5 ms·

Sure sounds like it's adding a lot of friction to the purchase phase

beebeepka 3y ago
Philip Morris is, or at least used to, selling the electronic cigarettes the same way. This sort of exclusivity makes some people feel special. It's a viable tactic.
catchnear4321 3y ago
which removes even more from the usage phase. you’ve been taught how to use the device fitted for you. they’re front-loading friction in an effort to minimize it.
danpalmer 3y ago
I think the friction can come across to some customers as good service, and help launch a category. The Apple Watch was initially sold at fitting appointments in store, and I think that was important in establishing it as a normal thing to wear and even a fashionable thing to wear in some cases, and helped cement the product in the mainstream. Tailored suits is another case where there’s a premium price, premium service, but a lot of friction. It’s not always bad. They’re also probably supply constrained enough that the friction doesn’t matter for the first version or two.
- kibwen 3y ago
  > I think that was important in establishing it as a normal thing to wear Apple did not need to normalize the wearing of watches. Watches have been luxury fashion items for hundreds of years.
  - danpalmer 3y ago
    Apple absolutely needed to normalise the idea that a £300 black puck was Luxury Fashion. See what happened to Google Glass for when a company fails to make a wearable product fashionable, and we've been wearing expensive glasses for hundreds of years. Watch nerds still shun it today, although Apple has managed to break through as much as they needed to make it a success.
    - user_named 3y ago
      No, they didn't
      - WastingMyTime89 3y ago
        They absolutely did. Smartwatches were mostly seen as tacky before the Apple Watch. That’s part of why they chose a different form factor and partnered with luxury brands for bracelet. For Apple to make wearing them seems normal was not a given at all.
        user_named 3y ago
        Absolutely did not. Only thing they needed to convince people of is accepting less than a days worth of battery life.
        Gigachad 3y ago
        The Pebble was absolutely seen as tacky. Only worn by people who cared more about tech than visuals.
        evandale 3y ago
        The Moto 360 was out before the Apple watch. I know that for a fact because I got one on the release date. They were pretty hard to find when they came out. Apple was late to the game with smartwatches and didn't do a single thing to convince people to wear them.
        WastingMyTime89 3y ago
        > The Moto 360 was out before the Apple watch. And it was seen as a toy for geeks and software developers who think t-shirts are an acceptable office attire despite being the most watch-like of the smartwatches. I would never have gone to the office wearing a moto360. People would have given me funny looks all day. Meanwhile you can wear an Apple Watch with your suit and everyone finds that acceptable.
bengale 3y ago
I seem to recall the first-generation Apple Watch experience being like this.

Philip Morris is, or at least used to, selling the electronic cigarettes the same way. This sort of exclusivity makes some people feel special. It's a viable tactic.

catchnear4321 3y ago

which removes even more from the usage phase. you’ve been taught how to use the device fitted for you. they’re front-loading friction in an effort to minimize it.

danpalmer 3y ago

I think the friction can come across to some customers as good service, and help launch a category. The Apple Watch was initially sold at fitting appointments in store, and I think that was important in establishing it as a normal thing to wear and even a fashionable thing to wear in some cases, and helped cement the product in the mainstream. Tailored suits is another case where there’s a premium price, premium service, but a lot of friction. It’s not always bad. They’re also probably supply constrained enough that the friction doesn’t matter for the first version or two.

kibwen 3y ago
> I think that was important in establishing it as a normal thing to wear Apple did not need to normalize the wearing of watches. Watches have been luxury fashion items for hundreds of years.
- danpalmer 3y ago
  Apple absolutely needed to normalise the idea that a £300 black puck was Luxury Fashion. See what happened to Google Glass for when a company fails to make a wearable product fashionable, and we've been wearing expensive glasses for hundreds of years. Watch nerds still shun it today, although Apple has managed to break through as much as they needed to make it a success.
  - user_named 3y ago
    No, they didn't
    - WastingMyTime89 3y ago
      They absolutely did. Smartwatches were mostly seen as tacky before the Apple Watch. That’s part of why they chose a different form factor and partnered with luxury brands for bracelet. For Apple to make wearing them seems normal was not a given at all.
      - user_named 3y ago
        Absolutely did not. Only thing they needed to convince people of is accepting less than a days worth of battery life.
        Gigachad 3y ago
        The Pebble was absolutely seen as tacky. Only worn by people who cared more about tech than visuals.
      - evandale 3y ago
        The Moto 360 was out before the Apple watch. I know that for a fact because I got one on the release date. They were pretty hard to find when they came out. Apple was late to the game with smartwatches and didn't do a single thing to convince people to wear them.
        WastingMyTime89 3y ago
        > The Moto 360 was out before the Apple watch. And it was seen as a toy for geeks and software developers who think t-shirts are an acceptable office attire despite being the most watch-like of the smartwatches. I would never have gone to the office wearing a moto360. People would have given me funny looks all day. Meanwhile you can wear an Apple Watch with your suit and everyone finds that acceptable.

bengale 3y ago

I seem to recall the first-generation Apple Watch experience being like this.