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Wait, what? Kuo says 2018 Watches will be bigger??
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Yes, I expected that comeback, but look at the big picture...Not so as some iPads are larger.
The chassis has remained more or less the same, with the flat front and curved back, ever since it first launched. Thickness has varied and bezels were reduced at one point and there's a smaller variety and more recently also a larger one, but the overall shape has remained essentially unchanged throughout it all.Does the case of the apple watch really have to change for it to be 'new'? Going by ipad tradition, then no, not really. Tweaked perhaps, but staying essentially the same is okay too.
Actually, some high end mechanical watches usually have a larger display than 40 mm. If You look at the Apple Watch now, it’s not really that big with the 38/42 MM, even with the display increased in size that Ming Kuo is predicting, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the watch is going to be *That* much larger, just the display will be enlarged possibly through reduced bezels.
I think Apple would be foolish to change the band port. Yes, people might buy the watch and, yes, they might buy an extra strap or two but I doubt I’m alone in thinking that’d be it for me: a couple of straps at most rather than the dozen or so straps I’ve bought so far.
I reckon 3mm taller would be fine on me but I do have chunky wrists. Wider would be ugly on me, I think.
With the difference that I have not seen many bands priced at $50 and none at $689, of course...
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I agree with everything you’re saying, the only thing I want to iterate about this company, is that they’re not afraid to make the changes necessary for the advancement of hardware. They have proven this before with the deletion of the 3.5 mm Jack, the transition from the 30 pin connector to lightning, etc. But I doubt that will happen for Series 4.
I was thinking about the straps vs phone cases thing earlier: I’ve bought more than a dozen Apple Watch straps and in nine years of iPhone use I’ve bought, I think, two Apple phone cases (one of which is for my current phone but I haven’t actually used the case in ages). I know Apple will change the connector as and when they think there’s a better solution but I do think the comparison with phone cases isn’t an option specially useful one.
Glad that I bought a S3 when I did. I have small wrists so the bigger display would look tacky on me.
I am 100% certain the bands of this most recent redesign will be compatible with previous models. No doubt in my mind on that one. First because they probably wouldn't have invested so much in all the bands and marketing just to axe compatible soon after. Second, tying into the first, it's only a slight redesign, so it would take some very inefficient designing to make them incompatible. The overall dimensions will likely be pretty much the same. Now I could see them killing compatibility with a more extensive redesign, which I'd expect maybe 3 years from now.
Both rumors actually point to just a screen bezel decrease, and not the case itself getting larger. It says in the portion you quoted above: "Rumors have not been clear on whether the Apple Watch itself will be larger or if the bigger display will come from a reduction in bezels."
I absolutely think it has to change in order for it to feel significantly new for people. I personally think the iPad design changed quite a bit. It went from an iPhone 5-like design, with the chambered edges, to one of an iPhone 6-like design. I think it's harder to redesign a watch, but the design right now is so damn round (rounded square) that anything less rounded would look significantly different.
Both rumors actually point to just a screen bezel decrease, and not the case itself getting larger. It says in the portion you quoted above: "Rumors have not been clear on whether the Apple Watch itself will be larger or if the bigger display will come from a reduction in bezels."
Yes, I expected that comeback, but look at the big picture...
Does the case of the apple watch really have to change for it to be 'new'? Going by ipad tradition, then no, not really. Tweaked perhaps, but staying essentially the same is okay too.
I absolutely think it has to change in order for it to feel significantly new for people. I personally think the iPad design changed quite a bit. It went from an iPhone 5-like design, with the chambered edges, to one of an iPhone 6-like design. I think it's harder to redesign a watch, but the design right now is so damn round (rounded square) that anything less rounded would look significantly different.
That was my thought reading through the forum here, if there's this much excitement about the 40+ or whatever bands you have that fit your S3 watch, then why buy the S4? No one is forcing people to buy the "new" watch, but everytime there's a new release of anything Apple, when I go by the Apple store, there's a crowd outside that rivals a Wal-Mart on Black Friday.
Personally, if the one I have works, and I like it, I can't see dropping another $300+ on something that is simply "new" and has some "needed" feature I'll use for probably 5 minutes, and then forget.
Just my 2c worth..
Your mileage may vary.
I’m not interested in how the watch looks. It needs to add features that I’d find beneficial. I was using my series 0 from launch day up until December last year. I only upgraded to the series 3 because the watch was really slow and the battery couldn’t even last half a day anymore. Otherwise I see the watch as an accessory to my phone and therefore it doesn’t need to be upgraded every year.That was my thought reading through the forum here, if there's this much excitement about the 40+ or whatever bands you have that fit your S3 watch, then why buy the S4? No one is forcing people to buy the "new" watch, but everytime there's a new release of anything Apple, when I go by the Apple store, there's a crowd outside that rivals a Wal-Mart on Black Friday.
Personally, if the one I have works, and I like it, I can't see dropping another $300+ on something that is simply "new" and has some "needed" feature I'll use for probably 5 minutes, and then forget.
Just my 2c worth..
Agreed. But you find a lot of threads about the watch and the phone on how it's looked the same for x many years. Look for all the complaints when the iPhones 6 to 8 all look the same. Well Duh, it's a slab of glass. The size is actually pretty spot on as a middle ground of practicability and usability.
Some with the watch. I'd love a larger display. But the form factor is really good. I will likely be updating my S0 this fall. I'd love to get the S4, but if it gets physically larger, I'll go with the S3.
Oddly enough, "looking the same for x many years" hasn't hurt the Rolex watch all that much.. Or Tag Heuer, or Omega, or....
No. Because products become stagnant overtime and it’s expected that as they mature with software and hardware improvements, come aesthetic refinement. Consumers generally don’t want to purchase the same thing that looks the same year after year, it’s progressive where you make improvements to the display, perhaps making it thinner, additional colors, additional metal casing options, etc. The Apple Watch is on the *same* three year design and it’s time for some hardware tweaking.
And for the record, I don’t know anybody that’s been ‘impressed’ with smart watch on somebody’s wrist, its ubiquitous. It’s not like it’s some nice, rare mechanical watch.
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You must be new around here. The iPhone 11 could bend time-space, but if it's the same forma factor as the 6, 6s, 7 and 8, Apple will be crucified.
I want a larger display on my next watch. that can be achieved within the same case with smaller bezel. And I'll be more than fine with that.
I want a larger display on my next watch. that can be achieved within the same case with smaller bezel. And I'll be more than fine with that.
Call me dumb, but even the Apple page references the current sizes (38mm / 42mm) under the display when you scroll through the technical specifications pages. But I do see the references to the height on the "Buy" page, but those are more precise (38.6mm / 42.5mm). So if Kuo is suggesting a bump from those sizes, would it not be the display size? Or why would it not provide the more specific sizes. Additionally, typical numbering standards would round those up to 39mm / 43mm. All of this is entirely speculative, obviously.