Sunday, July 29, 2018
Its been a year now since Apple Watch was launched and things arent looking up for the smart watch
Its been a year now since Apple Watch was launched and things arent looking up for the smart watch
It�s been nearly one year since the launch of the Apple Watch. While the device is easily the most successful smartwatch ever released, it hasn�t exactly set the world on fire the way the iPhone and iPad once did. Well connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is projecting that Apple Watch shipments are actually going to decrease by 25% this year despite the fact that Apple is planning to release a second-generation Apple Watch.
I should note first that people who own the Apple Watch really like it. Per Re/code, a new survey from advertising company Fluent shows that 77% of Apple Watch owners consider the device a success and that two thirds of them plan to upgrade to the newest version of the watch when it comes out. And that�s all great, but there seems to be more limited upside for the device � among the general population, 53% of people do not think the Apple Watch has been a successful product, for example.
What�s really interesting about Fluent�s survey are the reasons Apple Watch owners list for not buying a next-generation Apple Watch: 34% of owners cited high prices as a reason for not buying, while 31% said the device just wasn�t useful enough to justify buying, and another 16% simply said the device is �ugly.�
The most interesting factor from my perspective is that the Apple Watch isn�t useful enough because it�s long been the view that I�ve had of smartwatches as a whole. Writing over at Quartz, Apple Watch owner Mike Murphy explains that Apple Watch �hasn�t shown that it can perform enough useful functions to make the average person think, yes, this is something that�s worth a few hundred dollars as it�s exciting and will help me in my life.�
He admits that he really likes the ability to use Apple Watch for mobile payments and he says that its health tracking capabilities are �simpler, more useful, and more reliable, than other ecosystems like Jawbone and Fitbit.� Nonetheless, he believes that one year after the Apple Watch�s launch, �it�s become apparent that there really isn�t much of a need to get one.�
It�s possible that the Apple Watch could develop a cult following and in particular it should be loved by fitness fanatics who also double as Apple fans. But it doesn�t look like it�s going to be the next big thing.
