Will you buy the iwatch first generation?

Frank Lee Midere

I'm glad you asked. Here's a very well researched article from AppleInsider on the problems of both liquid metal and Sapphire for mass production.

http://iphone.appleinsider.com/articles/14/06/28/for_apple_fans_dreaming_of_sapphire_iphones_liquidmetal_could_be_a_cautionary_tale.html

Some comments on that article are hostile but none are very well researched. It's also, unusually for AI, a precautionary take against a rumour rather than rumour mongerring.

There is a comment worth searching for ( about how high end watch producers are using sapphire and LM for the bezel) which made me think Apple could go very high end.

Zcott

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

I'm glad you asked. Here's a very well researched article from AppleInsider on the problems of both liquid metal and Sapphire for mass production.

http://iphone.appleinsider.com/articles/14/06/28/for_apple_fans_dreaming_of_sapphire_iphones_liquidmetal_could_be_a_cautionary_tale.html

Some comments on that article are hostile but none are very well researched. It's also, unusually for AI, a precautionary take against a rumour rather than rumour mongerring.

There is a comment worth searching for ( about how high end watch producers are using sapphire and LM for the bezel) which made me think Apple could go very high end.

Just this afternoon 9to5mac posted an article showing a rumoured iPhone 6 screen on video...made of sapphire. If that's accurate it must be suitable for mass production now for iPhones, and iPads can't be too far behind. The Touch ID sensor is made of sapphire and they seem to have sorted out any mass production issues with it looking likely Touch ID will be on this year's iPads.

Again, Apple take difficult production techniques and bring them to the masses. That's where the great products are - a €2k watch isn't a compelling product for anyone.

Kagawa

Zcott wrote: »

I don't see this happening. I doubt they'd even consider making a €1k watch for all a watch could do. I'd say max €300.

I can see everybody's point about €300 max, but the pebble steel is around €230 after you pay the duty. How much is the gear watches? I think apple will surprise us and charge €450 plus.

Dades

Interesting points about the current watches. Is an iPhone more, or just as expensive as, say, a Galaxy S5?

Apple could just match the price of the Gear 2 which is circa $299, though I guess $350 isn't beyond them.

FourFourRED

If I was to guess I would say €349. Purely based on the €200 Google watches out now and how Apple charge a premium.

guil

Just heard on the radio that an Irish company holds the rights to the name iwatch and they are threatening legal action.
They plan to release a watch themselves next year and bought the rights in 2008.

Zapp Brannigan

guil wrote: »

Just heard on the radio that an Irish company holds the rights to the name iwatch and they are threatening legal action.
They plan to release a watch themselves next year and bought the rights in 2008.

Why? It's called the Apple Watch.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

murpho999

jacksie66 wrote: »

The LG g watch r is much much better looking imo..

It's all about the software though isn't it?

Fitting in with iOS apps is the key.

Creamy Goodness

jacksie66 wrote: »

The LG g watch r is much much better looking imo..

You've got to be kidding?

Why does it have a dial affixed to it? Why isn't that just part of the watch face? This is the reason smart phones sucked pre 2007, things were affixed in plastic/metal.

We've a moto 270 in the office here and tbh the software is clunky and actually isn't made for circular displays.

All these little things add up to a ****e UX to me.

Dades

murpho999 wrote: »

It's all about the software though isn't it?

Fitting in with iOS apps is the key.

I'm not sure that's so true with a watch.

Watches are a form of jewelry. Some dorky block of tech won't sell beyond a certain niche market no matter how well it integrates with your smart phone.

I was kinda amazed how chunky the Apple Watch turned out to be.

seamus

guil wrote: »

Just heard on the radio that an Irish company holds the rights to the name iwatch and they are threatening legal action.
They plan to release a watch themselves next year and bought the rights in 2008.

http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/news/apple-cant-call-new-device-iwatch-after-irish-firm-trademarks-name-30701436.html

They're not threatening legal action, they claim to be in "discussions" with Apple, which is probably a desperate attempt to sell their trademark to Apple now they've realised that their trademark trolling backfired.

Very silly move to register any i<something> trademark at this stage - as this company have now discovered, even if Apple don't use the name, the public will use the "i" prefix by default for the Apple product and the trademark is useless to you.

If this company do release an "iWatch", buyers will realise it's not an Apple watch and they won't sell very many watches.

murpho999

Dades wrote: »

I'm not sure that's so true with a watch.

Watches are a form of jewelry. Some dorky block of tech won't sell beyond a certain niche market no matter how well it integrates with your smart phone.

I was kinda amazed how chunky the Apple Watch turned out to be.

Agree in relation to normal watches but if I was in the market for a smartwatch (Which I don't think I am) then I would want one that fits best with my current devices. So as an iPhone and iOS user I'd imagine I'd go for an iOS watch rather than an Android one no matter how it looked.

Alex1983

No