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Would Steve Have Released This Watch?
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Can´t it be a classic "history repeats"-situation.
How many of you would in retrospective say that the first gen iPad was perfectly designed? The design of the 2nd gen was a "quite big" difference. Thinner.
They have to start somewhere. And I expect the Apple Watch to come in newer version like all products.
How many of you would in retrospective say that the first gen iPad was perfectly designed? The design of the 2nd gen was a "quite big" difference. Thinner.
They have to start somewhere. And I expect the Apple Watch to come in newer version like all products.
I think he would have released a watch. Not sure if it would have looked the same esp. with the colors of the app icons, but I honestly think the 
watch looks good and plan to buy one.
watch looks good and plan to buy one.swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
Apple tried to do the "it's 3 things in one" thing that Steve Jobs did with the iPhone. I'm not sure if many people saw it because of the stream not working. But unlike the iPhone intro (it's a widescreen iPod, most advanced phone, and Internet communicator), I don't really remember the three things about the Apple Watch. Yet I still remember the original 3 things of the iPhone. What were the 3 things that the Apple Watch is? I think Steve Jobs would have figured that out better and marketed it better.
When the iPhone came out, it was a huge deal. People immediately wanted one. No one had seen live UI animations so fluid before, let alone on a phone. It was very clear what it could do and what you could use it for.
I don't know if Steve Jobs would have released the Apple Watch or not, but I think he would have made sure it was useful and he would have made you understood and emphasized why it was useful. He would have been better at presenting it. He would have probably hammered home why health is important and why previous attempts didn't get it right and why this one did. But we didn't hear anything like that. Nothing about the accuracy of this versus other heart rate monitors.
So, thinking about it more, I think he would have focused the product more. When he got back to Apple he scrapped anything that wasn't central to Apple. He couldn't understand why there were no cheap Macs. So they came out with the iMac. He thought about mass consumer adoption. So, I can't imagine him being interested in a high-fashion watch. I think he would have focused on something attainable by the majority of consumers that happened to have good design--not something you buy because it's well designed. The Apple Watch is something I would never buy because of its design (I don't find it attractive). I would buy it for its functionality. And right now I don't see that it has much that is interesting to me.
I think Steve Jobs would have asked: What does it do?
It doesn't do much. It certainly doesn't merit being one of the pillars of Apple. It's ancillary to the iPhone. It's not part of the ecosystem—it is an accessory to the ecosystem.
When the iPhone came out, it was a huge deal. People immediately wanted one. No one had seen live UI animations so fluid before, let alone on a phone. It was very clear what it could do and what you could use it for.
I don't know if Steve Jobs would have released the Apple Watch or not, but I think he would have made sure it was useful and he would have made you understood and emphasized why it was useful. He would have been better at presenting it. He would have probably hammered home why health is important and why previous attempts didn't get it right and why this one did. But we didn't hear anything like that. Nothing about the accuracy of this versus other heart rate monitors.
So, thinking about it more, I think he would have focused the product more. When he got back to Apple he scrapped anything that wasn't central to Apple. He couldn't understand why there were no cheap Macs. So they came out with the iMac. He thought about mass consumer adoption. So, I can't imagine him being interested in a high-fashion watch. I think he would have focused on something attainable by the majority of consumers that happened to have good design--not something you buy because it's well designed. The Apple Watch is something I would never buy because of its design (I don't find it attractive). I would buy it for its functionality. And right now I don't see that it has much that is interesting to me.
I think Steve Jobs would have asked: What does it do?
It doesn't do much. It certainly doesn't merit being one of the pillars of Apple. It's ancillary to the iPhone. It's not part of the ecosystem—it is an accessory to the ecosystem.
I guess so, yes, but there's the broader question (somewhat off-topic) of why work did not begin in Jobs' lifetime – when he knew that there was significant interest from the public and press. There was no shortage of resources within the company. A wild guess: maybe he thought it better to put resources into an alternative (not a complement) to the watch.
For me there's a faint odour of "we're doing it because we can"; not because a wristwatch is the ideal device for all of those purposes. Faint, because it'll be a long time before I have an opportunity to handle an Apple Watch. In the meantime: seeing the miniature GUI, I wonder about usability and recall a phrase that Apple used in relation to another miniature device in 2005:
"… You can do it all without looking. …"
To be clear: I don't suggest that the company is wrong to develop the watch. But this is, by Apple's definition, a historic development so I think it's perfectly reasonable to wonder what might have been … with the most significant person in the company's history. (And for me these questions are inextricably tied to whether a 'new Apple' has visions of 'the best' that differ significantly from Jobs' visions of the best.)
Excellent thoughts from swingerofbirch!
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calderone, you can create a poll for that. In the meantime it's clear that you care enough to be dismissive towards people who do care.
That's a misinterpretation of the two options in this poll.
That's a somewhat strange suggestion.
calderone, is a customer not allowed to purchase a product whilst reflecting on the producer's history? Is a customer not allowed to purchase a product when the direction of the producer may be completely unrelated to the quality or desirability of the product?
I don't think Steve would have released it until he had found some groundbreaking addition to put it above other examples on the market.
It's just not Different enough to be a fully signed off Jobs project IMO, maybe that's because it was rushed to market before it was ready?
I don't think he would've launched a Watch that had to be charged every 24 hours! seems to me that he'd have looked for, or developed in-house, a high efficiency solar charger to fit behind the face, in the side or on the strap, much like Citizen Eco-Drive watches use! Or maybe one of those sensors on the back would allow bio-charging from the skin or something, But this doesn't have anything but the Apple eco-system in its bag.
I think they're out of ideas.
It's just not Different enough to be a fully signed off Jobs project IMO, maybe that's because it was rushed to market before it was ready?
I don't think he would've launched a Watch that had to be charged every 24 hours! seems to me that he'd have looked for, or developed in-house, a high efficiency solar charger to fit behind the face, in the side or on the strap, much like Citizen Eco-Drive watches use! Or maybe one of those sensors on the back would allow bio-charging from the skin or something, But this doesn't have anything but the Apple eco-system in its bag.
I think they're out of ideas.
Not that it really matters, but no I don't think he would have. Feels very much like a "me too" product in a category that I don't expect to be very large. It's a phone accessory that tries to make aspects of the phone more immediate and useful, but I think ultimately people will prefer to just use their phone. And if he did see potential in the "smart watch" product category, I think he would have waited a year or two to release a much more feature rich and useful product. But again, I think he would have passed on this category as a whole.
I look at some of the products launched under Steve and think what people would say if they were launched today. What was so great about iPhone 3G or 3GS (outside of the launch of the App Store)? The second gen iPad is probably what the first gen should have been. And a lot of the iPod updates weren't revolutionary. Or how about new iMacs in 5 colors. It's just that Steve had such a way on stage of making something incremental look like so much more. He was the ultimate salesman. He could make iPod socks seem cool.
Drop the psuedo intellectual crap. This discussion is for windbags who think they have the "sight" or the "gift" and know precisely what Steve Jobs would do. News flash, you don't, nor can anyone here provide deep insight.
Why? You are not Steve Jobs.
None of us are. Some of us have something positive to contribute. calderone earns third place on my ignore list.
I think he would have released it, as one way to view it is the replacement for the ipod nano, and he released many of those.
I believe he would have insisted it be equal to or better than the competition, and in sensors and sports/health it is significantly less than the competition. Detailed Life wellness tracking (eat, sleep, exercise) is the only killer app for such a device. Need blood sugar analysis and gps for sure.
I believe he would have insisted it be equal to or better than the competition, and in sensors and sports/health it is significantly less than the competition. Detailed Life wellness tracking (eat, sleep, exercise) is the only killer app for such a device. Need blood sugar analysis and gps for sure.
Would Steve Have Released This Watch?
But you're not bringing any "heat", you're pissing on the campfire for spite.
If there was no speculating there'd be no topic of conversation. These are OPINIONS, not facts, can't you accept that people like the opportunity to voice their opinion sometimes.
But you're not bringing any "heat", you're pissing on the campfire for spite.
If there was no speculating there'd be no topic of conversation. These are OPINIONS, not facts, can't you accept that people like the opportunity to voice their opinion sometimes.
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Thanks – I shouldn't take too much notice of the Mail, but here's the essence of what was picked up on by MacRumors in 2011:
"… He has also been overseeing the development of the delayed iCloud project, which will allow Apple users to store their music, photos and other documents remotely and masterminding updated versions of the iPod, iPad, iPhone and MacBooks, ensuring at least four years’ worth of products are in the pipeline, according to Apple sources. …"
It would have been common sense (of the company) to have plans for iCloud and those four devices; natural for Apple sources to make those reassurances at the time. It was sensible of Apple sources to not mention a watch; the 2010 wrist-Nano joke was memorable.
Some interesting MacRumors comments under the 2011 article, e.g.
A vision/plan for at least a decade – to 2021 and beyond – would not surprise me.
(Probably more than a decade passed before one of Jobs' 2000 visions became an everyday reality for some customers.)
Amongst my bookmarks this week:
- Apple-Timeline [Infographic] | Technology News Blog (2011-03-18)
- Apple Timeline - Graphic of the Day | Thomson Reuters Blog – a similar graphic, after Jobs passed away
- an older but richer product roadmap, no longer easily available, I'm in touch with the author
- How Steve Jobs Infused Passion Into a Commodity - NYTimes.com (2011-10-07)
"… “We don’t have good language to talk about this kind of thing,” Mr. Jobs replied. “In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains and the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service. The iMac is not just the color or translucence or the shape of the shell. The essence of the iMac is to be the finest possible consumer computer in which each element plays together. ... That is the furthest thing from veneer. It was at the core of the product the day we started. This is what customers pay us for — to sweat all these details so it’s easy and pleasant for them to use our computers. We’re supposed to be really good at this. That doesn’t mean we don’t listen to customers, but it’s hard for them to tell you what they want when they’ve never seen anything remotely like it.” …"
Are we going to hear this stupid ass question about every single future product release? LET IT GO!!!
I can see it now, the future retina iMac gets released and some stupid person asks, would Steve Jobs have released this?
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Business Insider is the cesspool of fake intellect out there. After reading a few articles, I stopped following them.
I can see it now, the future retina iMac gets released and some stupid person asks, would Steve Jobs have released this?
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Business Insider is the cesspool of fake intellect out there. After reading a few articles, I stopped following them.
just looking at the menu of the apple watch made me sick, im sure jobs wouldnt have liked it at all. ROUND icons on a SQUARE display? wheres the consistency??
Also the back of the watch is awful, jobs wouldnt have liked it at all, i remember his design philosophy was that the back had to be just as beautiful as the front. The parts that people didnt see had to be designed with care.
exposing the sensors and stuff like that, wouldnt it corrode and mess up over time from the sweat and dirt?
the overall apple watch IMO is a fail, maybe wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen.
Also the back of the watch is awful, jobs wouldnt have liked it at all, i remember his design philosophy was that the back had to be just as beautiful as the front. The parts that people didnt see had to be designed with care.
exposing the sensors and stuff like that, wouldnt it corrode and mess up over time from the sweat and dirt?
the overall apple watch IMO is a fail, maybe wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen.
Maybe.
sk1wbw, can we look forward to your contribution to every future Steve Jobs-related topic? Or do you enlighten readers only when a new chapter begins in the history of Apple?
Do you disagree with Apple's definition of historic?
If it makes you angry enough to shout and mismanage your punctuation, please let this topic go.
I can see it now, the future retina iMac gets released and some stupid person asks, would Steve Jobs have released this?
I can see it now one, two, three, four, a fifth person will waste space with an attempted derailing of discussion.
If people keep asking stupid ass questions, then yes, I'm going to reply. Steve Jobs is dead, just accept the fact. Tim Cook is the CEO now so stop asking that stupid ass question What Would Steve Do?