Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 275 posts

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#151

Post by Steko »

rayiner wrote: post #148
Steko wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May have done a poor job of communicating it above but I do think the watch is swell and useful and I'm big on wearables. But I also don't have a watch for reasons above and long term I'm even more skeptical of the form factor because I think that most of the utility can be replaced by other wearables, and some of those wearables are not replaceable while the watch is. As you mention, things like notes, daily calenda…

We're a long way from where it's acceptable to have a headset with a screen on in a business meeting. Meanwhile, during a meeting I can surreptitiously glance down at my watch to check when my next meeting or a email alert. It's a surprisingly good form factor, combining voice touch and a display in an accessory that's already socially acceptable to wear everywhere.

Apologies, I didn't mean a headset with a screen, should have been clearer. I just meant you can get notifications thru the headphones.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#152

Post by diogenescynic »

reitanqild wrote: post #133
epa wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one thing most people dont realize about why the iPod was popular was because it was actually the fastest device to transfer music to. At the time, music devices were using serial connections if you can believe that, and FireWire was the fastest thing on the market, only available with iPods. This, combined with having the most space (10gb vs 256 mb), combined with windows support on the third version, made the i…

At the time, music devices were using serial connections if you can believe that, and FireWire was the fastest thing on the market, only available with iPods. Can't remember that. Mine had usb, was available before iPod and the speed never bothered me.

I remember it. I had some Philips MP3 player and I remember the software being horrible and the transfers taking hours at a time. The first time I saw iTunes and an iPod I was sold. iTunes used to be pretty incredible at the time...

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#153

Post by rconti »

vlozko wrote: post #81

From my own experience and reading that of others, it's the device that no one can justify until they get one. Then it becomes the device that the vast majority love and some can't live without.

I dragged my heels on buying one for quite awhile. I didn't really "get" it, and didn't really see the use case. I liked wearing "normal" watches and didn't want a device that, if I liked it, would mean I could no longer wear a normal watch anymore. (or, worse, if I hated it, I wasted my money).

I used a friend's for a few minutes and was even LESS enamored with it. It felt freeing, "great, now I don't need to bother buying one!"

But then, something happened, and I stopped wearing watches regularly.

I had a business trip coming up, the Apple Watch 2 was still in limited supply, and I wanted a toy to play with. Went to the store, couldn't find one in the US. But I found the last one one at an Apple Store in Germany, bought it as an impulse buy, and haven't looked back. It's absolutely something you can live without. There is no killer app. But I just LIKE it, and it's useful every day. It replaced my Fitbits that keep dying. I use ApplePay on it which is amazing, I just wish it was supported more places. I use it for boarding passes. I use it for notifications. I use it to ack PagerDuty and Okta 2factor alerts for SSO and VPN.

I just think, because it's a new(ish) category, and it does many somewhat useful things but nothing you need, it doesn't drive people to lust after one. But once you have it, you really like it.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#154

Post by FireBeyond »

dangoor wrote: post #52
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #29

Overall I still regret buying my Generation 1. The hardware was just not ready (Neither was the software, but the updates have improved it quite a bit over the 1.0 disaster). I knew I'd be an early adopter, so some rough edges are to be expected. Even so I experience(d) the following: - Severe lag when triggering Siri - Slow mail updates, to the point where I pull my phone out of my pocket anyway - "This message cont…

As a counter point, I'm still using my first gen (not even Series 1!) Apple Watch after 2 years and it runs well enough for my uses. I would likely use Siri more if it was more responsive, but I use the notifications, Now Playing view, activity tracking and more all the time and it is really nice.

"runs well enough" for a device that is barely two years old and several hundred dollars, already obsoleted by the manufacturer, is hardly a ringing endorsement.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#155

Post by tw04 »

mortenjorck wrote: post #70
jychang wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a good example. The reason the iPod sold so poorly the first few years was because you can only sync them with Macs. Very few people owned Macs, so iPod sales were poor. It took iTunes for Windows to come out before things changed.

A major reason, yes, but not the only reason. Apple’s infamous “hell freezes over” announcement of iTunes for Windows came in October 2003. As you can see on the graph, sales didn’t really take off until 2005. So while lack of Windows compatibility was certainly an obstacle to the iPod's popularity, gaining it was not the single catalyst to its success.

That's because in 2003 it still required firewire which basically 0 PCs had. Furthermore 2005 was when they released significantly lower-priced models like the nano and shuffle.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#156

Post by atmosx »

Fezzik wrote: post #92
Steko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The jobs the watch will do aren't as clear cut as it was for the iPod. The iPod let you listen to music and carried lots of (or all of) your music and had software that made it easy to convert and manage your digital music and buy more over the internet. Those were things basically everyone wanted and it did that better than competitors. The watch? Well yeah it tells time, but it's worse at that then most watches and…

I think the health tracking features are the major differentiating feature for wearables. Fit people want to track their exercise and stay fit and the unfit (for the most part) want to get fit. These two groups are 99% of the population. And, as we're finding in the 21st century/age of plenty, fitness takes some work. This thread alone indicates wearable can be a big motivator for fitness. In addition, the health tra…

Fitness tracking is nice, but I believe that for 90% of runners is totally irrelevant. They have other, simpler metrics and work well. Those who want wearables buy specialized equipment (heart rate monitoring, etc.)

Add to all the above that an iPhone with an armband is just as easy to manage.

If the price drops by half, then it might become an interesting proposition, but till then, I don't see the watch as an iPod-like product and I am even considering buying one - I had a pebble before.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#157

Post by reitanqild »

diogenescynic wrote: post #152
reitanqild wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the time, music devices were using serial connections if you can believe that, and FireWire was the fastest thing on the market, only available with iPods. Can't remember that. Mine had usb, was available before iPod and the speed never bothered me.

I remember it. I had some Philips MP3 player and I remember the software being horrible and the transfers taking hours at a time. The first time I saw iTunes and an iPod I was sold. iTunes used to be pretty incredible at the time...

Ok. I remember my got-it-with-my laptop mp3 player and my brothers Creative something.

I'm sure both used USB. Mine was actually a glorified usb stick so I just plugged it into my computer.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#158

Post by nichochar »

dsacco wrote: post #145
Steko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The jobs the watch will do aren't as clear cut as it was for the iPod. The iPod let you listen to music and carried lots of (or all of) your music and had software that made it easy to convert and manage your digital music and buy more over the internet. Those were things basically everyone wanted and it did that better than competitors. The watch? Well yeah it tells time, but it's worse at that then most watches and…

I have a few points for you in response: 1. I'm what you'd call a "watch guy." In the time I have had the Apple Watch Series 2, I have barely used my mechanicals (including a Lange & Sohne and a Nomos Glashutte). The Apple Watch comes with me on all but the most formal/elegant occasions, and I now hate changing straps on my mechanical watches in comparison. The Apple Watch may not be as beautiful, but it is far more…

A "watch guy" is someone who likes real watches. You're just a "gadget guy"

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#159

Post by tigershark »

Steko wrote: post #83
mortenjorck wrote: post #28

I’ve been saying it all along: to understand the Apple Watch, look to the iPod. The first three years of iPod sales were minuscule compared to the following ten: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod_sales_per_qua... The two products occupy a very similar space of affordable luxury; they are not world-changing like the Mac or iPhone, but category-defining. Through gradual iteration and segmentation, Apple sl…

The jobs the watch will do aren't as clear cut as it was for the iPod. The iPod let you listen to music and carried lots of (or all of) your music and had software that made it easy to convert and manage your digital music and buy more over the internet. Those were things basically everyone wanted and it did that better than competitors. The watch? Well yeah it tells time, but it's worse at that then most watches and…

Why only in Tokyo? In London you can use Apple Pay pretty much everywhere, even in the small food stalls on the street or to enter the underground. I have seen pretty much the same in Australia, and I guess that in a lot of places in the world is no different. EDIT: And actually last time that I went in Japan it was still pretty difficult to even use credit cards, so I won't bet on a pervasive use of Apple Pay there.

Re: Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

#160

Post by oh_sigh »

nichochar wrote: post #158
dsacco wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a few points for you in response: 1. I'm what you'd call a "watch guy." In the time I have had the Apple Watch Series 2, I have barely used my mechanicals (including a Lange & Sohne and a Nomos Glashutte). The Apple Watch comes with me on all but the most formal/elegant occasions, and I now hate changing straps on my mechanical watches in comparison. The Apple Watch may not be as beautiful, but it is far more…

A "watch guy" is someone who likes real watches. You're just a "gadget guy"

Considering he references "my mechanicals" in the very first point of his post, I would guess that he is both a "gadget guy" and a "watch guy".
Post reply on HN