“The Apple Watch isn’t just another iDevice, a wearables accessory to the Apple ecosystem,” Jean-Louis Gassée writes for Quartz. “It’s a bold attempt to create a new kind of wrist-worn personal computer that looks like a smartwatch.”
“In previous Monday Notes dealing with the putative iWatch and other wearables, I thought the new product would be a nice add-on to the iDevices ecosystem — a bit player that would make the iPhone more desirable — but that it wouldn’t move the needle, meaning $10 billion or more in revenue,” Gassée writes. “I reasoned that a watch battery would be too small to feed a computer powerful enough to offer a wide range of apps and communications capabilities.”
Gassée writes, “I was wrong… the Watch isn’t just a shrunk-down iPhone: It can stand on its own, it has introduced an entire new genre of user interface, and will have its own App Store. The reinterpreted watch crown, a side button, touch and pressure on the face, plus voice all combine to a potentially rich and unique set of ways to interact with this newest very personal computer.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
Related articles:
Apple Watch, the world’s first real smartwatch, will be a massive hit – September 9, 2014
Jean-Louis Gassée: iWatch won’t sell in numbers, dollar volume, or profit comparable to iPhone or iPad – June 23, 2014
“It can stand on its own”
But requires an iPhone.
At the moment… 😉
Like the original iPad.
wtf? The original iPad did not need an iPhone to work.
Exactly. The early iPhones and original iPad needed a computer. That eventually disappeared. No reason why the tech in the watch can’t eventually get to the point of not needing an iPhone. This is only round 1! 😀
Remember that the first iPad was a computer accessory and had to be synced to get it to work.
It doesn’t require an iPhone, but some functions won’t work without one. But it will be a long time before cellular and GPS radios are able to be built into a watch and not have the battery be drained by noon.
It doesn’t require an iPhone constantly. For example, if you go running or biking, you can leave your phone at home and listen to music on the watch via Bluetooth headphones. (They haven’t made clear how — I’m presuming you move some music to the phone before you leave.)
——RM
It would be great if all the tech needed to…
– Make phone calls
– Surf the Internet
– Video chat
– Back itself up
– Hold your entire iTunes catalogue
– Download apps
– Setup Pay…
… Could be fit into an Watch while not squeezing out battery space or turning the Watch into a brick-on-a-wrist. But it can’t, not yet anyway. Wait until nano-circuitry, if such a thing ever occurs.
Until then: The Watch will remain relatively limited as to what it can do on its own.
I stopped wearing a watch about 40 years ago, and I have no desire to wear a “timepiece” again, but I think there’s a really good chance that I’ll be buying an Apple Watch the day it goes on sale.
I stopped wearing a watch because I became compulsive about checking it every twelve seconds. AppleWatch will display the time when the wearer raises their wrist to look at it, so I would love to see an app or setting that limits the watch to display the time once per hour unless the wearer interacts with the the device for the purpose of seeing the time, so as to help break that habit.
Quit looking at your fucking watch. Doctor cure thyself. Moron.
I like that idea that Tim Cook put out, products that haven’t even been rumored yet. What’s up for Apple? Serious fans know there is more to the jubilant display of the watch (happily bordering on arrogance) than meets the eye.
Health issues, car issues, iWear (my own personal slant) a whole plethora of smart devices is on the horizon.
If the ecosystem thrives, there just might be a Gaiatic level to be attained.
Go Apple.
Damn straight! It’s all about ease of use. The phone capability alone seals the deal for me! Can’t wait!
I won’t be rushing out to buy one but I do believe v.2will be much more compelling. Apple will no doubt refine the design and add capabilities (sensors?) not to mention the apps etc that will expand its functionality. It may well mirror the iPhone story to a certain extent. Most did not fully understand it was much much more than a typical mobile phone….
“I was wrong.” Again.
This is why Gasse no longer works at Apple (and hopefully won’t again). He never really had the vision. I heard him speak in the late 80’s or early 90’s in Paris. He talked about why cars should use joy sticks instead of a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal and gear shift, but that will never happen (even though either person sitting in the front could drive) because of the immense cost in retooling such a car for manufacture. He then went on to say how the “Mac is the Maglite of computers.” That is, high quality, high price and low volume. The computer for “those who can afford it”. Never liked that message…
I think Jean-Louis received a phone call from Tim. Sure seems that way.
odd but true:
on the 1 hand: Apple iPhone 6 makes Samsung cry/tremble
on the other: ApplePay makes PayPal crumble too (see NYT ad Sp15 http://readwrite.com/2014/09/1…
iSteve always said it right:
Competition? Flummoxed!
it does NOT matter who invents. who cares whose 1st.
it’s who 1st does it well! ubiquitous.
it’s sooo ironic.
samsong / PayPale / goo / moto / nokio / microdough etc.
are all acting like Spoilt Children,
have no sense of self-esteem, confidence, soul, iQ, eQ,
and only in panic seek scapegoats, cry over spilled milk,
spread FUD, bribe media etc.
so irresponsible. so silly.
grow up Samsung/PayPal.
do not grow on mockery/Schadenfreude.
grow on self-merit.
Gandhi: BE the Change you wish to see.
if you’re so smart/innovative/successful etc.
why do you not for a change, act smart and innovate beyond complaints or mockery, but evolve into something better, more advanced than Apple whom you copy the entire time of your existence?!
sill ads just pronounce your unworthiness.
At least one player in the game of life, Apple, is maturely moving everyone through many industries, forward!
my same comment on Ken Segall’s article
http://kensegall.com/2014/09/samsung-having-iphone-6-anxiety-issues
sorry. had so many web browser windows open at once, i pasted this in wrong article ; ) • MDN: there’s no way to delete/edit a post?!
I liked several of Jen-Louis’s bon mots. Most droll, his imagining, in concrete terms, the fate of the person responsible for the streaming video glitchfest…
I hope the WATCH really gets to impact our lives by being associated with a TouchID — I’m thinking about no longer needing to carry house keys (wave watch by doorknob) or car keys (CarPlay+) or maybe even an employee badge (wave watch by door sensor). I think as long as the coupling between TouchID and the watch is reasonably controlled, all three cases are pretty compelling.
Wow this French dude knows all about watches, but a simple thing ..from a French writer :
“ In jealousy there is more self-love than love. Duc de La Rouchefoucauld
Just call him J-L Gassy. Gas is coming out of both ends. I don’t know why he thinks anyone should care what he thinks. I can’t believe how pathetic these people must be to always be standing on some soapbox expressing their two-bit opinions about everything Apple does. Apple will get along just fine without his personal opinions.
Ah, the August Effect is over! Jean-Louis Gassée is back from snoozy vacation and back in form.
So Jean-Louis, I assume you’re also going to apologize for predicting Macs are moving to A-series ARM based RISC CPUs. All is forgiven.
So, Chester Gould was a visionary?