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The jobs the watch will do aren't as clear cut as it was for the iPod. The iPod let you listen to music and carried lots of (or all of) your music and had soft

• archvile 9y ago
  Watch + AirPods = killer app. It just needs more storage, but that will come in time. 3-4 generations from now and you won't even need a phone anymore.
  • Steko 9y ago
    Mostly agree but I think smart ring + headset + big phone/small tablet is a better setup.
    • oe 9y ago
      Having the option to not take your phone with you when exercising is nice and it's already possible.
      • nradov 9y ago
        Except if you go out running without your phone you can't call 911 to report a car crash or someone needing medical attention. Has happened twice for me and I'm glad I had a cell phone. Maybe the next generation smart watches will include LTE voice call functionality.
  • Shivetya 9y ago
    and on that day I would buy one. I don't need an accessory for my phone, something that merely extends its screen from my pocket to my wrist and that is all I see the watch as. I have seen three reasons repeated over and over why people like them and it seems so minimal of reasons. like someone mentioned, no one seems to justify wanting one until they have it but then I just figure they have to justify it. Airpods are very nice and those I can find every day usage for, exercising and the like. far more than having a watch on my wrist as I tend to sweat a lot while exercising and don't need that. so when it does not require my phone because it is a phone, I might sign up. but by the time phones get to that size I would just slap it on my shirt like Star Trek
• Fezzik 9y ago
  I think the health tracking features are the major differentiating feature for wearables. Fit people want to track their exercise and stay fit and the unfit (for the most part) want to get fit. These two groups are 99% of the population. And, as we're finding in the 21st century/age of plenty, fitness takes some work. This thread alone indicates wearable can be a big motivator for fitness. In addition, the health tracking will only get better and lead to preemptive sensing for cardiac events, insulin detection, and who knows what else. I think the market for wearables (watches) is bigger than the iPod market, as wearables solve a real problem (fitness tracking and health monitoring) and are more than an awesome convenience.
  • Steko 9y ago
    I agree with all points except when you assume 'wearables' implies 'watches'. Similarly to payments, the health benefits can be delivered with a much smaller device. If health is the main benefit than that big gorgeous battery-sucking screen is a waste.
    • Fezzik 9y ago
      True. I would think the watches category will continue to occupy the pretty good/general tracking and health stats market (which should be huge) and, as the tech advances, there will always be smaller, screenless, more accurate detectors for specific use cases. I am still amazed that my watch can track my laps while swimming (very accurately) and simultaneously track my pulse (less accurately, but that'll improve). And keep my calendar, deliver notifications, etc...
    • nradov 9y ago
      If you want to go beyond just counting steps and track actual activities (running, cycling, swimming, hiking, golf, etc) then you need some kind of display with buttons or touch screen.
  • visarga 9y ago
    "Wearable Fitness Devices Don’t Seem to Make You Fitter" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/upshot/wearable-fitness-devices-dont-seem-to-make-you-more-fit.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/upshot/wearable-fitness-d...
• spike021 9y ago
  >The watch? Well yeah it tells time, but it's worse at that then most watches and everyone already carries a device that tells time which the watch can't replace. Yeah, it gives you slightly faster access to notifications but not everyone needs that. How is it worse at telling time than most watches? It works fine for me except when the battery is dead. Is that what you mean? Bad battery life? I don't use the watch to see my notifications faster at all. I use the watch so that I can respond/react to certain notifications as needed. If my phone buzzes in my pocket without me wearing a watch, I won't know if it's just a new calendar invite I don't need to see right away or an important text from a friend. This is why I use my watch, among other reasons. It's a great filtering mechanism.
  • zippergz 9y ago
    I love my Apple Watch, but it's worse at telling time for me because the screen isn't always on. I can't just glance at it casually, I have to move my wrist in a very specific way to make it wake up.
    • spike021 9y ago
      True, sometimes the screen doesn't turn on without the right movement. But how is tapping the screen lightly to turn the display on any different from using a regular analog/digital watch in darkness and needing to press a button for its light to turn on?
      • brlewis 9y ago
        It's helpful socially to be able to check the time subtly. A tap or large wrist motion makes it look like you're trying to tell whoever you're with that they should be paying attention to the time.
        • spike021 9y ago
          I understand what you're saying. However, I don't see how that's much different from glancing at any number of clocks: for instance at the office when I glance at the time in the corner of my computer screen, when I'm in a meeting room and glance at the clock on the wall, etc. People notice that motion all the time. I notice when people do this to me as well. Either way you'd need to glance at your watch, which means your eyes move somewhere else and you lose eye contact with whoever you're with/speaking to.
• rayiner 9y ago
  It's been a game changer for me as a life-management aid. The calendaring and task list functions are solid. Pulling your phone out of your pocket (especially a big 6s+) is actually a big barrier to using Siri to jot down a note or set a reminder. I never used to use Siri, but with the watch I use it all the time. I just wish it could do more without telling you to pull out your iPhone.
  • Steko 9y ago
    May have done a poor job of communicating it above but I do think the watch is swell and useful and I'm big on wearables. But I also don't have a watch for reasons above and long term I'm even more skeptical of the form factor because I think that most of the utility can be replaced by other wearables, and some of those wearables are not replaceable while the watch is. As you mention, things like notes, daily calendar and tasks work great with Siri but if you think about it how necessary is the watch to those interactions? I think most can be done great with just a headset and when that's impractical you can take the phone out of your pocket. If you start with a wearable ecosystem where the headset is core then, as AI and voice assistants continue to improve, we should expect to see a lot of notifications and health tracking migrate there and that whittles the use cases of the watch down considerably. If you take those away what do you have left? Payments/id, fashion, video playback, games, partial or total phone replacement. Payments seems large but a ring seems superior. Games, video and fashion don't seem like killer apps for the watch form factor. A phone replacement/platform for 4g and wifi radios seems like a killer app but does the watch do that better than other options? Maybe yes but maybe no. If we're talking a total phone replacement you probably want the radios next to wherever the camera migrates to.
    • rayiner 9y ago
      We're a long way from where it's acceptable to have a headset with a screen on in a business meeting. Meanwhile, during a meeting I can surreptitiously glance down at my watch to check when my next meeting or a email alert. It's a surprisingly good form factor, combining voice touch and a display in an accessory that's already socially acceptable to wear everywhere.
• erichmond 9y ago
  Couldn't disagree more. Not saying it's for everyone, but it's been an actual game changer in my life workflow. I no longer need to have my phone with me at all times. I can just walk into a space, put my phone down, and only engage with it when I want to. The watch lets me know about anything I actually NEED to know RIGHT NOW (turns out, it's not that much). It's perfectly un-intrusive.
• epa 9y ago
  The one thing most people dont realize about why the iPod was popular was because it was actually the fastest device to transfer music to. At the time, music devices were using serial connections if you can believe that, and FireWire was the fastest thing on the market, only available with iPods. This, combined with having the most space (10gb vs 256 mb), combined with windows support on the third version, made the iPod take off.
  • reitanqild 9y ago
    At the time, music devices were using serial connections if you can believe that, and FireWire was the fastest thing on the market, only available with iPods. Can't remember that. Mine had usb, was available before iPod and the speed never bothered me.
    • diogenescynic 9y ago
      I remember it. I had some Philips MP3 player and I remember the software being horrible and the transfers taking hours at a time. The first time I saw iTunes and an iPod I was sold. iTunes used to be pretty incredible at the time...
      • reitanqild 9y ago
        Ok. I remember my got-it-with-my laptop mp3 player and my brothers Creative something. I'm sure both used USB. Mine was actually a glorified usb stick so I just plugged it into my computer.
    • Someone 9y ago
      Nitpick: I don't think the OP meant USB when he said "serial connection", but USB _is_ a serial connection (as is FireWire)
      • reitanqild 9y ago
        Ok, fair point. When I hear serial I think something along the lines of rs232 and I guess so do others.
• dsacco 9y ago
  I have a few points for you in response: 1. I'm what you'd call a "watch guy." In the time I have had the Apple Watch Series 2, I have barely used my mechanicals (including a Lange & Sohne and a Nomos Glashutte). The Apple Watch comes with me on all but the most formal/elegant occasions, and I now hate changing straps on my mechanical watches in comparison. The Apple Watch may not be as beautiful, but it is far more versatile and useful. When I want to dress it up a bit, I throw a Hermes leather strap on it, which works nicely in just about everything other than a suit (which is essentially the only time I'd jump back to the Lange). 2. You're vastly underestimating the utility of quick replies on the Apple Watch, in particular. I have quick replies for every conceivable response I could give to someone that is fewer than five words or so. This makes a lot of communication much faster because I don't need to take out my phone - I can tap, "congratulations", "cool!", "no", "yes", "I'm in a meeting", "I'm in a movie", etc. 3. Having notifications or synced functionality on the watch is a very frictionless way of enhancing iPhone interaction. As other commenters have said I can quickly glance at a multitude of things, not just the time. If I receive a message on Slack, I don't need to take my phone out if it's not something that requires my attention. When driving, I can have directions on my wrist directly, instead of on my dashboard. I can even have conversations on my wrist, hands free, while cooking. These are all ways it's directly enhanced my life in ways I wouldn't have really thought of without trying it. 4. I run a fair amount - at least 30 miles each week. The Apple Watch is the single most empowering device I've ever had for quantified self tracking and fitness enhancement. Having a pair of Airpods and an Apple Watch is a fantastic combination - I can't even imagine bringing my phone with my on a run anymore. I can look at my wrist to see my pace and split information, and that's just on the native Workout app. I can track my heart rate constantly using something like Cardiogram. I can also track my sleep. There is a massive amount of data enablement that I can now see and monitor as much as I want in the Health app.
  • nichochar 9y ago
    A "watch guy" is someone who likes real watches. You're just a "gadget guy"
    • oh_sigh 9y ago
• tigershark 9y ago
  Why only in Tokyo? In London you can use Apple Pay pretty much everywhere, even in the small food stalls on the street or to enter the underground. I have seen pretty much the same in Australia, and I guess that in a lot of places in the world is no different. EDIT: And actually last time that I went in Japan it was still pretty difficult to even use credit cards, so I won't bet on a pervasive use of Apple Pay there.
  • ghaff 9y ago
    I wouldn't say hard in Tokyo but less than the US. The big thing over there for smaller purchases is prepaid cards like Passmo.
  • hellweaver666 9y ago
    In the Netherlands we have contactless payments everywhere and many places that don't accept cash, but for some reason the banks are being really slow to work with Apple... no sign of ApplePay on the horizon from what I can see.
    • kartD 9y ago
      During the earnings call, Cook mentioned that Apple pay is coming to Denmark, Finland, Sweden and UAE this year so maybe next year for the Netherlands?
  • fyolnish 9y ago
    In Tokyo you can use the watch as a train card(suica), which also works for payment in many many stores/vending machines
    • vilmosi 9y ago
      Same in London
  • photojosh 9y ago
    In Australia. Only one of the major 4 banks support Apple Pay, and I only have one friend I know who uses it. I could switch banks, but lazy. Are you talking about contactless payments a la PayPass/PayWave?
• melling 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure that I answered this 2 years ago: https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/in-the-future-everyone-will-wear-a-smartwatch/ https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/in-the-future-everyo...