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Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

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Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#211

Post by scarface74 »

vbezhenar wrote: post #128
nickbauman wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree on all counts. It's very hard to put time horizons on anything. But I started wearing a Series 3 watch (3 generations old now) when I started a project my client in 2019 insisted I wear it as I was writing code that utilized HealthKit data from the Apple Watch. Check my past posts I'm NOT an Apple fan boi at all. But compared to the competition, there's nothing coming close to the integration and the UX out the…

Apple Watch might be the best smartwatches but for me the concept or smartwatch is still novel and I'm not sure if I want to switch. I wear ordinary watches and they're good enough for me. The only killer feature that I need is waking me up in a smart way (monitoring sleep phases and boozing on my hand between 08:00 - 09:00, for example) but Apple Watch does not have that feature. Other features are just not interest…

The reasons for a cellular Apple Watch.

For myself:

- Running without my phone. I can still track my speed, make phone calls and listen to streaming music and podcasts. I can even leave my wallet at home and stop by a convenience store that accepts Apple Pay.

- During the Before Times when I went to the gym (I have a home gym now), I hated carrying my phone around. With my watch, I didn’t have too.

- Even now when I am working out at home, I keep my phone in another room and just have my watch on to measure my heart rate while I’m working out and even control my AppleTV. If I do get a call, I can answer it.

- I was horrible controlling my “screen time” and would pull my phone out when I was with other people. Now, anytime I am suppose to be socializing, I leave my phone in the car. I can still be contacted. I ignore all phone calls though except from my wife, kids, or parents.

My wife:

- women often wear clothes without pockets or shallow pockets. She will often leave her phone in the car and just walk around with her watch and her AirPods on a key chain.

- she has a working hobby as a fitness instructor. It’s online and outside these days. She has her iPhone connected to her sound system and uses her watch to control the music.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#212

Post by scarface74 »

mcny wrote: post #75
nickbauman wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree on all counts. It's very hard to put time horizons on anything. But I started wearing a Series 3 watch (3 generations old now) when I started a project my client in 2019 insisted I wear it as I was writing code that utilized HealthKit data from the Apple Watch. Check my past posts I'm NOT an Apple fan boi at all. But compared to the competition, there's nothing coming close to the integration and the UX out the…

The only real complaint I have is 8GB is not enough storage to update watch os. But there is praise in the complaint: you can update it at all.

That is horrible. I am glad I bought the 16GB cellular version. I would have bought it just for the extra storage even without cellular.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#213

Post by airpoint »

nradov wrote: post #175
snowwrestler wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So who are the most capable competitors to Apple in wearables? Among my friends and colleagues, those who don’t buy Apple Watch often buy Garmin watches instead. In the area of fitness tracking watches, Garmin seems to be serious competition. It’s missing the full app ecosystem of Apple Watch but I think you can send messages and email to some Garmin watches over 4G, for example.

Garmin is now #2 in smartwatch market share. Fitness tracking features are generally superior to Apple but there are few useful 3rd-party apps. Currently only one Garmin watch has some limited LTE support so they generally need a smartphone Bluetooth connection for messages. Rumors say they'll be launching additional LTE models soon.

> Garmin … Fitness tracking features are generally superior to Apple

Superior how exactly?

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#214

Post by nradov »

airpoint wrote: post #213
nradov wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Garmin is now #2 in smartwatch market share. Fitness tracking features are generally superior to Apple but there are few useful 3rd-party apps. Currently only one Garmin watch has some limited LTE support so they generally need a smartphone Bluetooth connection for messages. Rumors say they'll be launching additional LTE models soon.

> Garmin … Fitness tracking features are generally superior to Apple Superior how exactly?

More physical buttons. Longer battery life. Displays that are clear in direct sunlight. ANT+ sensor connectivity. Data syncing and extended display with bike computers. More different sports, including multisport activities with transitions. Complex structured workouts. Multiple types of configurable alerts. Pacing targets based on a course elevation profile. Daily suggested workouts. Detailed online analytics. The list goes on and on.

If you count the fitness trackers worn by the top finishers in any sort of endurance sports race you won't see many Apple watches. There's a reason for that.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#215

Post by rowanG077 »

whynotminot wrote: post #195
smoldesu wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you expanded the scope to "Apple's software", which includes MacOS. You could have said "Apple Watch hardware drives WatchOS" if you wanted to talk about the Apple Watch, but it sounded to me like you were addressing Apple, not their watch.

You're grasping. I've been very clearly talking about the Apple Watch this entire time. Read my posts. You're the one going down blue bubble rabbit holes. Though since you're adamant on expanding the scope here, I do believe Apple Silicon has long been driving their software advantage in not just the Watch, but all their mobile offerings. And now going forward, with the arrival of the M1, we're starting to see simila…

I don't think he is grasping... You quite clearly indicated the entirety of Apple in the comment. If you did not mean to do this you should have written the Apple watch specifically. It's not like the comment would have been any longer.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#216

Post by GcVmvNhBsU »

amatecha wrote: post #197
usaphp wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> can switch the currently-playing song with my watch without having to look at it Why would you need to look at your watch? If you are listening to music on your Apple Watch - you are probably using headphones, all of which have next/prev buttons or gestures.

driving in my car and listening to music playing from my phone via bluetooth :)

Can you not use the button on your steering wheel in that scenario?

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#217

Post by burnte »

D13Fd wrote: post #101
burnte wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole article is viewing things through some heavily tinted glasses. 1. Apple was early - Nope, Apple came late to the party, years after first movers were there. 2. Voice computing distraction - Again, nope. Amazon Echo devices and Google Home devices are HUGE. Headphones and earbugs come with Alexa and google Assistant integration. Apple tries with Siri but it's consistently far behind Amazon and Google there.…

I was with you until #5. The Apple Watch is very useful. That’s why people keep buying it. It’s nice to get notifications on your wrist if you don’t have your phone out 100% of the time. The alarms are silent and dead simple to set, and it can function as your wake up alarm in the morning, and sync with your phone as a backup alarm. It lets you unlock your phone while wearing a mask. It lets you pay for things instan…

Just to be clear, I'm not saying they have no use, I'm saying I can't find a use for them. I just want to be very clear I'm saying me personally and not others.

Wrist notifications are kinda nice, yes, but I almost never don't have my phone. I've also had one broken screen in 11 years of carrying Android phones, so I'm not the typical user. Always having it with me kills most of the utility of the watch for me, I think.

I also use finger unlock, because I'm Android. I don't use face unlock even though it's available because I think finger is far superior, to the point I won't buy a phone that doesn't have it. I skipped th ePixel 4 totally because of the lack of fingerprint. If the Pixel 6 has no fingerprint, then I'll skip that too.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#219

Post by malwarebytess »

D13Fd wrote: post #106
CharlesW wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I agree that the EKG & O2 level features are pretty much a gimmick. But the watch generally is an exceptional piece of technology. They are until they aren't, you know? https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-watch-lifesaving-health-feat...

None of those people were saved by the EKG or O2 features (other than that one person noticed a slow heartbeat while playing with the EKG feature). They are talking about the "fall detection feature, heart rate notifications, exercise tracking and even the ability to make a call from your wrist."

You didn't read far enough.

The article includes a story on the watch detecting Atrial fibrillation. Presumably this used the EKG feature, since an EKG is the standard clinical tool for diagnosis of AFib.

Re: Apple has a decade-long lead in wearables

#220

Post by fomine3 »

scarface74 wrote: post #206
snowwrestler wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of, but among the largest tech companies, Apple uniquely runs most of its revenue through the hardware category, and gets a lot of revenue from China. Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook all use hardware from China, but most of their revenue comes through software interactions. Google does not officially even operate in China. Amazon has a limited corporate footprint in China. I think it’s reasonable…

What happens to their services if they can’t procure hardware?

Services could be sold to existing customer with existing hardware at a moment.
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