When I first saw the Watch my immediate reaction is it's ugly. It's rectangular, thick, boxy. It looks like a high gloss, less nerdy (but still nerdy) version of the pebble. And the UI crammed full of little icons. Ughh. I'm sorry, but if LG or Samsung had come out with this, Apple fans and employees would be snickering.
Now, since then, seeing the gold (very expensive) version and the truly nice band choices and all the snazzy Vogue ads, I've moderated my feeling somewhat. But I think ultimately it is still a misstep.
It's not that you can't make a stylish rectangular watch, you just can't make a stylish rectangular watch that is big and thick. Yes it would be truly horrendous without the Apple styling, but imagine a round watch like the 360 done the Apple way and think how much better that would have been.
Apple has always been accused of trading function for form, but in this case I think they made a mistake going to far the other way. They traded form for function. I am certain some people at Apple got serious heart burn when they saw round smart watches coming out.
I can just imagine Jobs seeing an early prototype of the Watch and saying this is sh*!. They should have designed the body first, then told the engineers whatever you can fit into this, that will be the function of the Watch. If it doesn't fit, then leave it out until the state of the art make it possible. If we can't make a good looking watch works, then we're going to wait until we can do it right, because we don't get to take multiple shots at this.
Apple is not Samsung. Samsung can just throw a bunch of stuff at the wall, use what works and quietly pull the flops from the market. Apple is too visible, too closely watched. Everything they do is magnified. The sword cuts both ways.
The thing is, now they are stuck with this form factor. Once people actually shell out for a 17000 watch, Apple just can't come back in a year or two and say uhh you know what, the Apple Watch will be round now. Aside from tacitly agreeing that they blew it, they'll have to redo the UI. More importantly, they will make early adopters feel like chumps. But that is exactly what is going to happen.
As Mr T says, I pity the fools.
The other thing they failed is to not find a way to make the Edition's electronics upgradable. Buy a really expensive band and body, and every year or two you bring it in and have the electronics and screen swapped out for, oh, a thousand bucks. Then it'll have all the latest capability and work with your latest iPhone. Heck it may even replace your iPhone.
I keep hearing people say luxury watches cost a lot. But if you buy, say, a Philippe Patek, you can use it for decades. You can pass it on to your kids. You can resell it. In five years who's going to want a first gen Apple watch? I guess you can melt it down for the gold, lol.
Now, since then, seeing the gold (very expensive) version and the truly nice band choices and all the snazzy Vogue ads, I've moderated my feeling somewhat. But I think ultimately it is still a misstep.
It's not that you can't make a stylish rectangular watch, you just can't make a stylish rectangular watch that is big and thick. Yes it would be truly horrendous without the Apple styling, but imagine a round watch like the 360 done the Apple way and think how much better that would have been.
Apple has always been accused of trading function for form, but in this case I think they made a mistake going to far the other way. They traded form for function. I am certain some people at Apple got serious heart burn when they saw round smart watches coming out.
I can just imagine Jobs seeing an early prototype of the Watch and saying this is sh*!. They should have designed the body first, then told the engineers whatever you can fit into this, that will be the function of the Watch. If it doesn't fit, then leave it out until the state of the art make it possible. If we can't make a good looking watch works, then we're going to wait until we can do it right, because we don't get to take multiple shots at this.
Apple is not Samsung. Samsung can just throw a bunch of stuff at the wall, use what works and quietly pull the flops from the market. Apple is too visible, too closely watched. Everything they do is magnified. The sword cuts both ways.
The thing is, now they are stuck with this form factor. Once people actually shell out for a 17000 watch, Apple just can't come back in a year or two and say uhh you know what, the Apple Watch will be round now. Aside from tacitly agreeing that they blew it, they'll have to redo the UI. More importantly, they will make early adopters feel like chumps. But that is exactly what is going to happen.
As Mr T says, I pity the fools.
The other thing they failed is to not find a way to make the Edition's electronics upgradable. Buy a really expensive band and body, and every year or two you bring it in and have the electronics and screen swapped out for, oh, a thousand bucks. Then it'll have all the latest capability and work with your latest iPhone. Heck it may even replace your iPhone.
I keep hearing people say luxury watches cost a lot. But if you buy, say, a Philippe Patek, you can use it for decades. You can pass it on to your kids. You can resell it. In five years who's going to want a first gen Apple watch? I guess you can melt it down for the gold, lol.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram