Apple announces Apple Watch

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Apple Watch at Paris fashion week – five things we learned

the guardian-fashion said:
1. You will definitely want one...

2. Jony Ive and Marc Newson are power players in fashion now...

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3. If someone you set as a ‘favourite’ messages you, the watch gently taps your wrist...

4. Lagerfeld kept his own watch on his left wrist, and tried the Apple Watch on his right...

5. Jony Ive looked chic in a pale blue shirt and pale blue suit...
 
Is that supposed to hinder its potential in the market? Rewind time and...

Original 2001 iPod launch:

Requires a Mac? :lol

This is a bad example, iPod sales didn't start ramping up until Apple added Windows support. Its potential in the market WAS hindered by the fact that you needed a Mac to use it.
 
This is a bad example, iPod sales didn't start ramping up until Apple added Windows support. Its potential in the market WAS hindered by the fact that you needed a Mac to use it.
How would half of the Watch's features even work without a dedicated cellular/BT connection?
 
How would half of the Watch's features even work without a dedicated cellular/BT connection?

I guess some people were hoping it would work with android phones? :lol

More like they expected it to have gps and/or M7/M8 processor so it can be the main source for fitness data. Nobody really hoped to pair it with Android watches but why not sync with the iPad (which has the HealthKit app too) or with a Mac?
 
This is a bad example, iPod sales didn't start ramping up until Apple added Windows support. Its potential in the market WAS hindered by the fact that you needed a Mac to use it.

iPhone didn't require a Mac, if you want to be consistent with you analogy.

i think you are misreading the response. what i think is being hinted at is in 2-3 years, there will be Android support for the Apple Watch.
 
Did any of them say they are going to buy the gold one? I've only listened to the accidental podcast and one episode of stratechery





Unless you mean shit themselves 'from laughing so much' I don't think the tech press is going to have the reaction to the 18k gold watch that Gruber suggests. As much as Gruber tried to differentiate the Apple Watch Edition from the Vertu gold phones, the fact remains that the tech press is already familiar with the prices of gold electronics. They write about these gold devices from time to time but nobody cares about the prices — sophisticated tech users (i.e. Apple and Android fanboys) never buy them and the people who do, the people with 'more money than sense', don't care about the prices as they can afford to buy a new gold phone or new gold AppleWatch every year if they wanted.

The real question is the price of Apple Watch (the sapphire/steel/ceramic back) version. That's the 'real' AppleWatch imo — the gold one is a concession to fashion while the Apple Watch Sport** is the shitty version to make the middle normal one look like good value. The shitty plastic version looks like a kid's toy (I would even confuse it with samsung watch) below most of the AndroidWear devices imo. The sapphire/steel/ceramic back are the premium materials I expect from an Apple device. $350 for an AppleWatch is already a premium pricing in comparison to other smartwatches — AndroidWear starts at about $200. $350 can also get you a 'real' watch with sapphire/steel/leather strap. If Apple is following their usual tech industry pricing then the AppleWatch (the sapphire/steel/ceramic back) should be a $100/$200 more than the entry level version. However Gruber is predicting $1,000 or more. Now that would definitely cause a shock in the tech press.

**I don't get the Apple Watch Sport. Is the 'Sport' label supposed to make people feel better about buying the shitty version? What does that say about the performance capabilities of the other versions? Will Apple cover the warranty of an Apple Watch Edition if fails during exercise? Does Apple expect people to buy more than one AppleWatch (would it even be possible to pair more than one watch to an iPhone and sync between them)?

Yeah, it’s the pricing of the steel one (and the various nice bands) that I am most interested in. And, I agree, the prices of those could potentially create some ruckus in the media, FWIW. the gold ones, not so much, as they’ll be pretty much unattainable to most. the ss models could be on the edge, making any perceived overpricing seem more aggravating.

I still think Gruber’s 1K estimate for the ss version is way off base. you can get finely made watches with nice steel cases and nice bands for under 1k (e.g.: some basic stowa models)

I’ll stick with my previous guess of the ss version starting at 500 USD (38mm face, plain leather buckle). 150 premium over the base sport. add an extra fifty or hundred for the fancier bands or the 42mm face.

I guess they have the sport to have something super light and aimed squarely at the fitness band market, since the watch has such a focus on fitness tracking. I guess. I know some people have said they like the look but to me, it’s not something I’d wear.
 
Are you going to buy one?

Yes, I intend to buy one, but it will likely be the "Sport" version or the "regular" version, depending on price. The "Edition" is not going to be meant for my budget, I'm sure.

In answer to some of your questions about why there is a "Sport" version at all, it seems pretty clear that the case is meant to be lighter weight, and have strengthened glass, plus a band that is meant to be used while working out. The beauty of the design is, I can buy one of the other bands, and snap it into place, and give it a different look when I want to.
 
IIRC my very first 1G Iphone required me to connect it to a computer to activate it with ATT since there was no subsidary or activation done at the Apple Stores.
 

Sometimes I have a hard time Jony Ive had anything to do with any part of this. The interface alone looks like it was designed by someone with absolutely no knowledge of other Apple UI, pretty apparent with that lock screen. I mean just look at it. So tacky.
 
The latest pontification and illumination on this device has started to gently excite me.
More and more the dawning realization that this is an actual platform sets in.. and its just so confusing. I just want to interrogate someone for 36 hours about this thing.
 
Yeah..... remember with yahoo/ign animated all their icons? That shit was groundbreaking.
but this pacman/nickjrFACEHERE mashup is a no go.
 
Nowhere near as rough as the emoji.

m82fjihjoprnlgxvlkrr.jpg

If I look down at my wrist as the person I currently am, and there is the *possibility space* I could be greeted with this, then the mac watch is something i will stop thinking about.
 
Yeah..... remember with yahoo/ign animated all their icons? That shit was groundbreaking.
but this pacman/nickjrFACEHERE mashup is a no go.

I'm not one to say that Apple has lost it's way since Jobs died but I really feel like that emoji would never have been seen by the public if Jobs was still around.
 
Nowhere near as rough as the emoji.

m82fjihjoprnlgxvlkrr.jpg
Barring the unholy smiley on that screen, I'm wondering what happened to the standard helvetica neue font that would actually make this seem like an Apple device.
 
The latest pontification and illumination on this device has started to gently excite me.
More and more the dawning realization that this is an actual platform sets in.. and its just so confusing. I just want to interrogate someone for 36 hours about this thing.

I think a lot of that talk is being generated to fill an idea vacuum since the functionality of what was revealed wasn't particularly revolutionary. There's a lot of "what ifs" that are making some big promises that I don't think the watch will be able to fill.
 
Apple Watch debut in Paris attracts more fanboys than fashionistas | The Verge
... at least a few of them were die-hard Apple fans. A 26-year-old engineering student named Kevin said he knew he wouldn’t be able to touch the watch when he went in, but wanted to see it up close and personal after weeks of following media coverage. Standing in front of him was Ben, a 20-year-old Apple Store employee who rushed to Colette today after he woke up and read about the event online. He’d been waiting for an hour when I spoke to him, and was only a few people away from the entrance. Both Kevin and Ben said they’d pay up to €400 for the Watch. That’s far lower than Colette’s luxury watch offerings, which range in price from $678 to $30,000...

... I started chatting with a tall, dreadlocked Frenchman named Gregory, who had just seen the Apple Watch with his two young children. A self-professed "Apple addict," Gregory said he had reservations about the watch when it was announced, but left Colette today feeling confident that he’ll buy one. "… And I think for $349, that’s worth it for an Apple product."

But for some of the non-Apple addicts — the well-coiffed men and women walking around the rest of Colette, the trendsters that Apple has pandered to so carefully — the Watch bonanza was a bit more perplexing.

"I think they should stick with what they know and do well," said Glenda, an older, Louis Vuitton-wearing American woman who was shopping at Colette today. "Not fashion."

... Marco and Diego, two well-dressed 20-somethings from Milan, were similarly unenthused. "I don’t think I need it," Marco said as he stood in line. "But maybe it’ll be like the iPhone — a status symbol that people will want. I don’t know, I don’t wear watches."
 
The iPhone might have been a status symbol to some people, but just as a piece of technology, I was utterly blown away by that first one at the time. I bought one because it was amazing, not because they were expensive.

I always saw those tiny gold Nokia's that were actually shit, but very expensive, as more status symbol phones.
 
They may be promoting it as a fashion accessory, but we all know who'll be buying the first round of watches, evidenced by who showed up at Colette.
 
Just noticed the pebble watch is now out in the UK. If I just want a device that controls my music, and shows my notifications, is it worth getting?
 
Just noticed the pebble watch is now out in the UK. If I just want a device that controls my music, and shows my notifications, is it worth getting?

Yes, the pebble will control your music and show your notifications. Apple's restrictions currently prevent it from interacting/dismissing your notifications though so jailbreak your iPhone, or get an Android phone, for those extra features and more besides.
 
Is there a new thread or just nothing has happened here for a month? Anyways, from Cook's latest interview...

Cook said that [the Apple Watch] is something that you would use so much that "you will end up charging it daily."

Ouch.
 
Is there a new thread or just nothing has happened here for a month? Anyways, from Cook's latest interview...

Ouch.

Batteries, man. Battery tech is letting everything down. It really is.

Eh, I'm fine with charging every day. I charge my phone every day, so it's not like it's going to be completely out of the ordinary. I don't have a watch now that I'm used to. I didn't have much interest in tracking my sleep even with a fitbit that'd do it. Still in for the Sport on launch. :D
 
Batteries, man. Battery tech is letting everything down. It really is.

I don't know about that. I was pretty disappointed to hear it going for a one day charge. With smart watches you really need to be innovative. Color e-ink displays have come pretty far over the past decade, Bluetooth LE has crazy low battery requirements and the Cortex M series line of processors use power measured in milliwatts. You could make an Apple Watch that lasts over a week. The e-ink displays don't have the saturation of LCD or AMOLED but to be able to blow the competition away on battery life? Worth.

Apple single handedly financed retina displays from scratch. They financed an industrial scale sapphire production from scratch. They should be able to put those billions behind some e-ink R&D.
 
I don't know about that. I was pretty disappointed to hear it going for a one day charge. With smart watches you really need to be innovative. Color e-ink displays have come pretty far over the past decade, Bluetooth LE has crazy low battery requirements and the Cortex M series line of processors use power measured in milliwatts. You could make an Apple Watch that lasts over a week. The e-ink displays don't have the saturation of LCD or AMOLED but to be able to blow the competition away on battery life? Worth.

Then make your own apple watch to last over a week.
 
I get the want for a watch to last more than a day on one charge, but it's really not a big deal to me. It's not like I sleep with it on. I can see it being a pain as one more charger to bring when you're traveling, but I already bring so many chargers with me now (phone, Vita, Kindle) that one more really isn't a big deal either. As long as it lasts me a whole day from waking up to going to sleep without having to worry a lot about how much I'm using it, I'm good.
 
Yeah, I personally don't have a problem with having to charge it every night (which I do, for my Moto 360), I mean, its not as if I wear it to sleep. I guess I'm just a bit disappointed since Apple has been taking their sweet time with the watch, was hoping for some sort of breakthrough - turns out it gets worse battery than the just released G-Watch R?
 
French website iGen.fr, which has provided reliable information in the past, reported on Tuesday that the Apple Watch will start at $500 alongside a gold model that will retail for between $4,000 and $5,000. Apple previously claimed at its September event that the Apple Watch would start at $349, but did not disclose further pricing information.

The report claims that the stainless steel Apple Watch in polished or black will cost $500, while the gold Apple Watch Edition will be the more expensive version at between $4,000 and $5,000. That price range would be nearly half the estimated $10,000 price that some other reports have suggested.


In terms of a launch date, the report claims that the Apple Watch will launch in time for Valentine’s Day, but that was the most specific date given. We previously reported on an internal memo from Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts in which she wrote that the Apple Watch will launch in the “Spring” following the Chinese New Year.

iGen.fr accurately reported that Apple would launch both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 at its September event and has also provided information that proved true regarding an iPod touch update in the past.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/04/apple-watch-pricing-rumor/
 
Well hot dayawm if the stainless steel one is $500 then I'm tempted to go with that over the aluminum Sport.

Most seemed to think the stainless steel one would be $1,000.
 
The steel one is the one that has the sapphire display casing, right? I could see that being worth the 150$ If it really is as thin/nonexistant as the hands on from a few months ago seemed to imply. Its been my understanding the sport has the traditional glass, which is quite a bit more noticeable.
 
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