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

41–50 of 275 posts

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

#41

Post by seanp2k2 »

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…

I almost sprang for the v1 Watch, but waited for the Garmin Fenix 5. It's a far superior product IMO. Garmin is actually really good at designing interfaces for small screens, and t has buttons instead of touch, which I wanted. The battery lasts almost a week (long enough that I don't think about charging it, I just kinda plug it in when I notice the battery indicator below a quarter, which happens not very often). The heart rate was the big feature for me, plus the sapphire crystal (scratches on watch faces drive me crazy), plus the focus on fitness tracking, built-in GPS + GLONASS, and looking like a regular watch while being rugged enough that I don't have to worry about bumping it into stuff. The Garmin connect app works pretty well, with only occasional inabilities to sync. The Suunto Ambit 3 I have previously was much worse in this area. The app syncs with HealthKit and Gyroscope and generally works well for doing what I want with a fitness tracker. The vibration alerts also work well and remind me of meetings even when my phone is sitting in the dock on my desk and I'm working with headphones on.

I think that the Apple Watch really needs some killer features and excellent usability to separate it from the rest of the pack and drive sales. I see all of these smart watches as 5-year-max lifespan products before they're hopelessly obsolete, so spending half a grand+ on any of them is not going to be appealing to the masses.

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

#42

Post by Karupan »

I swore not to by a smartwatch a couple of years back, but ended up getting the Series 2 as a gift last month. I simply love it! I need constant reminder to exercise, meditate, etc and it seems to be a perfect companion for that.

What surprised me was the battery life. I was expecting to put it on charge every night, but for my limited usage pattern, it lasts a good two days easily. For me, it adds more value than a similarly priced dump watch.

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

#43

Post by EpicEng »

bluedino wrote: post #8
kpwags wrote: post #6

I got the Series 2 in January. I love it, but can also see why it might be more of a niche product. $400 for a watch isn't exactly cheap and I know many people who opt for their smartphone over any kind of watch.

It's not out of the ordinary to spend $400 on something like a Seiko or Citizen watch - and those are just "dumb" watches

I will be handing my dumb watches down to my child (though they cost more than $400). These... Will go in the trash bin after ~2 years and don't provide the jewelry aspect of a beautiful watch (I understand not everyone is into that sort of thing.)

I don't think you can compare smart watches with normal watches, totally different use case and market.

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

#44

Post by wvenable »

donw wrote: post #23

My big question is: what do people do with theirs? Other than notifications and fitness tracking, I'm struggling to think of a use case for owning one.

Notifications and fitness tracking is more than enough. My phone hasn't had the ringer on in over 3 years now. At first I had a Pebble which is pretty much just notifications. Now I have a Gear S3 and now I'm using the fitness tracking all the time.

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

#45

Post by Mtinie »

saagarjha wrote: post #25
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?

I was getting a ton of exercise with the Watch, broke it, and stopped exercising because I wasn't being reminded to.

Why is the Apple Watch the catalyst for this versus any HR monitor or fitness tracker?

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

#46

Post by matwood »

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…

Don't buy v1 (or series 0 in this case) of Apple devices. The series 2 is a nice device. The battery goes for a couple days, it's fast enough, and the new beta OS also seems address many issues.

People forget how rough the original iPhone was around the edges.

Edit: fixed typo series 1/0

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

#47

Post by seanp2k2 »

vermontdevil wrote: post #18

I have the Series 2 and it's been great for me. 1) Vibrating alarm. Perfect as I hate these big vibrating discs for the deaf. They break frequently. 2) Message/Email notification. It vibrates when I get a text message so I can look and see if it's worth my time to reply or wait till later. Same with email. 3) Fitness - great for running and can even leave the phone at home (Strava especially).

It's really sad to me how terrible many accessibility devices are. I get that it's a small market, but it's almost like no one even cares enough to make a really excellent product for people with disabilities. Because there is a smaller selection and because people rely on this gear in ways able-bodied persons don't need to, it's even more important to get it right and make it affordable but high-quality. It saddens me that these people are so underserved due to capitalistic forces.

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

#48

Post by abc_lisper »

jychang wrote: post #38
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…

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 parallel would be to have apple watches sync with 'droids..

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

#49

Post by ishwarn »

EpicEng wrote: post #39
saagarjha wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was getting a ton of exercise with the Watch, broke it, and stopped exercising because I wasn't being reminded to.

I mean, whatever works for you, but I don't understand that at all. You forget to exercise?

It's an accountability mechanism. It reminds you to get up and move, reminds you that you need to hit your goals, etc.

e: Not so much about forgetting, but a nag.

Post reply on HN