“Apple is always highlighted in investing news, but buyer beware — sometimes hype is just hype. Apple’s iWatch appears to be a reality; even Bloomberg noticed its 79 patent applications with the word ‘wrist’ in it. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth your time,” Renee Butler writes for TheStreet. “A bevy of people say this iWatch is going to be a game changer… I say, several other companies are already producing ‘smartwatches.’ So unless Apple comes up with something truly revolutionary, it is going to clock more down days than up, in the near term.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple doesn’t enter markets in order to perpetuate the status quo. Apple enters markets in order to disrupt them, because they’ve invented a better way. If Apple releases a smartwatch, it won’t be like “other companies.” We now return you to the musing of someone who’s totally unfamiliar with, or ignoring, the way Apple has operated through history.
Butler writes, “Year after year, companies have been launching various versions of these “smartwatches.” There’s Sony’s (SNE_) SmartWatch, which is compatible with Google’s Android operating system. Kickstarter raised a mammoth $10.27 million last year to help bring Pebble to market; this one runs both iOS and Android (although it cannot run SMS on iOS). Heard of the MartianWatch, MetaWatch or I’m Watch? In all that time, these ‘smartwatches’ have yet to catch on. Apple is just playing catch-up. In other words, Apple would be really behind the mark if it didn’t produce its own version.”
For what it’s worth (about zero) the full article is here.
MacDailyNews Take: As with everything else, if Apple doesn’t think they’re bringing something new to the table, a game-changer, then they won’t enter a market. (At least, they shouldn’t, if they’re still being run correctly, which we believe they are.) This goes for watches, TVs, streaming radio, and anything else the rumor sites can dream up.
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Apple’s iOS-powered ‘iWatch’ facing battery life challenge, sources say – March 4, 2013
Apple seeks to introduce ‘iWatch’ as soon as this year, says source – March 4, 2013
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Apple supplier Corning: It’ll be three years before companies start making ‘Willow’ flexible display products – February 28, 2013
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Apple ‘iWatch’ leaks: Preemption or desperation? – February 19, 2013
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Why wear an iStar-Trek Communication Device on your wrist, unless you want to be iDick-Tracy?
Will the iDick come in different sizes?
Look! My iDick is bigger than yours! 😛
Who says that’s what it will be.
It will likely be heavily synchronous with the iPhone, iCloud
Access gps, motion sensors etc.
A dick Tracy watch is a fail.
A watch that is not waterproof is a fail.
This Renee Butler seems to have a history of Apple click bait articles. A quick search turns up one from a few months back proclaiming disappointing sales of the iPad mini, stating that it has a more narrow target audience than the iPad… which is the complete opposite of the truth.
I wanted to see if she had anything circa 2010 about the dire prospect of Apple entering the tablet market, but I’ve already wasted too much of my time on Ms. Butler.
A product as yet unannounced by Apple, that doesn’t make it “in time” to market !
Reason enough for AAPL to tank again.
Renee Butler is the new Troy Wolverton on thestreet. It’s always been an anti-Apple rag. There is another idiot who has been writing for them but I can’t remember his name.
Ms Butler. The Pebble watch does “run iOS” you twit. It does run “Pebble OS, Customized FreeRTOS.[1] Can communicate with Android and iOS apps using Bluetooth.”
What would this iWatch do? This device has no defined purpose and no established use. It’s a phucking mirage, vaporware. Someone simply scoured through Apple’s patent applications and imagined the proverbial “one more thing” without knowing what Apple’s intentions are.
Apple didn’t have the first personal music player (MP3) either but it didn’t mean they were too late.
Just like Apple had to play catch-up when they introduced the iPhone and iPad and that didn’t work out well.
its the natural evolution of the iPod. It not just has to be a great product, it has look absolutely great or people won’t wear/buy it. that’s the trick to wearable anything. people are picky about what they wear, just as much as or more than the phone the use.
And I think everyone should steer clear of any name for this type of product with the name “watch” in it. Telling time is not why anyone would buy such a thing. A watch is the least what these products would be.
From the title I thought the iWatch didn’t handle Sunday’s Daylight Savings Time change!
Will it have a calculator?
Will it play solitaire?
This is the same old drivel that has been recycled many times in the past. Others are already doing something, so Apple cannot possibly succeed. Let’s play the substitution game and replace “Watch” with “Phone”…
“Apple is always highlighted in investing news, but buyer beware — sometimes hype is just hype. Apple’s iPhone appears to be a reality; even Bloomberg noticed its 79 patent applications with the word ‘phone’ in it. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth your time,” [arbitrary journalist] writes for [arbitrary rag or blog]. “A bevy of people say this iPhone is going to be a game changer… I say, several other companies are already producing ‘smartphones.’ So unless Apple comes up with something truly revolutionary, it is going to clock more down days than up, in the near term.”
Who knows? Renee Butler may be right. If so, however, it would just be a fortuitous mistake along the same lines as a broken analog clock being right twice a day.
“Watch” with “mp3 player”
“Watch” with “retail stores”
“Watch” with “netbook” or “tablet computer”
I’m left wondering why MDN decided not to just ignore yet another crap article from The Street…
Interesting game:
“At the time of publication the author had no position in any of the stocks mentioned.”
“This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet’s regular news coverage.”
The Street and Cramer state all the time that they have stock in AAPL and sold half. So, yes, the “author” doesn’t own AAPL stock but Cramer and TheStreet do! Trying to indirectly push the stock?
And when Apple introduces an iWatch, Renee Butler will be racing to be the first to tell us that it isn’t any good because it’s not like the Pebble. Then the iWatch will go on to sell in massive numbers, precisely because it’s not like existing smart watches.
MS targeted tablets at length for nearly a decade before Apple introduced a Practical tablet.
You don’t have to be first, just different & better.
The reasons a smart watch doesn’t take off.
1.) Too expensive (Sony?)
2.) Too little features (Sony?)
3.) Too obscure (Pebble)
4.) Not Apple
I am not saying that Apple can release an expensive and feature poor smart watch and it will take off. What I am saying is it doesn’t matter what companies release. If it doesn’t seamlessly tie in to an iPhone the way Apple sees it, it might not be all that appealing to the mass market.
I see an Apple smart watch as a second screen for your pre-existing smart phone or iPad. It’s a, who’s calling, bluetooth adapted device, SIRI enabled, iCal on top. It will work with Nike+, play your music and podcasts. Your phone can be near by, in your pocket or charging. Look up weather, sports scores. Play adapted games. The performance won’t be in the watch, it will be in the host device.
The watch needs to be as simple as possible to utilize a little energy as possible.
I bet if there is anything holding it back, it’s bent glass, low power bluetooth, and a screen technology that is passively powered. The nice thing, when we get that, Apple can adapt new low power tech to it’s main stream products to get better battery live.
Maybe the act of wearing the watch will supply enough energy to keep it powered.
A host device, yes, like a dumb terminal to an iPhone mainframe. It should host FaceTime, Siri, & alerts of phone calls & selected alerts, services that all get transmitted from the iPhone. That would be so cool & unbelievably useful. A personal assistant everywhere you go, all day long.
LEAVE APPLE ALONS !!!!
Alone*
I’m not sure where the market is regarding Pebble. What proof do we have that it’s an abject failure? Are they reporting their sales numbers? Is anyone else?
There is an elitist (in a good way) side to being an Apple guy. I would expect that many High End watch owners are APPL folks. I for one will not be putting my Rolexs away in favour of an iWatch.
If they had looked at their watch, they would not have been too late.
Companies are making smart watches just like companies were making mp3 players. Meaningless twaddle. Pebble raised so much money because people wanted it to be good, it’s not good enough though.
Do you have one? Have you seen one?
No, the point is that just because other companies are making smart watches it has no bearing on whether Apple should launch one. There were loads of crappy mp3 players around, none of which really had much traction, then the iPod came around and created the market we have now, and arguably opened the door for the iPhone and other high tech phones.
This is absurd. In the past few months we’ve gone from leaks about how Apple is considering an iWatch, to the iWatch will cause the share price to skyrocket and finally this article saying that Apple has missed their chance. Why even make products anymore? The pundits will run through the entire product life cycle before anything is even announced. I guess we can now start talking about iWatch version 2.0 or some such nonsense.