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Apple Watch |
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#51 |
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More then likely Samsung will make a smart watch too. Come next Christmas there could be a lot of competition and hopefully decent pricing.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...le-iWatch.html |
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#52 |
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Im just not convinced that a watch is the same beasty as a phone/tablet.
Pebble will stay fairly niche, as will metawatch, liveview, I'm watch, cuckoo etc etc. Apple wont want a niche product. Apple will want to sell millions. Do i want the same thing on my wrist as 25% of my colleagues ? it would be a bit like 25% of the office wearing the same T-Shirt, or shoes. Sounds a bit too uniformy for me. |
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#53 |
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Quote:
Im just not convinced that a watch is the same beasty as a phone/tablet.
Pebble will stay fairly niche, as will metawatch, liveview, I'm watch, cuckoo etc etc. Apple wont want a niche product. Apple will want to sell millions. Do i want the same thing on my wrist as 25% of my colleagues ? it would be a bit like 25% of the office wearing the same T-Shirt, or shoes. Sounds a bit too uniformy for me. |
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#54 |
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Quote:
Apple wont want a niche product.
As soon as Apple enters a market, it stops being a niche market. |
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#55 |
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Nothing Apple makes would ever be a niche product.
As soon as Apple enters a market, it stops being a niche market. ![]() http://www.ibtimes.com/apples-10-wor...ts-ever-551881 Just a sample ........ Mp3 players, Smart phones and tablets are the only real products that apple came into and managed to (often temporarily) corner the market .... They have had many more attempts that flopped. I can see an iwatch selling a lot ..... But mostly to the same people who will buy anything from Apple (and I'm not having a dig at anyone in particular before anyone shouts !!!). |
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#56 |
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Quote:
Gosh I hope you are joking with this one
![]() Apple are the biggest consumer electronics company in the world, a company that size doesn't do 'niche'. Quote:
So number 2 on that list, the second worst product Apple ever launched, is iTunes - it's only the biggest/most successful digital media distribution service ever As for the rest of them, they're either really old and pre-date Apple's rise to their current position or they're debatable at best. Quote:
Just a sample ........
Mp3 players, Smart phones and tablets are the only real products that apple came into and managed to (often temporarily) corner the market .... Quote:
They have had many more attempts that flopped.
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I can see an iwatch selling a lot ..... But mostly to the same people who will buy anything from Apple (and I'm not having a dig at anyone in particular before anyone shouts !!!).
I think a lot of people who are interested in smartwatches but put off by the limited capabilities of the existing options would seriously consider one from Apple. |
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#57 |
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As for the rest of them, they're either really old and pre-date Apple's rise to their current position or they're debatable at best.
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I don't own a single Apple product, I've owned literally one in my entire life but an Apple smartwatch is something I would consider (assuming it would be compatible with my Android handset(s)).
Good luck with that Apple don't 'do' compatibility with Android. They seem to have some sort of perverse pride in this.
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#58 |
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I think that's partly due to the date of the article. How could it miss Apple Maps? The worst product apple have rolled out for a long time....
Apple Maps was shoddy but did it realistically cost them any sales? Quote:
Good luck with that
Apple don't 'do' compatibility with Android. They seem to have some sort of perverse pride in this.Which is a shame because I would be interested. Still the Samsung rumours offer up a bit of hope. |
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#59 |
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That's a fair point but I would say there's a difference between a free service like Apple Maps and a product people pay for.
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Apple Maps was shoddy but did it realistically cost them any sales?
It certainly didn't bring them close to ruin, but it absolutely affected them and cost them sales. What Apple Maps did, very publicly, was destroy any semblance of Apple software being head and shoulders above the competition. More and more, people don't think, "hey I want the best phone, I'll get an iphone" (as quite a few people did around the time of iphone 4), spurned on by marketing messages such as "it just works". Most savvy customers know that the playing field is a lot more level now, they're weighing up their options more, asking on forums "which phone should I buy?" and being more discerning. Not JUST because of maps of course, but it helped nudge Apple from a company with aspiring products to a company to make fun of. |
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#60 |
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Yeah, it'll only be compatible with iPods, iPhones and iPads. Potentially risky, but the install base of these products is so huge now that they can probably make it a success by using this strategy. Hopefully that also means it'll integrate with iOS really well too. Still not sure I'm interested though!
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#61 |
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Yeah, it'll only be compatible with iPods, iPhones and iPads. Potentially risky, but the install base of these products is so huge now that they can probably make it a success by using this strategy. Hopefully that also means it'll integrate with iOS really well too. Still not sure I'm interested though!
But open standards and never been Apples thing before so they wont give a shit as usual. |
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#62 |
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No.
Apple are the biggest consumer electronics company in the world, a company that size doesn't do 'niche'. So number 2 on that list, the second worst product Apple ever launched, is iTunes - it's only the biggest/most successful digital media distribution service ever As for the rest of them, they're either really old and pre-date Apple's rise to their current position or they're debatable at best. Since when did one company need to corner a market for the market itself not to be a niche? Not lately. I don't own a single Apple product, I've owned literally one in my entire life but an Apple smartwatch is something I would consider (assuming it would be compatible with my Android handset(s)). I think a lot of people who are interested in smartwatches but put off by the limited capabilities of the existing options would seriously consider one from Apple. You seem to have taken it a little personally. It certainly wasnt meant to offend. Its just a fact that Apple have had some things that have fallen by the wayside just like any other firm. |
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#63 |
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That was one example of an article. Not everything Apple has done has turned to gold. Apple TV is a fairly recent example of something that hasnt set the world on fire surely ???
You seem to have taken it a little personally. It certainly wasnt meant to offend. Its just a fact that Apple have had some things that have fallen by the wayside just like any other firm. |
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#64 |
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Apple TV has been around for quite a while. Started off as Jobsian hobby project, but sales have been fairly decent since they made it far more affordable a couple of years ago. If they sell as many watches as Apple TV's I think they'll be pretty pleased.
And compared with iPhones and iPads and iPods its very small fry. If Apple sell only 4 million iWatches worldwide in a year my guess is that the press and the shareholders would see it, rightly or wrongly, as a failure. |
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#65 |
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^^^
Agreed. They will be looking to sell far more than that. Remember, they sold almost 50 million iPhones in a single quarter. There must be hundreds of millions of operational iOS devices now, so 4 million in a year would be really small. My gut feeling is that, if launched, it will be pretty successful but obviously not to iPhone and iPad level. Oh, Apple HiFi is another example of a product that flopped. |
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#66 |
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I'm not sure that there is in this case. Several free/software products made that list.
Apple Maps may be a terrible piece of software but that's not the same as being a niche product, which is the point he was trying to rebut. And a number of the products on that list certainly don't fall into the niche product category, no matter how badly they sold. Quote:
It certainly didn't bring them close to ruin, but it absolutely affected them and cost them sales.
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More and more, people don't think, "hey I want the best phone, I'll get an iphone" (as quite a few people did around the time of iphone 4), spurned on by marketing messages such as "it just works". Most savvy customers know that the playing field is a lot more level now, they're weighing up their options more, asking on forums "which phone should I buy?" and being more discerning.
Spec-wise, about the only time that you could've argued that Apple pushed the market forward was the with increase in screen resolution that the iPhone4 brought about but even that was part of an on-going trend in increasing resolutions that has subsequently left Apple behind. The Apple Maps issue will have little-to-no long-term impact on them IMO. Quote:
That was one example of an article. Not everything Apple has done has turned to gold. Apple TV is a fairly recent example of something that hasnt set the world on fire surely ???
Looking at Apple in it's current iteration (which can basically be traced back to the iPod), they've had far more successes than failures. Quote:
You seem to have taken it a little personally. It certainly wasnt meant to offend. Its just a fact that Apple have had some things that have fallen by the wayside just like any other firm.
I only used myself as an example about potential customers because I can't speak for anyone else. Quote:
well we are going to argue over 'niche' then. Its pretty rare to see an Apple TV unit - 4 million worldwide is tiny compared to Freeview boxes or Tivos etc so I would still say its niche.
Yes the figures are lower than Freeview boxes or anything similar that is required to use a particular service but the market for such devices is growing with the likes of Boxee and Roku and so on and Apple seem to be very much holding their own in it. In fact, if anything, they will have pushed the market forward because there will be a number of people who have purchased an Apple TV who would never have purchased a similar device from a different manufacturer. Quote:
And compared with iPhones and iPads and iPods its very small fry.
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If Apple sell only 4 million iWatches worldwide in a year my guess is that the press and the shareholders would see it, rightly or wrongly, as a failure.
Whilst this is in a number of ways a new product category for Apple, at the same time it's not at all - it's an iPhone/iPad accessory, there's already a large and proven market for them. |
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#67 |
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well we are going to argue over 'niche' then. Its pretty rare to see an Apple TV unit - 4 million worldwide is tiny compared to Freeview boxes or Tivos etc so I would still say its niche.
And compared with iPhones and iPads and iPods its very small fry. If Apple sell only 4 million iWatches worldwide in a year my guess is that the press and the shareholders would see it, rightly or wrongly, as a failure. Besides, I already agreed with you in earlier post that accessories will always be niche compared to smartphones and tablets. The point I've been making is even with a few million sales it's worth Apple supporting to keep people in the eco-system, and using the iTunes/app store. Apple TV is actually a good example. It is essentially an iTunes store add on, with the added ability of being able to wirelessly stream media or mirror screens from other Apple devices/computers. |
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#68 |
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Pebble will stay fairly niche, as will metawatch, liveview, I'm watch, cuckoo etc etc.
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Do i want the same thing on my wrist as 25% of my colleagues ? it would be a bit like 25% of the office wearing the same T-Shirt, or shoes. Sounds a bit too uniformy for me.
For me a watch is about functionality rather than style. That said, loads of people seemed happy to show off their iPhones in public.
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#69 |
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LOL there is no need to argue over anything - there's a custom made thread already for that - where the merits or not of the word 'retina' are still being argued over two years too late - I;m rather hoping this thread doesn't head in that direction.
Besides, I already agreed with you in earlier post that accessories will always be niche compared to smartphones and tablets. The point I've been making is even with a few million sales it's worth Apple supporting to keep people in the eco-system, and using the iTunes/app store. Apple TV is actually a good example. It is essentially an iTunes store add on, with the added ability of being able to wirelessly stream media or mirror screens from other Apple devices/computers. ![]() Its an odd one to be honest. Do people want individual wearable tech ? Could apple provide variety like swatch ? With it (possibly) being Apples 'next big thing' it could be hugely important for them as a company. A lot could depend on whether Samsung beat them to market. With watches it seems like battery is key. Make them too flashy and battery is poor (as per the live view). Make battery key and functionality can drop. For me a watch has to be 'always on'. thats why the pebble appeals. i dont want to press a button to see the time ..... |
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#70 |
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With watches it seems like battery is key.
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#71 |
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Absolutely, that's why I think Apple would produce a significantly better smartwatch than anything else on the market just now, because I think they'd a) understand the importance of battery life and b) have the means to engineer their device so that it was decent.
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#72 |
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OK then
![]() Its an odd one to be honest. Do people want individual wearable tech ? Could apple provide variety like swatch ? With it (possibly) being Apples 'next big thing' it could be hugely important for them as a company. A lot could depend on whether Samsung beat them to market. With watches it seems like battery is key. Make them too flashy and battery is poor (as per the live view). Make battery key and functionality can drop. For me a watch has to be 'always on'. thats why the pebble appeals. i dont want to press a button to see the time ..... Alternatively the other option is higher tech with more functionality, proper screens and possibly installable widgets. But need charging every couple of days (depending on usage naturally). These have far nicer screens and are preferable IMHO. However there were some early fails with these where some couldn't even tell the time without the Smartphone connected. Perhaps a winner will be something in between the two extremes, that can last weeks between charges (unlikely I know!) Still they have at least all realised that a smart watch should be able to at least function as a watch when not connected to the phone. |
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#73 |
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Their phones are no better though, so why should their watches be? Their batteries are as crap as the rest.
Their laptops regularly trounce Windows alternative when it comes to battery life. On a watch, where space is at an even greater premium than in a phone, there's a limit to how much bigger you can make it/how much larger a battery you can fit. So I think Apple's expertise in producing tightly integrated hardware and software would prove a benefit for smartwatches. |
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#74 |
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Their handsets have similar battery life to the competition despite having lower-capacity batteries.
Their laptops regularly trounce Windows alternative when it comes to battery life. On a watch, where space is at an even greater premium than in a phone, there's a limit to how much bigger you can make it/how much larger a battery you can fit. So I think Apple's expertise in producing tightly integrated hardware and software would prove a benefit for smartwatches. If Samsung are also doing similar things then it could be an interesting year. The rumour that they might buy the Pebble team is an interesting one too. |
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#75 |
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Their handsets have similar battery life to the competition despite having lower-capacity batteries.
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Apple don't 'do' compatibility with Android. They seem to have some sort of perverse pride in this.