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Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year

techcrunch.com

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

#261

Post by joshontheweb »

capkutay wrote: post #19
CydeWeys wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Them being dumb watches is the appeal though. A good "dumb" watch will last decades. An Apple Watch is obsolete after, what, two years? I wear a battery-powered analog quartz dumb watch on my wrist and I love it. I change the battery every couple years and that's it. It tells perfectly accurate time (way more accurate than a mechanical watch costing orders of magnitude more) and will never be obsolete.

I think an obsolete apple watch will still be able to at least mirror the functionality of any 'dumb' watch.

At this point they don't look anywhere near as good though.

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

#262

Post by photojosh »

Lio wrote: post #178
Fezzik wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This probably fits with the iPod narrative but for me the current Apple Watches just aren't good enough for sports use. What do I mean? Well specifically they lack ANT+ support so they won't work sensors I already own. E.g. Cycling power meters, heart rate monitors, electronic groupsets, etc. Some of those I could replace cheaply with Bluetooth alternatives but not all of them. In the future I'd like to look at thing…

The lack of ANT+ is bad, but it's not the end of the world. Of the sensors I have currently (HRM, power meter, Stryd, speed sensor), the only one that doesn't have Bluetooth LE is the speed sensor. I note the electronic groupsets as an issue though.

The next WatchOS update will also add the ability to connect to 2 Bluetooth LE devices directly, rather than requiring the phone to do so. (Not sure if this is on top of the existing support for an external HRM or not.)

IMHO what's lacking is purely apps. For someone used to a Garmin or similar, the built-in workout tracking is a joke, and you don't get any useful exports or imports.

If there was a decent app that could give me data screens and a GPX file when done (and auto-upload to Strava probably), I'd use it for 4/5 of my runs/rides and just bring out the Garmin (920XT here) for the longer workouts where battery life is an issue.

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

#263

Post by photojosh »

nradov wrote: post #244
Lio wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This probably fits with the iPod narrative but for me the current Apple Watches just aren't good enough for sports use. What do I mean? Well specifically they lack ANT+ support so they won't work sensors I already own. E.g. Cycling power meters, heart rate monitors, electronic groupsets, etc. Some of those I could replace cheaply with Bluetooth alternatives but not all of them. In the future I'd like to look at thing…

I've been using the latest Garmin Forerunner 935 for a couple months and so far it's been reliable. We'll see how long it lasts. But realistically I think we're going to have to consider wearable devices as disposable after a few years.

Like with other tech, they tend to keep on working just fine, but you want to replace them because the new model has better features.

I upgraded from the 910 to the 920 to get the Bluetooth upload. That said, I'm not particularly tempted by the 935 over the 920, and I know people still using the 310XT which was released in 2009...

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

#264

Post by photojosh »

kelnage wrote: post #218
atmosx wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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-…

Based on what I've seen at a local running club with 60+ members, most regular runners seem to have picked up at least one wearable (although I haven't seen that many Apple watches - most have gone for either Garmin or TomTom). In fact, I'm certainly in the minority as someone who hasn't. That said - the more professional members are generally also in that minority too - they tend to stick to using their phone or the…

And not being on Strava is as much as a social faux pas as is not being on Facebook is for society at large? :)

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

#265

Post by photojosh »

tigershark wrote: post #159
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…

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.

In Australia. Only one of the major 4 banks support Apple Pay, and I only have one friend I know who uses it. I could switch banks, but lazy.

Are you talking about contactless payments a la PayPass/PayWave?

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

#266

Post by taloft »

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…

If the Apple Watch had week long battery life and was waterproof I'd get it over my garmin. When I had the original Apple Watch, I had to charge it every day and couldn't get it wet. Also my garmin always shows the time. None of that turn your wrist or its blank nonsense.

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

#267

Post by dang »

synicalx wrote: post #135
jacquesm wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It wasn't until I fell off my bike and broke it did I realize how much more exercise I was getting with it. How does that relate?

The last watch he/she had, got broken when they broke a stool and fell over at McDonalds.

Personal attacks will get your account banned on Hacker News. Please don't do this again.

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

#268

Post by synicalx »

dang wrote: post #267
synicalx wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last watch he/she had, got broken when they broke a stool and fell over at McDonalds.

Personal attacks will get your account banned on Hacker News. Please don't do this again.

Out of curiosity, is this just for comments/submissions referring to other HN users or does it cover comments/submissions that refer to anyone whether they're a HN user or not?

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

#269

Post by kelnage »

photojosh wrote: post #264
kelnage wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on what I've seen at a local running club with 60+ members, most regular runners seem to have picked up at least one wearable (although I haven't seen that many Apple watches - most have gone for either Garmin or TomTom). In fact, I'm certainly in the minority as someone who hasn't. That said - the more professional members are generally also in that minority too - they tend to stick to using their phone or the…

And not being on Strava is as much as a social faux pas as is not being on Facebook is for society at large? :)

One of our most prolific runners put it best: "if it's not on Strava, it didn't happen".

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

#270

Post by dang »

synicalx wrote: post #268
dang wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal attacks will get your account banned on Hacker News. Please don't do this again.

Out of curiosity, is this just for comments/submissions referring to other HN users or does it cover comments/submissions that refer to anyone whether they're a HN user or not?

Good question. Actually it's both, because both are toxic for discussion quality. But we evaluate them a bit differently because attacking a fellow community member destroys the community in other ways as well.
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