Some people will always prefer books but it is hard to find a bookstore anymore. This analogy doesn't bode well for the popularity or longevity of traditional watches.
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The Other Obsolete Jewelery Thread: Will the Apple Watch Kill the Classic Watch?
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Some people will always prefer books but it is hard to find a bookstore anymore. This analogy doesn't bode well for the popularity or longevity of traditional watches.
Depends where in the world. In places like Japan, people still prefer physical books to e books and so book stores can be found everywhere. In the UK, people also prefer physical books in general but people tend to buy online from places like Amazon and hence no physical book stores.
Why are we digging up this thread from three months ago, before pre-orders were even live?
Why not? I think this topic is at least as interesting as many others started more recently.
I think that the the classic watch was already a dead man walking. I believe that few Millennials own a watch. And, the number of Gen X watch wearers was waning fast. Remember the Swatch? That was the last hurrah for traditional watch popularity. The only potential old watch customers are legacy geezers-- hobbyists, older Gen X, and Baby Boomers.
Kill? No.
It's a matter of scale.
The automobile didn't kill the horse.
Rich people still buy them (race horses, and maybe some for their little girls before they get interested in boys). But as a percentage of the urban population, the number now rounds to zero +- a tiny fraction.
So expensive mechanical stuff won't be killed. But perhaps instead just relegated to an far more obscure and smaller niche.
There are people who own nice Swiss automatics, but haven't worn them since getting their 1st Apple Watch. That's not a good sign for the size of future classic watch revenues.
It's a matter of scale.
The automobile didn't kill the horse.
Rich people still buy them (race horses, and maybe some for their little girls before they get interested in boys). But as a percentage of the urban population, the number now rounds to zero +- a tiny fraction.
So expensive mechanical stuff won't be killed. But perhaps instead just relegated to an far more obscure and smaller niche.
There are people who own nice Swiss automatics, but haven't worn them since getting their 1st Apple Watch. That's not a good sign for the size of future classic watch revenues.
Horses still outnumber Apple Watches in the USA though.
I think it's still way too early to say how much damage the Apple Watch is going to do to the traditional watch market. I'm not seeing a lot of interest outside the nerd universe and I still haven't managed to see one out in the wild. Also it's a first gen product with a just a single basic design so there isn't an alternative choice if you are not a fan of the looks of the current watch, which is one of the things putting me off.
Give it a few years on the market with a couple of upgrades and hopefully some new designs and I think we'll have more of an idea.
Nonsense.
In 2014, 50% of UK book sales (by value) were offline, with 38% of total UK book sales and 46% of print format sales (both by value) made via bookshops.
Source: Nielsen / The Booksellers Association
http://www.booksellers.org.uk/BookS...K-Book-Sales-Source-of-Purchase-2009-2014.pdf
Every source will tell you something different. No survey or source can give you an exact picture. They are samples which can be completely inaccurate.
The digital watch didn't kill off the mechanical watch and neither will the Apple Watch. Just as the car didn't kill off the bicycle, television didn't kill the cinema and so on.
There will always be a market for mechanical watches, some people have no interest in anything but a mechanical, never will. Some people will want to own both so they can interchange depending on the occasion. Some things are just, pardon the pun, timeless.
I don't doubt that eventually the smart watch will have an impact on the traditional watch market, but there's plenty of room for both to exist.
There will always be a market for mechanical watches, some people have no interest in anything but a mechanical, never will. Some people will want to own both so they can interchange depending on the occasion. Some things are just, pardon the pun, timeless.
I don't doubt that eventually the smart watch will have an impact on the traditional watch market, but there's plenty of room for both to exist.
Your source (a sample of one / yourself) is certainly completely inaccurate, as is your assertion ("hence no physical book stores").
Nielsen Market Research, on the other hand, runs a continuous survey that collects data from 3,000 book buyers each month.
I'm inclined to believe that their picture of the UK book retailing market is broadly correct - and certainly far more accurate than yours.
Except they will. I won't buy another Rolex. You honestly don't think there are more mes out there?
Yes there are especially on this forum. But people on this forum are far from average consumers.
I believe the Apple Watch will kill a lot of watches in the middle to high-medium segment. There will always be people who prefer a Rolex over a smartwatch. Also the low-end watches will have a rather steady demand still, due to the popularity among youngsters and the working class with a lower income. However, since it’s a relative new product category it also partly depends on how the general public will feel towards this gadget. For people like us, it’s awesome. For people who find it too geeky, not so much. People will want to wear before it can become a bestseller. So yeah, it will definitely impact the watch industry. Within a year of five or so we can probably see how much damage it actually does.
EDIT: Here you can find an interesting read with a Harvard Business professor on this subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/f...les-smart-watch-affect-the-industry.html?_r=0
EDIT: Here you can find an interesting read with a Harvard Business professor on this subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/f...les-smart-watch-affect-the-industry.html?_r=0
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Yes, and no one buys newspapers anymore
I don't want to have to charge ANY watch every day. God, how much of a pain is that.
Battery life is king for me.
When we are at a week between charges I might start taking more notice.
Not that I actually have any use for one anyway
Not as many as you think. Certainly not enough to dent Rolex. But do you really believe that if the smart watch replaces every other kind of watch, that Apple will be the only watch on those wrists? As usual, Apple has redefined the marketplace, just like quart watches redefined the watch marketplace in the 70s. Whether or not 100% of the world eventually wears smart watches on their wrists or not for all they can do, do you really think Rolex won't adapt to that mew paradigm?
Take the watch off at bedtime and put it on the dresser or put it on the charger - not much difference really.
The only certainty I can speak of is that the traditional watch is all but doomed when it comes to my wrist.
The phone (and its ability to tell the time rather daisy) has and will continue to be the wrist watch's biggest undoing. I think it will take years and years for a smart watch to have a significant impact on traditional watch sales.
The phone (and its ability to tell the time rather daisy) has and will continue to be the wrist watch's biggest undoing. I think it will take years and years for a smart watch to have a significant impact on traditional watch sales.
Many current makers will not adapt and many of those will fail because of it (this will happen- I'm looking at you BlackBerry), but you're right that others will most certainly change with the times. They are smart enough and have to.
I still feel its never going to totally fly until a smart watch can be VERY useful on it's own.
No need to take your phone with you on the day out. Leave it at home and just wear the watch.
Ok, for some things it's not as easy to use, but it CAN do almost anything the phone can, including making calls if you REALLY needed to.
Once smart watches are like this, THEN I can see them gaining a LOT of ground.
Right now, as a phone accessory that's in your pocket anyway, it's still a minority product
No need to take your phone with you on the day out. Leave it at home and just wear the watch.
Ok, for some things it's not as easy to use, but it CAN do almost anything the phone can, including making calls if you REALLY needed to.
Once smart watches are like this, THEN I can see them gaining a LOT of ground.
Right now, as a phone accessory that's in your pocket anyway, it's still a minority product
It will have a profound impact on high end watches, just as the iPhone had a profound impact on Blackberry, and iPad did on laptops. The Apple Watch 1.0 is AWESOME, and it will only get better. When the functionality reaches its peak in 3 years, everyone will want one, just like they want smartphones.
Just an opinion......
Just an opinion......
But there are also still people like me that won't let go of Rolex and the like any time soon. I've bought 9 in the past 18 months and have no desire to stop acquiring them. And know several people like me. I do have an Apple watch as well, but don't see (as of the first generation) any reason to use it as anything but a workout device. I can't really do anything productive with it without the use of my iPhone anyway. So I'd much rather have a lot nicer looking watch on my wrist most of the time.