4 ms·

This is not a good example. The reason the iPod sold so poorly the first few years was because you can only sync them with Macs. Very few people owned Macs, so

This is not a good example. The reason the iPod sold so poorly the first few years was because you can only sync them with Macs. Very few people owned Macs, so iPod sales were poor. It took iTunes for Windows to come out before things changed.

abc_lisper 9y ago
A parallel would be to have apple watches sync with 'droids..
- JustSomeNobody 9y ago
  I don't think so. As was mentioned, a lot of people didn't have Macs so it took iTunes on Windows to increase sales. A lot of people have iPhones. Enough, that Apple doesn't have to care about 'droids.
- mikeash 9y ago
  Except not really, because the installed base of Macs at the time was a few million, while the iPhone installed base is around a billion. Being Mac-only in the early 2000s was orders of magnitude more limiting to potential sales than being iPhone-only today.
  - chaolam 9y ago
    Except not really, because number of Apple Watches sold in first month was in the millions whereas number of iPods sold was less than 100,000! I think OP is talking about rate of growth being like iPod, not absolute numbers https://www.lifewire.com/number-of-ipods-sold-all-time-1999515 https://www.lifewire.com/number-of-ipods-sold-all-time-19995...
  - wongarsu 9y ago
    The iPhone install base is certainly not a billion, there have only been 1.2 billion ever sold. Estimates for the install base vary wildly, with the upper estimates at about 3/4 of a billion and more reasonable estimates at half a billion. In any case, iPhones have about 15%-25% of the global smartphone install base (with the US being the big outlier). I certainly count that as very limiting. Maybe not on quite the same magnitude as Macs were for early iPods, but Apple Watches so far also did a lot better than early iPods.
    - rimliu 9y ago
      > iPhones have about 15%-25% of the global smartphone > install base I would like to know how much of the remaining 75%-85% are used as smartphones and not just dumbphones with an smartphone OS on them. I am sure the many of the cheapest models are used this way.
      - aetherson 9y ago
        Why are you sure of that?
cr__ 9y ago
You can only use the Apple Watch if you have an iPhone.
- mandeepj 9y ago
  But there are billion iPhones sold so conditions are not the same
- archvile 9y ago
  In the original days of iPhone, you could really only use it if you had a computer (to sync through iTunes, and to activate it if you didn't buy it in the store). iCloud got rid of all of that. I don't see why Apple wouldn't do similar with the Watch, especially since more of their services (Messages, Health) are being moved into iCloud services in iOS 11/watchOS 4.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
mortenjorck 9y ago
A major reason, yes, but not the only reason. Apple’s infamous “hell freezes over” announcement of iTunes for Windows came in October 2003. As you can see on the graph, sales didn’t really take off until 2005. So while lack of Windows compatibility was certainly an obstacle to the iPod's popularity, gaining it was not the single catalyst to its success.
- tw04 9y ago
  That's because in 2003 it still required firewire which basically 0 PCs had. Furthermore 2005 was when they released significantly lower-priced models like the nano and shuffle.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    And the 4th gen iPod with the click wheel came out in 2004 which is when the larger iPod models really hit their stride. The iPod was not an obvious world-beater out the gate.
bobbles 9y ago
Well the watch only works with an iPhone right now...
puranjay 9y ago
The comparison also fails for the simple fact that Apple circa 2004 is not the Apple circa 2017 In 2004, Apple was a rather small, formerly unhip (and on its way to becoming hip) manufacturer of computers. The Apple of 2017 is one of the world's most recognized brands with a history of mobile expertise. Apple Watch had the marketing of a $500B corporation behind it. The iPod did not.
m_st 9y ago
The requirement was FireWire. Me and my brother both had iPods synchronizing with our Windows PC through a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live sound card with FireWire using the MusicMatch software distributed by Apple with the iPod.

abc_lisper 9y ago

A parallel would be to have apple watches sync with 'droids..

JustSomeNobody 9y ago
I don't think so. As was mentioned, a lot of people didn't have Macs so it took iTunes on Windows to increase sales. A lot of people have iPhones. Enough, that Apple doesn't have to care about 'droids.
mikeash 9y ago
Except not really, because the installed base of Macs at the time was a few million, while the iPhone installed base is around a billion. Being Mac-only in the early 2000s was orders of magnitude more limiting to potential sales than being iPhone-only today.
- chaolam 9y ago
  Except not really, because number of Apple Watches sold in first month was in the millions whereas number of iPods sold was less than 100,000! I think OP is talking about rate of growth being like iPod, not absolute numbers https://www.lifewire.com/number-of-ipods-sold-all-time-1999515 https://www.lifewire.com/number-of-ipods-sold-all-time-19995...
- wongarsu 9y ago
  The iPhone install base is certainly not a billion, there have only been 1.2 billion ever sold. Estimates for the install base vary wildly, with the upper estimates at about 3/4 of a billion and more reasonable estimates at half a billion. In any case, iPhones have about 15%-25% of the global smartphone install base (with the US being the big outlier). I certainly count that as very limiting. Maybe not on quite the same magnitude as Macs were for early iPods, but Apple Watches so far also did a lot better than early iPods.
  - rimliu 9y ago
    > iPhones have about 15%-25% of the global smartphone > install base I would like to know how much of the remaining 75%-85% are used as smartphones and not just dumbphones with an smartphone OS on them. I am sure the many of the cheapest models are used this way.
    - aetherson 9y ago
      Why are you sure of that?

cr__ 9y ago

You can only use the Apple Watch if you have an iPhone.

mandeepj 9y ago
But there are billion iPhones sold so conditions are not the same
archvile 9y ago
In the original days of iPhone, you could really only use it if you had a computer (to sync through iTunes, and to activate it if you didn't buy it in the store). iCloud got rid of all of that. I don't see why Apple wouldn't do similar with the Watch, especially since more of their services (Messages, Health) are being moved into iCloud services in iOS 11/watchOS 4.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

mortenjorck 9y ago

A major reason, yes, but not the only reason. Apple’s infamous “hell freezes over” announcement of iTunes for Windows came in October 2003. As you can see on the graph, sales didn’t really take off until 2005. So while lack of Windows compatibility was certainly an obstacle to the iPod's popularity, gaining it was not the single catalyst to its success.

tw04 9y ago
That's because in 2003 it still required firewire which basically 0 PCs had. Furthermore 2005 was when they released significantly lower-priced models like the nano and shuffle.
- ghaff 9y ago
  And the 4th gen iPod with the click wheel came out in 2004 which is when the larger iPod models really hit their stride. The iPod was not an obvious world-beater out the gate.

bobbles 9y ago

Well the watch only works with an iPhone right now...

puranjay 9y ago

The comparison also fails for the simple fact that Apple circa 2004 is not the Apple circa 2017 In 2004, Apple was a rather small, formerly unhip (and on its way to becoming hip) manufacturer of computers. The Apple of 2017 is one of the world's most recognized brands with a history of mobile expertise. Apple Watch had the marketing of a $500B corporation behind it. The iPod did not.

m_st 9y ago

The requirement was FireWire. Me and my brother both had iPods synchronizing with our Windows PC through a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live sound card with FireWire using the MusicMatch software distributed by Apple with the iPod.