Apple Watch has shown that Apple has lost its way

[Wiesenlooser]

This is literally the worst thing I could have imagined. it looks bulbous and ugly, it is overpriced and it only works with an iPhone. On top of that it does Nothing differently or better than all these other smartwatches.

Oh - and did I mention that it will only ship next year? Oh on top of that they were too ashamed to tell people about the battery life.


I really, really, really wanted the Apple Watch to be something special. But this... just isnt it.

I feel really worried about Apple now.

 

[Kaenon]

But, but, but... it can charge in only a way Apple can do.

LOL.

 

[collin418]

Yes, for all the time they spend developing it--it looks crappy. They offer nothing really new, it's thick and ugly, and the battery life has got to be horrible. Not much to be excited about. What happened to the flexible super cool display with a flexible battery and all the innovative stuff? What have they been doing with all this development time?

They had to really work hard to sell what's just another smartwatch. They didn't innovate a single thing

 

[Patriot24]

They haven't lost their way. They are creating new ways.

If you want them to stand still, you're going to continue to be disappointed endlessly.

If you want a company that stood still, go follow BlackBerry. For as long as they're still in business, anyway...

 

[Wiesenlooser]

They haven't lost their way. They are creating new ways.

If you want them to stand still, you're going to continue to be disappointed endlessly.

If you want a company that stood still, go follow BlackBerry. For as long as they're still in business, anyway...

What are you talking about? They have lost their way because the Watch is neither beautiful nor innovative

 

[swedefish]

What are you talking about? They have lost their way because the Watch is neither beautiful nor innovative

But it is.

were people expecting a sci fi watch or what's the problem?

 

[collin418]

But it is.

were people expecting a sci fi watch or what's the problem?

What part did they innovate? The watch is no better looking than other smart watches

 

[swedefish]

What part did they innovate?

Besides the interface, the gold alloy, the sapphire laminated glass, the integration of infrared health meters, and shrinking everything into one tiny chip?

 

[Lachhh]

At this stage I'm hoping third party developers make this thing shine, I'm not sold on any of Apple's out of the box features. Quite disappointed on the health tracker note, I'd have hoped for more features, those all look bog standard.

I'll be skipping the first generation at the very least, and waiting for more apps to take advantage of the thing. Looks wise I prefer every single mockup I've seen to date over the actual design. It literally looks like every other watch out there, nothing there that screams "Apple" about the design or the interface.

My opinion only of course, and I hope I'll change my mind as time goes on and it gets feature-richer.

 

[Adelphos33]

I don't get the bulbous argument - go to the Apple site and look at the "Edition" watches. The gold with the red strap looks beautiful.

 

[collin418]

Besides the interface, the gold alloy, the sapphire laminated glass, the integration of infrared health meters, and shrinking everything into one tiny chip?

The glass and gold isn't innovation, it's just the components they decided to add to the watch--they aren't the first to do either. The health meters already exist on other watches. The watch doesn't look very shrunken compared to other watches already on the market.

It's more like they took existing products and just picked what they liked to put into a new case.

 

[iososx]

Apple hasn't lost its way, they're simply spending a small fraction of their massive resources to see if public acceptance will embrace a watch they've built.

Time will tell.

 

[swedefish]

The glass and gold isn't innovation, it's just the components they decided to add to the watch--they aren't the first to do either. The health meters already exist on other watches. The watch doesn't look very shrunken compared to other watches already on the market.

How isn't hardened gold and laminated sapphire glass an innovation? And it is one thing to outfit a device with technology specs, but what is the use if it doesn't work? I am certain this will mark a leap in actual real life functionality. It's fantastic. And the industrial design is also great. Show me anything on the market that is equal.

 

[grahamperrin]

Apple Watch for 'the wrist', not 'the wrists'

The looks are OK but for people like me, the hardware is the wrong way round. I'll not be able to use it properly.

Apple Watch: the most personal device ever created by Apple, for one wrist only?

 

[emir]

Honestly, I was really expecting it to be on sensors but it just has a heartbeat sensor which isn't really that special. It'll make a lot of conclusions from just your heartbeat using accelerometer I guess.

Also I think it will change a lot till the release, there are a lot of unmentioned points at this point. Reactions will pave them a clearer way to go and it's still at engineering verification process. Also, congrats on Tim Cook for no leaks ever. That was a serious success.

In all fairness it didn't appeal to me that much as of yet and I don't plan an buying one yet. However thinking back to the first iPhone I can only imagine the way future iWatches will go. This is just the beginning.

 

[erzhik]

They haven't lost their way. They are creating new ways.

If you want them to stand still, you're going to continue to be disappointed endlessly.

If you want a company that stood still, go follow BlackBerry. For as long as they're still in business, anyway...

Correction. They are not creating new ways. They are adapting to market ways. They are adapting to its competition. Perfectly normal to adapt instead of creating.

 

[BrentT]

The looks are OK but for people like me, the hardware is the wrong way round. I'll not be able to use it properly.

Since the display is software perhaps there will be the ability to set the display "upside down". That would put the crown on the left side when wearing on the right wrist.

 

[drsox]

How isn't hardened gold and laminated sapphire glass an innovation? And it is one thing to outfit a device with technology specs, but what is the use if it doesn't work? I am certain this will mark a leap in actual real life functionality. It's fantastic. And the industrial design is also great. Show me anything on the market that is equal.

And remember this is V1.0. Wait for V3.0 - thin, round etc etc. Think Omega watch with Apple Watch functionality.

 

[Infernos]

Seriously ? It looks far better than any of the potential rumored devices that have been going around for the past year or more. Real world functionality has yet to be decided, but I think it looks great.

 

[BJonson]

This should have been the iWatch. Apple watch... pft.

http://9to5google.com/2014/08/27/samsung-gear-s-smartwatch-announced/

 

[DaveTheRave]

Oh on top of that they were too ashamed to tell people about the battery life.

I think Tim Cook said its east to charge "at night", so I think he's implying that it only gets a day's charge?

I don't know how many years its been since I changed the battery in my Seiko. The Apple Watch has some cool features but they seem like novelties - sending a heartbeat? I don't want to charge another gadget, nor do I want to pack another charger the next time I go away for a few days.

 

[Thomas Davie]

Nah, they haven't lost their way; they've just created something that is difficult to pigeonhole. Perhaps so difficult to pigeohole that a lot of people can't see how they would want (or use) one.

Of course it will sell (one analyst projected 10 million the first year I think....so ~3.5 billion in sales for one calender year), but I'm not sure who it is being aimed at.

I haven't worn a watch in ~4 years. Don't need one - so the watch functionality won't do it for me.

I haven't had a phone since I threw my against the wall in Sept/12, so the fact that it requires an iPhone is kinda a deal breaker for me

Obviously it's tied very tightly into the Apple ecosystem (did we expect anything else), so that can nix a purchase for some.

The world is full of fat people that wouldn't make any use of the health features.

Personally I've always hated texting, so there's nothing there for me.

Where I live, using this while driving would get me a $400 fine.

It's a very nice piece of kit and perhaps the next iteration will do it for me, perhaps not.

But no, Apple has not lost it's way.

If anything would make it a 'fail', it would be a dismal battery life; but hey we could all be surprised by a 2 week battery life.

I welcome everyone else to beta test this for me though.

Tom

 

[xVeinx]

On, stop being so sensational. It's a solid first stab. Many people may not appreciate the aesthetics, fair enough. But the software and functionality is far and away better than that in Android Wear. The sensors have been done before, but they typically aren't very accurate; with more accurate sensors and good software integration, the Apple watch should be more useful for athletes or others (especially is this is to be considered sufficient for use in medical diagnosis!). We got a first glimpse today, but there are more details yet to be revealed. In a couple generations, the design will change and perhaps be more amenable to the tastes of a wider audience.

 

[phrozend]

[...]
I really, really, really wanted the Apple Watch to be something special. But this... just isnt it.

I feel really worried about Apple now.

Get over it. Worry about your own life. Move over to Android. Do something productive. Design something better. The ball is in your court.

 

[HiDEF]

On, stop being so sensational. It's a solid first stab. Many people may not appreciate the aesthetics, fair enough. But the software and functionality is far and away better than that in Android Wear. The sensors have been done before, but they typically aren't very accurate; with more accurate sensors and good software integration, the Apple watch should be more useful for athletes or others (especially is this is to be considered sufficient for use in medical diagnosis!). We got a first glimpse today, but there are more details yet to be revealed. In a couple generations, the design will change and perhaps be more amenable to the tastes of a wider audience.

How so?