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Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

daringfireball.net

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Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#21

Post by pvarangot »

tlb wrote: post #3

The combination of solid gold and the obsolescence period of wearable electronics is uncharted territory.

Maybe they are going to offer hardware upgrades for the top tier models.

Luxury mechanical watches need service too, it's a very standard thing in the industry. Apple can offer a CPU/screen/sensor improvement every two years for about a thousand dollars for the luxury models and owners would pay it as they pay the water seal replacement for their Omegas and Rolexes... only Apple's margins are going to be sky high because it may be an easy thing done by a grunt in a tech service shop, and luxury brands have to send your watch to highly skilled engineers sometimes in another country.

EDIT: I posted before finishing the article, Gruber thinks Apple may upgrade the electronics too, but for "hundreds" of dollars.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#22

Post by freshyill »

51Cards wrote: post #20
tlb wrote: post #3

The combination of solid gold and the obsolescence period of wearable electronics is uncharted territory.

Agreed, I don't see any decent percentage of even the high end market investing that much in a watch that will be largely obsolete in 2 years tops. You buy a Rolex to have it for years and pass it down. A $5000 watch that no one will want in 2 years is not a wise investment.

Even if the electronics are obsolete, you've still got a chunk of gold hanging off your wrist. Gruber mentions this, and raises the possibility of trade-ins. They do it with phones, and it makes sense for watches made of solid gold.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#24

Post by freshyill »

DannyBee wrote: post #16
jkubicek wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought he was pretty clear when he said > If it actually doesn’t do much more, or allow much more, than what they demonstrated on stage last week, I am indeed going to be deeply disappointed, and I’ll be concerned about the entire direction of the company as a whole. But I get the impression that they’ve only shown us the tip of the functional iceberg, simply because they wanted to reveal the hardware — particular…

"He thinks Apple is holding some details close to the vest and he has a plausible reason for why. Say what you will about Gruber's Apple partisanship, but he's always been great at reading between the lines of Apple's publicity events." And he also thinks that no android wear device manufacturer is doing the same, for no plausible reason. He's basically saying "apple has secret plans, they are awesome" and "Nobody el…

AND he says that if it turns out Apple doesn't have secret plans, then he will indeed be very disappointed.

Everybody else's watches are shipping. If they've got secret plans, they should probably get around to revealing them.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#25

Post by pinkyand »

tlipeep wrote: post #9
jkubicek wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought he was pretty clear when he said > If it actually doesn’t do much more, or allow much more, than what they demonstrated on stage last week, I am indeed going to be deeply disappointed, and I’ll be concerned about the entire direction of the company as a whole. But I get the impression that they’ve only shown us the tip of the functional iceberg, simply because they wanted to reveal the hardware — particular…

That's wishful thinking from Gruber so he can withhold judgement/criticism. Apple clearly demonstrated the fundamental functionality of their Watch and the hardware does determine the software — they have a hardware button dedicated to one particular feature ffs. Any additional functionality via WatchKit will at best be supplemental. It'd take a while for iOS developers to get to grips with the new paradigm. Furtherm…

> AndroidWear OEMs are iterating faster with a wider range of options.

That's the critical point.Both ecosystems are starting from a similar point. AndroidWear is iterating faster. And since watch apps are probably much simpler to build than phone apps, we'll probably won't see a big difference between the app ecosystems. And there's probably little that can be patent protected.

Probably the only difference would be that your phone will determine which watch you'll use. But the watches will pretty much be the same.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#26

Post by w1ntermute »

tlipeep wrote: post #4

Gruber bends over backwards and twists himself in knots trying to explain why he isn't disappointed after considering the expectations he set before the event. I don't see anything different in the AppleWatch functionality compared to what he criticized Android Wear for earlier this year

I honestly don't understand why Daring Fireball hasn't been banned on HN. Gruber is just an Apple shill.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#28

Post by Kylekramer »

My impression of Android Wear is that it’s best thought of as a wrist-worn terminal for your Android phone and for Google’s cloud-based services. An extension for your phone, not a sibling device. Android Wear devices are almost useless other than for telling time when out of Bluetooth range from your phone. I don’t think that’s a device that many people want; it’s a solution in search of a problem.

I don't see how the overall point doesn't equally apply to the Apple Watch. Playing music via Bluetooth only and an interface to a nascent payment system don't really change the fact this is still the iPhone's $350+ wrist buddy for the vast majority of its uses.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#29

Post by freshyill »

blainsmith wrote: post #5

And yet it is still square and ugly because of it.

I think it's time to get over the fact that it's not round. 99.99999% of the LCD screens in the world are rectangular.

Apple is trying to reinvent the watch, not the LCD. The Apple Watch is capable of so much more than a mechanical watch. Why would they needlessly adopt the limitations that would come with a round face?

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#30

Post by ossreality »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #17
drcode wrote: post #11

IT'S A F@#&ING KNOB! Just because you're Apple doesn't give you the right to call it a "digital crown".

As your comment rightfully deserves due to language and general non-contribution, you've been down-voted into oblivion. Nevertheless, educating the uninformed is a public service, so here goes: amongst professionals and connoisseurs in the watch industry, the "knob" is called a "crown", so they have every right to call it that; they didn't just make it up.

then don't capitalize it.
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