You guys realize the apple watch is going to flop, right?

You guys realize the apple watch is going to flop, right?(fastcodesign.com)

3 points by pelf 10 years ago | 7 comments

meesterdude 10 years ago |

The author is making one fundamental mistake in their analysis of the apple watch: it's a fashion piece, not a gadget. If you look at it as a gadget; it will come up short, because it's lacking for all reasons they identified.

Just take a look at their pages for it: http://www.apple.com/watch/apple-watch/ tons of focus on the physical design details, with the actual interface and such taking the back seat.

And with prices ranging from $349 to $17K, it's pretty easy to see it's more fashion than practical.

The fact is, there is a market of people who want this & who bought this, and that's what matters. Yes, it's role as a gadget is questionable, and you certainly do not need it for anything; but people like it anyway.

I don't know that it will flop, in the end. Battery life and features will improve, and new versions will come out that people will buy. Eventually it'll do phone calls and probably have a camera, which will have a whole Dick Tracy appeal to it.

zeeed 10 years ago | |

while it looks like a "fashion piece" it is a gadget, by a gadget manufacturer, with a battery, features, talks to your phone and has apps. Period. The rest is just marketing buzz.

meesterdude 10 years ago | | |

What it is and how you spin it are not always one in the same. Yes, it's a gadget. But it's being presented and sold as a fashion piece, at fashion prices. Technology itself has become "fashionable" and so this just plays right into that. People who are technologists may not see it that way; but people bedazzled by technology will.

It would flop as a gadget. I don't think it has strong enough legs there; at least not this version. but as fashion it has potential. People did not need the watch like they could have needed the iphone or the ipad. This was purely accessory, something they had to be sold on in ways besides practicality; versus something like the iphone which is phone/gps/flashlight/camera/internet/whatever.

noir-york 10 years ago |

I sympathise somewhat with what the author is saying. The iWatch is the only Apple product that doesn't 'move' me.

That's all subjective though, we're going to have to wait for the numbers. http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-watch-sales-projections-lo... - but as with any, take them with a pinch (bucket?) full of salt.

zimpenfish 10 years ago | |

I didn't think it was going to move me but since I've been using my Garmin 920XT with smart notifications turned on, I'm definitely seeing the potential - not having to get the phone out to look at notifications is definitely a plus.

zimpenfish 10 years ago |

720k Android Wear devices shipped in 2014. 1M+ Apple Watches pre-ordered on day 1 and sales apparently still going strong. This is the kind of flop I'd love to have.