The Apple Watch - wow

All these new Apple things and I'm still thinking about jumping off the Apple ship. (not getting rid of my iMac though)
But mobile stuff ! I might give Windows a go. Its the getting stuff on and off thats a royal pain for me (iTunes)
As for the watch. Mmmm ? NO.
I have a nice analog one that tells me the time only.

i liked that the windows tablets could run lightroom... but in 2015 theyre will be the new photos app that runs cross platform for all the apple stuff with reasonable cloud storage, so ill go that route
 
I think it will keep time and may let you change dials, but why on earth would you spend *that* much money if thats all you want.

[wave of hand a-la a Jedi knight] This is not the watch you're looking for.

Some perspective: a decent watch from a proper watch company like Seiko or Citizen (not some fashion brand) will cost $300+. The Omega X-33 Skywalker watch I showed in a previous post is tipped to cost around USD$6000. Seiko themselves offer models with the most beautifully hand finished cases, dials and hands for similar money.

None of these watches give you the option to completely and instantly change the display type to what looks like at least ten very different styles. I hate to say it, but the Apple Watch is unique in the watch market. No company, from the tech giants like Seiko and Citizen, to the luxury watch companies that offer analogue/digital like Omega or Breitling, have anything remotely like this. Casio made something vaguely like this in the 80's, but they haven't been down that road for a long time.

As camera enthusiasts and photographers, we can easily spend hundreds of dollars on a Canon, Panasonic or Ricoh compact. We buy ILC's for over a thousand dollars per body and hundreds of dollars for lenses. AUD$400+ for a unique, stylish watch that allows you to choose from a range of very nicely designed displays is well in the ballpark. But if it means buying an iPhone and using iTunes, I may have to pass. Ugh.
 
Some perspective: a decent watch from a proper watch company like Seiko or Citizen (not some fashion brand) will cost $300+. The Omega X-33 Skywalker watch I showed in a previous post is tipped to cost around USD$6000. Seiko themselves offer models with the most beautifully hand finished cases, dials and hands for similar money.

I guess you need to have a greater respect for watches, than I do. They perform a function, or more than one function... but primarily so you can see what time it is. $6000 for a watch is ridiculous. Sorry.
 
I guess you need to have a greater respect for watches, than I do. They perform a function, or more than one function... but primarily so you can see what time it is. $6000 for a watch is ridiculous. Sorry.

It's just like camera's. You justify you spending.

I would never spend that much on a watch. I have a couple of nice $200 watches and don't see a need for anything more.
 
I keep my watches for many years. This, for example, is very similar to my Seiko Levante; bought in the 1980s for £250, it is as much a work of art as a timepiece; I keep it as my dress-watch these days - at a discreet 77mm calibre it goes well under a French cuff. It has paid for itself many, many times over and only needs a new battery/service once every 5 or 6 years. My current Seamaster cost just over £1000 (they now sell for nearly twice that) and will still be working in 20 or 30 years, which is more than I can say for myself. Price is absolute, value is relative.

http://forum.watch.ru/picture.php?albumid=2277&pictureid=23139
 
I don't "get" watches either, but I can't pass judgement on people who like different stuff than I do, knowing how much I'm capable of spending / wasting on stuff I'm into. I've done it with guitars, bikes audio, cameras, etc - I'm just glad I never got too excited by cars or sailboats! To me, watches are just about keeping time and there was a day that you needed a really expensive one t do that accurately. But that hasn't been the case in at least about 30 years and now a $20 Timex will keep time just as well as a multi-zillion dollar Rolex. So really nice watches are now basically jewelrey and I'm not into jewelry but I know and respect people who are! I wear about a $50 Timex and replace it every few years when the band dies. I'm fine with a basic digital but I like to be able to leave it on when I swim and I like it to have a stop-watch function, more for use as a kitchen timer than anything else.

I know people who are equally into high end / high quality fountain pens - I barely remember how to write anymore I'm so used to using a keyboard for everything. Doing anything more than scribbling the occasional note to myself, writing a (very rare) check, or signing a credit card receipt is about as much as I use a pen anymore. So I don't see the value in those either, but I've got no problem with those who do...

-Ray
 
None of these watches give you the option to completely and instantly change the display type to what looks like at least ten very different styles. I hate to say it, but the Apple Watch is unique in the watch market. No company, from the tech giants like Seiko and Citizen, to the luxury watch companies that offer analogue/digital like Omega or Breitling, have anything remotely like this.

Not quite true IMO, here is one example I could quickly find. There are more..
While not exactly the same thing, it has been tried before.

http://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko/products/s-sbpa001

This stuff has been around for years, but I suspect WE don't see this stuff outside of Japan often.

UPDATE: I just remembered the Seiko E-Ink range - read about them here - Seiko Active Matrix EPD e-Ink: The Digital Watch Is Back In Style | aBlogtoWatch
 
Not quite true IMO, here is one example I could quickly find. There are more..
While not exactly the same thing, it has been tried before.

http://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko/products/s-sbpa001

This stuff has been around for years, but I suspect WE don't see this stuff outside of Japan often.

UPDATE: I just remembered the Seiko E-Ink range - read about them here - Seiko Active Matrix EPD e-Ink: The Digital Watch Is Back In Style | aBlogtoWatch

Just do a search on EBay. When you get away from the cell phone companies, there are plenty of other "Smart Devices" that have been going on for years. Not saying any are good, or that I would buy them, but here you go.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Smart-Watch...+watch&_dcat=178893&Brand=Unbranded%2FGeneric

This is the one I would buy today if I was interested.

Omate TrueSmart: Water-resistant standalone Smartwatch 2.0
6a6df97d89c989255b18ec29118144fe_large.jpg


But let's be serious. Who is actually going to be surfing the web on a watch? All you are really going to be doing is looking at the time, and noticing a notification.

I really dig this idea. A mechanical watch, with a digital overlay.
http://www.gizmo-tech.net/2014/06/kairos-new-generation-of-smart.html
Kairos-SSW-158-Black031.jpg
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Kairos-SSW-158-02.jpg
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The issue is that a typical watch face is simply not big enough to do anything meaningful. I kind of like these ideas, not trying to make it look like a typical watch. Again not saying I would buy these, but at least they are not constraining themselves by saying it has to look like a typical watch.

http://www.techfieber.de/2010/01/11/ces-waveface-ultra-smartphone-als-oled-armband/
asus-waveface-smartphone-watch-bracelet.jpg


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1977264838/moment-smartwatch-worlds-first-wrap-around-smart-w
1ca109f18f4fd50fe4308382ac1bbf0b_large.jpg


http://www.smartwatchnews.org/emopulse-the-best-smartwatch-so-far/
emopulse-smartwatch.jpg
 
These new high tech watches are interesting. But battery life of three days is a nonstarter for me. I'm very happy with my Seiko "kinetic" watch. I've been using it for 10 years now and haven't had to buy a single battery. It tells the time and date accurately, which is good enough for me. Knowing me though, I'll probably end up with some high tech watch in the future.
 
In keeping with my increased preference for "analogue" technologies, I have arranged for a footman to shadow me bearing an hourglass, which he inverts at appropriate intervals and marks the hours as they pass by making notches on a small stick.

There is the added advantage that I can send him off on small errands on my behalf, for which purpose, of course, this "Apple watch" is quite useless.
 
Well, now that it's here, I must admit I'm impressed by it, but I still can't imagine myself wanting one. Maybe someday, if they get it to recharge based on solar or movement, so it's not limited to a one day or so charge and needs to be plugged in every night. But I guess the bottom line is I don't mind taking my iphone out of my pocket for almost anything beyond seeing what time it is, and for that my cheap Timex does the job. I can almost imagine wanting one once it can REPLACE an iphone and do all of the phone stuff in a watch, but I'm still hung up on the display - I've been buying larger and larger phones entirely because of screen size and the desire to merge my phone/tablet functions. I still have an ipad mini (not worth enough to sell), but I use it less and less now that I have an iphone 6+. When I travel I don't take my ipad and only take my Kindle if I'm know I'm gonna be reading outdoors a lot, like a beach trip. So, this makes me think a watch will never replace an iphone and, if that's the case, I don't see a point for me. I don't get a lot of texts and am happy enough reaching into my pocket when I need to see something.

But still, cool tech is something I like, whether I personally have a use for it or not, and this is pretty cool tech...

-Ray
 
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I'm on the fence. Probably will buy one. Luckily my favorite one is one of the less expensive models ($399):

jpeg&qlt=95&op_sharpen=0&resMode=bicub&op_usm=0.5,0.5,0,0&iccEmbed=0&layer=comp&.v=1425904440688.jpg
 
I definitely wont be buying. Its not just about the financial challenge, its also about being locked in to the ecosystem even more than I already am. Want an Apple Watch? gotta have an iPhone. Otherwise all you have is the watch. And I dunno, maybe not even that. Want an Apple Watch? Tolerate 18 hour battery life (if you're lucky, remember Apple judges battery life by sitting a device on a bench and not doing anything with it), so on the charger every night. If you forget, you're screwed, so much for keeping tabs on your activity. Then theres the messages and that bloody awful tapping or drawing on screen for your friends. And surfing the web or reading emails on a 38 or 42mm screen? Insanity.

Then again, thats just the craziness I see. Others will see it differently. My watch is a tap on my Fitbit Charge wrist band. It will do, and I don't even have the phone connection active, I don't want to get notifications that my phone is ringing, when its right there on the desk or in my pocket. I think this whole connectivity thing has just gotten incredibly mad.

/rant
 
If you have to charge every day, I'm out. If it gets 3-days of real life use between charges, I'm probably going to buy one. Waiting for real life reports by someone other than the folks who favorably review every Apple product.
 
Not quite true IMO, here is one example I could quickly find. There are more..
While not exactly the same thing, it has been tried before.

http://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko/products/s-sbpa001

This stuff has been around for years, but I suspect WE don't see this stuff outside of Japan often.

UPDATE: I just remembered the Seiko E-Ink range - read about them here - Seiko Active Matrix EPD e-Ink: The Digital Watch Is Back In Style | aBlogtoWatch



I've always loved watches particularly those connected to Aviation and generally regard them as an investment......unlike my cameras. I have actually bought from seiyajapan he's been around for years.

Although the value of the first Apple Watch may grow in a couple of decades , I can't see it making the money that I make with my high quality Swiss Watches.
Since the Crash the old fashioned watches have more than doubled in value. Even my Japanese Grand Seiko GMT Auto has doubled.... a Seiko for $4000 ... rarely seen outside Japan but now sold by a few exclusive dealers in most countries ( 4 dealers in the UK ).

I'm of a generation that grew up with something on my wrist but I suspect it might be harder to convince an 18 year old to supplement his Smart Phone with a Smart Watch.
I'd never say never but doubt that I need one ; I waste enough money on cameras.
 
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Apple's products, I bought the very first Macintosh (128K!) a month after it was released, and stood in line all day for the first iPhone. But I can't see myself buying this watch, at least not this iteration. If I have to bring along a charger for it when I travel, it better have some fairly vital function. And so far, this doesn't have anything I think I need.
 
Im a huge Apple fan but I could rant on this for hours. I actually work for a product development company that has good access to Apple development stuff so I have kept pretty quiet on this issue. But I feel I am safe here lol!

Apple missed the mark on this imho. Jobs would have never released this watch at these price points because it completely misses the market and target consumer. The demo for smart watches/fitness bands right now is males 21-35 who make around $45KUSD per year. It flips to females for Fitness bands and skews slightly older into the 35-45 market. Who in their right mind who makes less then $50k per year is willing to spend this kind of money? We knew several months ago their starting price was going to be @ $399 so (all of us) figured the normal tier step of $100 would make sense. Pricing the 3 models #399 $499 and $599. We found out (with the bands) for the gold watch would put it over $5k just a few months ago. I figured ok, it will be their fashion watch "news" to get attention. ok. But no, to spend a $1K on a decent 'looking' watch when a newer better one is probably just around the corner knowing Apple's life cycles? No way. Then needing to charge yet another device every night?! What about people who work long hours and then go for late dinners (which you would have to if you have silly expensive taste like this). Oh crap, my watch died on the way over here. I can't even show it off anymore! Doh!

And I don't buy the comparison to really expensive watches out there. Those watches will barely depreciate over the next 20 years. They have niche. They may even appreciate! Try selling an Apple watch 3 years from now at the same price you bought it for. Never. Its tech. And its dated the second its released. Apple, you are not a Swiss watch maker with 100s of years of experience no matter how many new alloys you invent!

On the flip side, after working with the development kit for the watch for a few months now, there is certainly some cool stuff you 'will' be able to do with this watch in this type of ecosystem. In the future, it could potentially change a lot of ways people go about doing things. The kind of stuff that isn't really solving typical 'problems' but adding the ability to do things that some day you might look back and wonder how you ever did without. Like never realizing that not having your entire collection of music at your disposal was an issue when the iPod came out. Yet its one of the top 10 most influential pieces of tech introduced in our lifetimes. The fact is, if any company can get the wearables market of the ground it would be Apple.
 
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