd trade up (eBay or gift the current BSW).

But a camera? Yuk. Don't want to be seen as another gl*ss-h*le, walking around with an attached camera.
 
I would bet a lot of money on it being waterproof. I'm developing a tennis app for the watch and came across this page, which lists all of the sports that developers can use to tag third-party workouts. As you can see, swimming, water polo, surfing, etc. are all on the list! :)
Very interesting!
 
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