Apple Watch doesn't solve the biggest problem with smart watches

[parseckadet]

The biggest problem with smart watches in my mind is that every single one makes you look like a complete tool while you're wearing it. Seems to me the Apple Watch is no different in this regard. Fitness bands have the same problem, though they're at least generally inconspicuous, or at least they would be if they weren't hot pink. Why does it have to look like some unique thing that is very clearly NOT a normal watch?

 

[grahamperrin]

I imagine George Jetson talking to his wrist and getting away with it.

In reality: the average person on the street might not get away with it so easily …

 

[firewood]

The biggest problem with smart watches in my mind is that every single one makes you look like a complete tool while you're wearing it. Seems to me the Apple Watch is no different in this regard. Fashion models wore hot pink, upscale women copied. Fitness bands have the same problem, though they're at least generally inconspicuous, or at least they would be if they weren't hot pink.

When rich people and top executives started showing up at the golf course with fitness bands, the bands stopped making regular people look like a tool. Apple is hoping and has a good shot at making the same thing happen to their Watch. Fashions change.

 

[Monique1]

I actually think this will somehow look like a trumped up status symbol. Soon, even "normal" watches will jump on the bandwagon just to look like Apple's.

 

[douglasf13]

I actually think this will somehow look like a trumped up status symbol. Soon, even "normal" watches will jump on the bandwagon just to look like Apple's.

You might be right, although I hope not. I'd like it to be somewhat anonymous. It's an interesting position, because, while the Apple Watch is a few hundred bucks (don't know how much the gold one will be,) it still pales in a price comparison to the Swiss automatics that are currently status symbols. In Los Angles, I frequently see guys wandering around the grocery with $30K watches on. I'm not sure if they'll give that up or not.

 

[NewbieCanada]

If I had the money to spend on a $30K watch someone else would be doing my shopping for me!

 

[douglasf13]

If I had the money to spend on a $30K watch someone else would be doing my shopping for me!

I know, you'd think, right? The amount of wealth here is so staggering that a $30K watch is relatively pedestrian in some parts of town, when you've got the really wealthy people wearing watches in the six figures.

It'll be interesting to see if the Apple Watch EDITION is solid gold and aimed for the higher end clientele. That gold Apple watch could be several thousands of dollars.

 

[NewbieCanada]

I think it is. If you repeatedly say gold when it's gold-plate you're going to get an awful lot of flack later on.

I have no interest in a gold watch, but lots of people do and have the money to buy one. Apple would be foolish to ignore this significant market segment, especially as I believe the existence of the gold watch will drive sales of the stainless steel and aluminum models.

 

[APlotdevice]

I don't give a rodent's behind what some schmuck thinks I look like. Anyone who thinks they can judge others that way is not worth the time of day.

 

[firewood]

I don't give a rodent's behind what some schmuck thinks I look like. Anyone who thinks they can judge others that way is not worth the time of day.

I once knew a group of people who talked the same way as the above. Funny how they all seemed to be dressed with similar styles when they were going to be at the same area.

 

[APlotdevice]

I once knew a group of people who talked the same way as the above. Funny how they all seemed to be dressed with similar styles when they were going to be at the same area.

Well I don't know about them, but I dress how I like. Anyone who doesn't respect that is a schmuck. (I'm a human being, not a matching set!)

 

[firewood]

Well I don't know about them, but I dress how I like. Anyone who doesn't respect that is a schmuck.

Realize, then, that most humans in the world are schmucks. There's tons of social and psychological experimental data that clearly shows this. Dress for success is a fact in certain fields. Not much one can do unless one is a hermit.

 

[njchris]

Well I don't know about them, but I dress how I like. Anyone who doesn't respect that is a schmuck. (I'm a human being, not a matching set!)

I totally agree. I do things that I like not because someone else may or may not like it.

And just because I like something doesn't mean anyone else has to.

If someone thinks I look like a tool for wearing the apple watch, then that's their issue, not mine.

----------

Realize, then, that most humans in the world are schmucks. There's tons of social and psychological experimental data that clearly shows this. Dress for success is a fact in certain fields. Not much one can do unless one is a hermit.

You are taking things totally out of context to try to make a point an invalidate his not caring if someone thinks he is a tool.

 

[lostgear]

Being a bit of a WIS I actually think the aWatch can be quite subtle. Say the 38mm sport with a black/grey strap. Reminiscent of a Suunto Core and other sport/GPS/Altimeter type watches.

Im not saying that I would wear a blinded up shiny gold aWatch on the outside of my suite for work etc. But something small and dark tucked under my cuff would not be a problem.

The only issue I see for the aWatch is it sharing wrist time with my other watches.

 

[grahamperrin]

The appearance of one-way conversation

I imagine George Jetson talking to his wrist and getting away with it.

In reality: the average person on the street might not get away with it so easily …

Also: the average person on the street might get away with it; the nonconformist or carefree person on the street might or might not get away with it; and so on

The appearance of conversing with, or around, the hand will probably be less potentially strange than the appearance of one-way conversation (e.g. eyes ahead, nothing conversation-related in sight).

The latter is now less often strange, to me, than when people first began using Bluetooth earphones and the like.

Still, just rarely it's strange to me – partly because as my hearing has worsened (tinnitus), I sometimes don't know whether what appears to be a one-way conversation is actually intended to involve me.

It's an observation, not an issue …

 

[zipa]

It'll be interesting to see if the Apple Watch EDITION is solid gold and aimed for the higher end clientele. That gold Apple watch could be several thousands of dollars.

And it will be outdated within months of purchase when the new version is announced. Something does not compute here.

 

[Jimmy James]

It was the same issue with smartphones. Using one before the iPhone was released maked you look like an extreme nerd. And not in any positive sense.

 

[solo118]

It was the same issue with smartphones. Using one before the iPhone was released maked you look like an extreme nerd. And not in any positive sense.

Really? EVERYONE had a Blackberry before iPhones. I have had smartphones since 2005, so I guess I am one of those nerds

 

[sigamy]

It actually looks pretty good in these pics:
http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/hodinkee-apple-watch-review

 

[C64]

Just a matter of time before no-one cares anymore because it's normal. And there are plenty of odd-looking watches out there. I don't think that IRL the Apple Watch will attract all that much attention. It's not like you're putting a big camera in your glasses or something

 

[parseckadet]

Interesting points so far. But I think the discussion about expensive watches is not relevant to my original point. If you see someone in the grocery store wearing a $30k watch, you can probably assume several things about him. But what you can't assume is that he's a tech nerd, or an Apple fanboy, or anything like that. By wearing an Apple Watch you're advertising to the world your personal platform preference. For most people that's not a big deal, but when it's your job to visit client sites and install, configure, and maintain software on Windows and Unix servers (which it is for me), that could be a problem.

Look, I'm an Apple fan as much as the next guy, but I don't want to advertise it to everyone and their mom while walking down the street. I had these same concerns when both the iPhone and the iPad came out. But the difference is, if I don't want someone to know I have an iPhone I can put it in my pocket, or the iPad in my laptop bag. There they remain just as functional as ever. But the whole point of an Apple Watch is that it needs to be on your wrist to be useful.

 

[Sonmi451]

I actually agree with the OP. That will be the biggest hurdle. I don't think fitness bands count toward that anymore, as I see them everywhere and it's not a big deal.

FYI, I thought the same thing about the original iPhone release. I got one, but I didn't want to look like a "tool". It became popular very quickly, and that thought suddenly disappeared.

I am worried about the tool factor for the watch as that is the biggest hurdle for me to overcome. I think I want to get one, but I don't want to be 'that guy' that is the first one to have one and wear it around.

So we'll see...

 

[C64]

Interesting points so far. But I think the discussion about expensive watches is not relevant to my original point. If you see someone in the grocery store wearing a $30k watch, you can probably assume several things about him. But what you can't assume is that he's a tech nerd, or an Apple fanboy, or anything like that. By wearing an Apple Watch you're advertising to the world your personal platform preference.

I think it only matters to other tech geeks, who actually recognise it and care. Most people don't. They'll buy an iPhone if their friends recommend it, or an Android phone if the guy in the store decides to push Androids that day. Maybe they like how the Apple Watch looks in a certain configuration, and maybe they already have an iPhone or buy one as well. If this thing becomes a success, it's because "normal" people start buying it, not because it's from Apple, but because they like how it looks and what it does.

For most people that's not a big deal, but when it's your job to visit client sites and install, configure, and maintain software on Windows and Unix servers (which it is for me), that could be a problem.

I get your point, but having a certain watch doesn't say much about your knowledge and skills concerning Windows and Unix servers. If you're afraid that clients won't trust you because you're apparently also using Apple products (like every other person they meet every single day), you'll have to wear a shirt that says "I only trust Mac Pro servers!". Also, OS X is based on Unix (or whatever the official term is of describing how Unix is a part of OS X), so if anything you'd be more knowledgable about it.

Look, I'm an Apple fan as much as the next guy, but I don't want to advertise it to everyone and their mom while walking down the street. I had these same concerns when both the iPhone and the iPad came out. But the difference is, if I don't want someone to know I have an iPhone I can put it in my pocket, or the iPad in my laptop bag. There they remain just as functional as ever. But the whole point of an Apple Watch is that it needs to be on your wrist to be useful.

But do you think that every single person is always staring at other people's wrists? Maybe watch-fanatics care about it, but your regular Joe doesn't and doesn't even know how to recognise an Apple Watch. And by the time he does, it's so common it doesn't matter either way. The Apple Watch isn't round, but everything else about it leans more towards traditional watches than your average black nerd watch. I bet that unless you wave it in people's faces they won't know or care.

 

[douglasf13]

I mentioned this over on Hodinkee, but, as an owner of Rolex, Omega, Seiko, etc., mechanical watches are interesting to me, but they've never had to compete with wrist real estate in the past. The increased function of a smart watch, which, in Apple's case, is in a package that seems good enough, is making me reconsider just how important man jewelry is.

I kind of feel like I've been toiling away on my classic car in the garage for years, until one day, I say "screw it" and head towards the Tesla dealership. I can still go look at my classic car in the garage from time to time, or take it out for the occasional spin...although I may just sell the thing.

 

[JoeTomasone]

No different than Bluetooth headsets were.. Geeky, then accepted.