5 ms·

Best selling watch is believable, but who the heck buys and wears a watch for anything besides fashion these days? It's a totally niche market IMO.

fiddlerwoaroof 8y ago
My Apple Watch is surprisingly useful: I can figure out which conference room my next meeting is in with a single tap of the home screen, control music, etc. It honestly surprised me how much value I got out of it.
- beefsack 8y ago
  I actually had exactly the same experience with my Pebble. I got it out of casual nerdy interest and was sure I'd use it for a couple of months and then pack it away. Having notifications and basic functionality on your wrist is surprisingly useful though, and I used that watch until it broke (after Pebble went under unfortunately). I've got a Ticwatch E on it's way as a replacement.
  - r00fus 8y ago
    Pebble was nice - had one but its uncanny how similar the Palm Treo analogy goes - I loved my Treo till I got my iPhone. I loved my Pebble till I got my Apple watch. Stuff the old ones do better (even today) but the Apple replacements are all that + constant years of OS upgrades and a stronger app ecosystem.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
- Fomite 8y ago
  Same experience here - I got it essentially so I could have something being like "Hey buddy, you should be somewhere in 15 minutes..." but I've gotten a lot of use out of it.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
I would guess that watches are number one fashion item for men? A watch and a wedding ring are the two wearables that are acceptable for men even in the most conservative communities.
unethical_ban 8y ago
I like having time easily accessible. Though I have some philosophical and design issues with Apple, the biggest thing, the #1 requirement of any smartphone for me, is a notification LED for messages. I like seeing at a glance who or what is notifying me. Why is an LED so important? Because I want to identify a message quickly, without my phone always in my pocket (e.g. it's on my desk or next to the bed). With a watch accessory, for many, that need would go away.
- krrrh 8y ago
  Don’t underestimate where the watch trumps LEDs: discretness and gentleness. After owning one for a few years I can’t stand the abrasive sound of a vibrating cell phone on a table.
  - Razengan 8y ago
    > the abrasive sound of a vibrating cell phone on a table. Indeed. Waking up to that cacophony can mar one's entire day.
bscphil 8y ago
It's not even that: Timex probably outsells Apple watches 100:1, but they have a crazy variety of models instead of just 1 or 2.
r00fus 8y ago
I hated watches - had a wrist ornament years ago and stopped wearing it because it interfered with my active life. Apple's strategy is a blue-ocean one - they brought Apple users and active-lifestyle folks into a relative staid luxury goods market and (aside from an initial stumble with series-0 edition) co-opted the market and transformed it. It wasn't exactly as powerful as the move to smartphones, and tech was moving there already but it's really great that my Apple watch is part of my work (2nd factor), lifestyle (Strava), and family (timer+music controls). There's room for improvement but it gets the useful parts right.
garmaine 8y ago
Health and fitness, and urgent notifications without bringing the phone out. It’s actua remarkably useful.
matwood 8y ago
I'm not a watch person, but bought a series 2 on sale last year. After a week I was cursing Apple because here is a device that I already feel lost without. Workout tracking is great, alerts are nice, quick views to upcoming meetings, and the list goes on. It ends up as a super useful device. Also, niche? I literally see Apple Watches everywhere. At first I was surprised because all I read online was how the AW was a flop. I hope I can be part of a niche product as successful as the AW one day. /s

fiddlerwoaroof 8y ago

My Apple Watch is surprisingly useful: I can figure out which conference room my next meeting is in with a single tap of the home screen, control music, etc. It honestly surprised me how much value I got out of it.

beefsack 8y ago
I actually had exactly the same experience with my Pebble. I got it out of casual nerdy interest and was sure I'd use it for a couple of months and then pack it away. Having notifications and basic functionality on your wrist is surprisingly useful though, and I used that watch until it broke (after Pebble went under unfortunately). I've got a Ticwatch E on it's way as a replacement.
- r00fus 8y ago
  Pebble was nice - had one but its uncanny how similar the Palm Treo analogy goes - I loved my Treo till I got my iPhone. I loved my Pebble till I got my Apple watch. Stuff the old ones do better (even today) but the Apple replacements are all that + constant years of OS upgrades and a stronger app ecosystem.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
Fomite 8y ago
Same experience here - I got it essentially so I could have something being like "Hey buddy, you should be somewhere in 15 minutes..." but I've gotten a lot of use out of it.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

I would guess that watches are number one fashion item for men? A watch and a wedding ring are the two wearables that are acceptable for men even in the most conservative communities.

unethical_ban 8y ago

I like having time easily accessible. Though I have some philosophical and design issues with Apple, the biggest thing, the #1 requirement of any smartphone for me, is a notification LED for messages. I like seeing at a glance who or what is notifying me. Why is an LED so important? Because I want to identify a message quickly, without my phone always in my pocket (e.g. it's on my desk or next to the bed). With a watch accessory, for many, that need would go away.

krrrh 8y ago
Don’t underestimate where the watch trumps LEDs: discretness and gentleness. After owning one for a few years I can’t stand the abrasive sound of a vibrating cell phone on a table.
- Razengan 8y ago
  > the abrasive sound of a vibrating cell phone on a table. Indeed. Waking up to that cacophony can mar one's entire day.

bscphil 8y ago

It's not even that: Timex probably outsells Apple watches 100:1, but they have a crazy variety of models instead of just 1 or 2.

r00fus 8y ago

I hated watches - had a wrist ornament years ago and stopped wearing it because it interfered with my active life. Apple's strategy is a blue-ocean one - they brought Apple users and active-lifestyle folks into a relative staid luxury goods market and (aside from an initial stumble with series-0 edition) co-opted the market and transformed it. It wasn't exactly as powerful as the move to smartphones, and tech was moving there already but it's really great that my Apple watch is part of my work (2nd factor), lifestyle (Strava), and family (timer+music controls). There's room for improvement but it gets the useful parts right.

garmaine 8y ago

Health and fitness, and urgent notifications without bringing the phone out. It’s actua remarkably useful.

matwood 8y ago

I'm not a watch person, but bought a series 2 on sale last year. After a week I was cursing Apple because here is a device that I already feel lost without. Workout tracking is great, alerts are nice, quick views to upcoming meetings, and the list goes on. It ends up as a super useful device. Also, niche? I literally see Apple Watches everywhere. At first I was surprised because all I read online was how the AW was a flop. I hope I can be part of a niche product as successful as the AW one day. /s