How many are getting an Apple watch?

[Commodus]

I just tried on an AW for the first time. My gf needed to go to the mall and I waited for her in the Apple Store. I was eyeing the watches and then I walked over to where they have speakers and the like. 3rd party stuff. Store wasn't too crowded. Young sales rep comes up to me and says 'hey, saw you eyeing the Watches, wanna try one on?' Sure I said. So I tried on both sport models. First off, the black model is the only one where the bezel isn't light grey, and I definitely like that one the best aesthetically. Second, I think I could pull off the 38 mm model. I also think the steel of the 'Apple Watch' is fugly.

Before trying it on I did a demo with the voice dictation. The store wasn't crowded but loud enough I felt. VD was pretty damn good. Not perfect, but very impressive. Only issue I find is that if there is a mistake, you can't touch the screen and fix it. You have to start from anew. That issue aside, VD was so good I kinda want one now. But to really sell me on this I want to see a Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Watch app too. And in a perfect world a PocketCasts Watch app that allows me to access my collection.

But I walked away very impressed.

Also I just found out CloudMagic has a Watch app that does voice dictation. That would be killer if it works well.

Check out Overcast for your podcasts -- it might do the trick. Facebook has pledged Watch support in general, so don't be surprised if Messenger gets it. Don't know about WhatsApp, but again... Facebook.

 

[blairharrington]

Check out Overcast for your podcasts -- it might do the trick. Facebook has pledged Watch support in general, so don't be surprised if Messenger gets it. Don't know about WhatsApp, but again... Facebook.

I don't like Overcast for several reasons. And Pocketcasts is superior IMO.

 

[Red Storm]

Apparently the Asus Zenwatch 2 will have three to four days of battery life. That's a HUGE jump over the 1 day battery life of all these first gen smart watches. If the Apple Watch v2 and 2nd gen Android Wear watches get similar increases in battery life that will really start to kill the Pebble and fitness band market.

 

[ControlD]

Apparently the Asus Zenwatch 2 will have three to four days of battery life. That's a HUGE jump over the 1 day battery life of all these first gen smart watches. If the Apple Watch v2 and 2nd gen Android Wear watches get similar increases in battery life that will really start to kill the Pebble and fitness band market.

They need to start making them waterproof to kill the fitness band market IMO.

 

[Red Storm]

They need to start making them waterproof to kill the fitness band market IMO.

True, that's the other important feature.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Apparently the Asus Zenwatch 2 will have three to four days of battery life. That's a HUGE jump over the 1 day battery life of all these first gen smart watches. If the Apple Watch v2 and 2nd gen Android Wear watches get similar increases in battery life that will really start to kill the Pebble and fitness band market.

Honestly I think Apple made the right choice. I would rather have a higher PPI screen than battery life.

 

[ControlD]

Honestly I think Apple made the right choice. I would rather have a higher PPI screen than battery life.

Interesting. I am the exact opposite. I want an always on screen and multiple day battery life. I'm tired of plugging all my crap in every night just hoping to get through most of the next day with it.

 

[Commodus]

Honestly I think Apple made the right choice. I would rather have a higher PPI screen than battery life.

I'd tend to agree given that Apple was clearly lowballing the battery life expectations. Frankly, it's kinda ridiculous that Apple gets genuine all-day battery with a higher-resolution screen than most rivals and just a 205mAh battery (on the 38mm model, at least). And apparently, the S1 is an 'old' 28nm chip, so there's lots of room to grow.

 

[ControlD]

I'd tend to agree given that Apple was clearly lowballing the battery life expectations. Frankly, it's kinda ridiculous that Apple gets genuine all-day battery with a higher-resolution screen than most rivals and just a 205mAh battery (on the 38mm model, at least). And apparently, the S1 is an 'old' 28nm chip, so there's lots of room to grow.

I think any watch that spends 90% of the time with the screen off should be able to easily get multiple days of battery life. I'm shocked there are ones that can't honestly, and the fact that the "best" gets slightly more than a day doesn't seem like a great accomplishment.

 

[Commodus]

I think any watch that spends 90% of the time with the screen off should be able to easily get multiple days of battery life. I'm shocked there are ones that can't honestly, and the fact that the "best" gets slightly more than a day doesn't seem like a great accomplishment.

We're only just starting to see some improvements. To me, the achievements here are size (you no longer need a wrist-dominating beast to get all-day battery) and resolution (you no longer have to settle for 320x240 or thereabouts). The next step is ideally to get multi-day battery life out of this, although I won't be surprised if Apple pushes for more health tracking or a slimmer body first. It's actually comparable to a lot of watches in thickness right now, but it could stand to be more cuff-friendly.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Frankly, it's kinda ridiculous that Apple gets genuine all-day battery with a higher-resolution screen than most rivals and just a 205mAh battery (on the 38mm model, at least).

Yeah but it doesn't have an always on mode. I can get two days out of my LG Watch with that mode turned off.

Interesting. I am the exact opposite. I want an always on screen and multiple day battery life. I'm tired of plugging all my crap in every night just hoping to get through most of the next day with it.

I don't see any way that I am getting away from plugging in a phone every night anytime soon, so a watch isn't a big deal. Actually with my G Watch its magnetically pulled into its little dock which is even nicer than plugging in my phone.

A better screen would make text more legible, and on a round model could make those real watch faces look a lot better.

 

[Artdeco]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-s-watch-sales-to-biggest-drop-in-seven-years

One month does not a trend make, but still.....

 

[jacktesterson]

Apparently the Asus Zenwatch 2 will have three to four days of battery life. That's a HUGE jump over the 1 day battery life of all these first gen smart watches. If the Apple Watch v2 and 2nd gen Android Wear watches get similar increases in battery life that will really start to kill the Pebble and fitness band market.

Why?

Touchscreens on a watch are meh.

I love my Pebble Time.

 

[openwheel]

iWatch has already been written off as meh by just about everyone.
Most tech sites are just waiting for gen II. What a life span for such device.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...le-watch-just-isnt-ready-yet/article25929921/

 

[ControlD]

Why?

Touchscreens on a watch are meh.

I love my Pebble Time.

I feel the same way about my original Pebble. I also appreciate that the screen is always on and doesn't require spastic gyrations just so I can see what time it is.

Anecdotal evidence being what is is, since the Apple Watch was released I know one person that has purchased that device but three people that have purchased a Pebble Time. Three of those people are happy with their purchases and they all have Pebbles.

 

[openwheel]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-s-watch-sales-to-biggest-drop-in-seven-years

One month does not a trend make, but still.....

Exactly as we expected. Apple taking a small piece of the pie from wanna be brands like Movado and Raymond Weil, but no effect on Rolex and Patek.

How good will iWatch II be after flopping in the 1st round? Who knows.

 

[Oyeve]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-s-watch-sales-to-biggest-drop-in-seven-years

One month does not a trend make, but still.....

This is a crock. Where did they get their data from? I have yet to see more than 2 iwatches in the wild. I truly believe people are note buying watches has absolutely nothing to do with the iwatch. Or any smartwatch for that matter. I believe people just aren't wearing watches as much as in the past. I have a Gear 2 but still have around 25+ regular watches.

 

[vi edit]

Wonder how much Fitbit is making an impact on watches...

http://mobihealthnews.com/43412/fitbit-files-for-ipo-sold-nearly-11-million-fitness-devices-in-2014/

It's replacing wrist wear too. They sold 11 million of them last year. And I'm sure the HR ones push that even further this year.

 

[openwheel]

Fitbit FTW

 

[Commodus]

This is a crock. Where did they get their data from? I have yet to see more than 2 iwatches in the wild. I truly believe people are note buying watches has absolutely nothing to do with the iwatch. Or any smartwatch for that matter. I believe people just aren't wearing watches as much as in the past. I have a Gear 2 but still have around 25+ regular watches.

If you accept these figures, it's not at all surprising that they're still rare in the wild. Remember, that's 1.9 million spread across several countries, with disproportionate representation in certain cities (New York, London and Tokyo, for example). The likelihood that you'll happen to run into another user is pretty slim! Think about how many iPods Apple was was shipping before you saw them relatively frequently.

The truth is that we don't know whether or not Apple is denting the conventional watch market at all. However, it's already safe to say that this is the most popular smartwatch (from all indications, it outperformed Android Wear's cumulative sales in two months). If any smartwatch is going to affect sales of traditional timepieces, Apple's is the one.

 

[lazybedone]

I would like to have but I am afraid that I don't know how to operate it once something is wrong. I don't want to depend on a technician or somebody just to fix my device because I can't do it myself. But I am still thinking about it.

 

[dawheat]

This is a crock. Where did they get their data from? I have yet to see more than 2 iwatches in the wild. I truly believe people are note buying watches has absolutely nothing to do with the iwatch. Or any smartwatch for that matter. I believe people just aren't wearing watches as much as in the past. I have a Gear 2 but still have around 25+ regular watches.

What's hard to believe? Millions of Apple watches were sold - it'd be unbelievable if there was no impact on the existing watch market.

In NYC, you see Apple Watches regularly.

 

[Oyeve]

What's hard to believe? Millions of Apple watches were sold - it'd be unbelievable if there was no impact on the existing watch market.

In NYC, you see Apple Watches regularly.

No, I see fitbits regularly. The only iwatches I see are on the hipster/millennials who otherwise wouldn't be wearing a traditional watch.

 

[dawheat]

No, I see fitbits regularly. The only iwatches I see are on the hipster/millennials who otherwise wouldn't be wearing a traditional watch.

Well our anecdotes don't matter - even if a relatively small minority of Apple Watch buyers are traditional watch buyers, they still sold millions of them.

If anything, I think a 14% y/o/y drop in US watch sales is pretty good considering the Apple Watch revenue in the US was probably close to the same amount.

Unless you have a different explanation for the y/o/y drop (which sounds outside the statistical norms), this seems like a completely reasonable explanation.

 

[Nebor]

Wonder how much Fitbit is making an impact on watches...

http://mobihealthnews.com/43412/fitbit-files-for-ipo-sold-nearly-11-million-fitness-devices-in-2014/

It's replacing wrist wear too. They sold 11 million of them last year. And I'm sure the HR ones push that even further this year.

I replaced my daily wear G-Shock (I do Army things so I don't wear a nice watch at work) with a Fitbit Charge HR. Out of the 20 or so people that work in my building (a mixture of DoD Civilians and Army Soldiers) I'd say 15 have some kind of "smart" watch. There are 3 Apple Watches that I know of, and the rest are all either Fitbit Charges, Charge HRs or Surges.

I can't heap enough praise on the Charge HR. Amazing device that provides a staggering amount of data (assuming you set it up right and enter all your food.)