“In the next few weeks, Apple is expected to flick its wrist and show off a new line of wearable computers centered around a watch,” Jon Markman, investment adviser, writes for Forbes. “The hype will likely be as unbearable as the device will be unwearable.”
“‘Smart’ watches are the Afghanistan of technology. Many companies have felt they have the key to win this seemingly strategic piece of territory lying between desktop, laptop and tablet and phone, and yet all have failed,” Markman writes. “It’s no wonder, as the wrist has proven to be very inhospitable territory ruled by its own rules of culture and habit. Every smartwatch so far has proven to be a really dumb gambit for reasons that are so simple they seems to be beyond the reach of the geniuses who run tech companies.”
“Most people don’t want a health monitor on their wrist. They already know they are out of shape, have high blood pressure and have erratic heartbeats. They don’t need to be reminded of that every time they look at their hands, and they certainly don’t need some bratty engineers in Silicon Valley who live on Red Bull and instant coffee to shame them into adopting better habits,” Markman writes. “The smartwatch is a solution in search of a problem. Tech companies like Apple want to sell them because they have run out of other ways to sell you their schlock, but that does not mean there will ever be a mass-market demand for them. I have a feeling I will still be writing about the smartwatch frontier ten years from now, when Apple releases v5.0 and swears they will get it right this time after repeated flops on the wrist.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: iCal’ed for future use.
BTW, what’s stupider than proclaiming an Apple product a “flop” that you’ve haven’t yet seen?
So far, iWatch is a magnet for idiots.
Related articles:
Jean-Louis Gassée: iWatch won’t sell in numbers, dollar volume, or profit comparable to iPhone or iPad – June 23, 2014
TheStreet’s Rocco Pendola: Apple’s iWatch will fail – June 23, 2014
Analyst: Apple to sell ‘iWatch’ to at least 10% of existing iPhone users next year – June 13, 2014
UBS sees Apple selling 21 million $300 ‘iWatch’ units in first year – June 9, 2014
I’m an old dude(in 60’s) but I like my Pebble eve with it’s limited functionality.I particularly like seeing who is calling so I actually don’t have to get out my iPhone to answer unless I want to.
That said I could use a little more function with battery capacity and recharging options but Apple probably has that figured out .
I was never tempted by the Samsung whateveritwascalled.
Maxwell Smart was a dork when I was young
Makes me laugh when people announce something is a flop and they don’t even know that the product is even being worked on.
Just make this guy look a total twat and of course shatters any reputation or credibility he had (if he had any in the first place).
i swear i can hear his mother’s voice (where does he get that strident, sarcastic, belittling tone in his essays?) ranting in the background, ‘John! sit up straight, quit playing with your food! you’re a failure and you’ll never amount to anything,just like your father! come give mommy a hug and a kiss good-night.
If your title is Investment Adviser, every comment you make competes for a place in the encyclopedia of total stupidity. This one no different.
As a diabetic, I appreciated non-Apple technology that allowed me to have almost instantaneous reading of glucose. Then my insurance decided not to pay for it. If Apple does come up with a similar type technology, I am so-on-board ! Please: if you know a diabetic, ask them if they think this sort of wearable technology would be welcomed by them or not.
I’m diabetic and would defo wear it.