Apple Lost It's Polish?

LibertyBeacon

LibertyBeacon

Unto dust we shall return
The author, Krantz, is notoriously anti-Apple. Markets are down broadly. Apple won't be tanked by the launch of a crummy watch. Now a crummy release of a new iPhone … different story. Overall fundamentals still strong, I'd buy more AAPL at this point.
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
I'm not seeing an Apple watch go anywhere. The phone already functions well as a game machine, a camera, an MP3 player and a tablet as well as being a phone.
For most young people I know - their cell phone IS their watch. Since they take it everywhere and do everything with it, owning a regular watch is redundant.

What the watch needs is what most computer innovations need - a killer app. Something a watch does better than the phone it's going to complement.
Right now the only app I can think of that a phone can't do is health monitoring, because a watch physically touches you whereas a phone doesn't.

That's not compelling enough to buy one.
 
Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
SamSpade said:
What the watch needs is what most computer innovations need - a killer app. Something a watch does better than the phone it's going to complement.
Right now the only app I can think of that a phone can't do is health monitoring, because a watch physically touches you whereas a phone doesn't.

.
Click to expand...


I consider myself a pretty heavy user of my phone. Of all the kewl things they can do, phone, text, e mail, GPS, search, calculator, calender, address book, notes, camera, video, watch TV, weather, voice recorder, music player, stop watch, timer, voice commands, my hassle with them, the thing that would really help me, would be comprehensive voice commands.

I can push a button and tell it to call So and So or push some buttons and then tell it to search for thus and such, etc. But, as I've grown accustomed to all those great features I use all the time, I know what faster, simpler and less, WAY less having to interact physically by pushing ANY buttons.

Ideally, I'm driving, phone is sitting there and I just say 'phone, wake up, text sam 'hey, great idea....' or 'phone, read me sams' text'.

As is, I have to wake it up, unlock it and then select text to see or have it read it to me.

That is the HUGE next big thing to me; phone as, basically, personal assistant you merely have to talk to and barely touch at all, if at all.

"Phone, weather for this afternoon?"

"Phone, did the e mail come in yet from sam, read it to me if it did"


True hands free, truly comprehensive ability to interact such as "Well, Larry, there are three new e mails, one is spam, one is so and so and one is from Sam Spade.."

"That's who I meant, Sam Spade..."
 
Tilted

Tilted

..
SamSpade said:
I'm not seeing an Apple watch go anywhere. The phone already functions well as a game machine, a camera, an MP3 player and a tablet as well as being a phone.
For most young people I know - their cell phone IS their watch. Since they take it everywhere and do everything with it, owning a regular watch is redundant.

What the watch needs is what most computer innovations need - a killer app. Something a watch does better than the phone it's going to complement.
Right now the only app I can think of that a phone can't do is health monitoring, because a watch physically touches you whereas a phone doesn't.

That's not compelling enough to buy one.
Click to expand...

I think the Apple Watch will be very successful. But being successful doesn't mean selling anything near the number of units that the iPhone sells. It's not that kind of product, I wouldn't expect - and I don't think Apple expects - anything near 100% attachment. I would say that, if they can get something like 15% attachment (with all iPhone users) within the next 2 to 3 years, that would represent success.

We should keep in mind that the current Apple Watch is a first generation product. It compares pretty favorably, I think, with the first generation iPad and iPhones. It's a more finished product, with already more fully fleshed out capabilities. It still has a ways to go though, just as those products did when they first came out. The iPad took a major jump forward with the second generation and it's seen considerable improvements since then. And the iPhone of today, even the iPhone of 5 years ago (just a few years after the original), is a profoundly different device than the original generation iPhone. It's almost not the same kind of device anymore. I think the first generation Apple Watch will sell more units in its first quarter than the first generation iPad did, even with the major supply constraints they experienced (due, I think, to discovering a faulty component late in pre-production run-up) and their resulting inability to make it available through retail locations in the beginning. It was really, for the most part, only available as an online order until just recently - which isn't the way I suspect most people would want to buy a product that they wear on their body, a product that is to a significant degree fashion as well as tech. And it will surely sell more units than the iPhone did when it was introduced, by a fair bit. Like I suggested, it has a ways to go to be the great product that both the iPad and iPhone are now, but WatchOS 2.0 is already in beta testing and it already represents a significant step forward in functionality for the watch - nevermind hardware enhancements that will come at some point.

As for the need for a killer app that you refer to, there are already a number of apps - or more generally, functions - regarding which the Watch is better than a phone. And when it comes to so many other apps or functions, it's not so much that the Watch does them better as it that the Watch makes them more convenient. You don't have to pull out your phone or go pick it up from wherever you set it down if you happen to be somewhere where you don't have to keep it on you (e.g., at home or at work). You just lift your wrist and the info is right there. Or you get an alert on your wrist and can quickly see what it is, and even respond in some cases, without having to pick up a phone and possibly having to unlock it. It takes the convenience and efficiency to another level.

When I'm at home now, I almost never have my phone on me. It stays on the charger or on the counter where I last set it down (e.g. when I got home). I don't need it. Wherever I go, so long as I'm within my home Wifi, I get whatever alerts I need - calls, texts, news flashes, weather notifications, credit card purchase notifications, whatever. I go outside to cut the grass, I don't need to have my phone in my pocket to get sweat all over it. I can play my music while I'm cutting grass from my watch and feel comfortable that I won't miss a notification. If someone sends me a text to let me know something, I don't need to pick up the phone to type (or dictate) a response. I raise my wrist, tap it, say "Okay, that's fine" or whatever, tap it again and I'm back to whatever I was doing. I can control my Apple TV from my wrist instead of worrying about where the remote (or my phone) is. I suspect I'll soon be able to control my Nest thermostat that way. On the golf course I can leave my iPhone in my bag; I can use my watch to see GPS-based distances. When paying for things (at places with NFC terminals, which is still far fewer than it should be by now) I just tap a button on the Watch and wave it near the terminal. I get an affirming vibration that tells me I'm done. I don't need to pull my phone or a credit card out.

And of course, what you referred to is huge - not so much health monitoring as activity monitoring and encouragement. It's really good at that. Every week since I've had the Apple Watch I've upped my total activity and exercise time. Over the last few weeks I'm averaging 17 miles (or the equivalent) and about 200 minutes of heart-elevating exercise time per day. That's much, much better than I was doing with the Nike Fuelband.

The Watch, or smartwatch offerings from other manufacturers, won't be for everyone. They probably won't even be for most people. But they will be a valuable tool for a significant number of people. I would say that for me, the Watch is a game changer - and it represents one of the best value propositions I've ever spent money on.
 
Tilted

Tilted

..
Larry Gude said:
I consider myself a pretty heavy user of my phone. Of all the kewl things they can do, phone, text, e mail, GPS, search, calculator, calender, address book, notes, camera, video, watch TV, weather, voice recorder, music player, stop watch, timer, voice commands, my hassle with them, the thing that would really help me, would be comprehensive voice commands.

I can push a button and tell it to call So and So or push some buttons and then tell it to search for thus and such, etc. But, as I've grown accustomed to all those great features I use all the time, I know what faster, simpler and less, WAY less having to interact physically by pushing ANY buttons.

Ideally, I'm driving, phone is sitting there and I just say 'phone, wake up, text sam 'hey, great idea....' or 'phone, read me sams' text'.

As is, I have to wake it up, unlock it and then select text to see or have it read it to me.

That is the HUGE next big thing to me; phone as, basically, personal assistant you merely have to talk to and barely touch at all, if at all.

"Phone, weather for this afternoon?"

"Phone, did the e mail come in yet from sam, read it to me if it did"


True hands free, truly comprehensive ability to interact such as "Well, Larry, there are three new e mails, one is spam, one is so and so and one is from Sam Spade.."

"That's who I meant, Sam Spade..."
Click to expand...

Can you not already do much of that with your phone?

Sure, the complexity of the instructions it will understand and be able to correctly act on is still fairly limited, but you should be able to do a lot of things without touching your phone. You should be able to tell it to make a call for you or text someone for you or check the weather for you or get you directions to somewhere or do a google search for the 10th President.


EDIT: I should have added, with regard to the part I bolded, that's part of the benefit of the Watch (and I assume most other devices like it) - the notion of having to wake up your device or unlock it disappears. You don't wake it up, just looking at it wakes it up and - if there's a new alert of some kind - takes you to the info that's coming in.
 
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Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Tilted said:
Can you not already do much of that with your phone?

Sure, the complexity of the instructions it will understand and be able to correctly act on is still fairly limited, but you should be able to do a lot of things without touching your phone. You should be able to tell it to make a call for you or text someone for you or check the weather for you or get you directions to somewhere or do a google search for the 10th President.


EDIT: I should have added, with regard to the part I bolded, that's part of the benefit of the Watch (and I assume most other devices like it) - the notion of having to wake up your device or unlock it disappears. You don't wake it up, just looking at it wakes it up and - if there's a new alert of some kind - takes you to the info that's coming in.
Click to expand...

I'm sure I am too dumb to take advantage of features I may have that I am not aware of but at present, I'm driving, a text comes in, I have to swipe with my finger, then finger the text icon then the one that just came in. I wanna make a call, I press my ear thing, then I have to make a selection on the phone and then I can talk it through it assuming I can enunciate close enough for it to find the name.

It may well be me needing some training. :shrug:
 
Tilted

Tilted

..
Larry Gude said:
I'm sure I am too dumb to take advantage of features I may have that I am not aware of but at present, I'm driving, a text comes in, I have to swipe with my finger, then finger the text icon then the one that just came in. I wanna make a call, I press my ear thing, then I have to make a selection on the phone and then I can talk it through it assuming I can enunciate close enough for it to find the name.

It may well be me needing some training. :shrug:
Click to expand...

What version of Android are you running?

You may need to turn Ok Google on through some setting. I'm not sure whether the phone needs to be plugged in and charging for Ok Google to work.

But assuming you have a fairly recent version of Android, and assuming you have the setting switched on, you should be able to just say "Ok Google" and then start barking orders at your phone like the minimum wage employee that it is. :smile:
 
Kyle

Kyle

Beloved Misanthrope
PREMO Member
I'm really surprised after iMac, iPod, iPad, iPhone, iCloud etc. they didnt' call it the iWatch.

:jet:
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
Seeing my earlier post -

I now have and use an Apple Watch. On more than one occasion I've lifted my wrist a la Dick Tracy to talk on the Watch/Phone.

On the other hand ---

I inherited it. My wife couldn't use it, so she gifted it to me. I find it useful at times - still would never have bought it.
Unless there's free wifi somewhere, it's kind of useless unless my actual iPhone is in range.
 
black dog

black dog

Free America
Bare-ya-cuda said:
I miss my flip phone!!!
Click to expand...

I miss my Motorola flip phone along with its car mount...
158834
 
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