“The iPhone came first, but it was of secondary importance. Apple’s big event this month relegated the company’s best known and best selling product to the role of an opening act for ‘the next chapter in Apple’s history”: the Watch,'” Vlad Savov writes for The Verge. “With a perfectly pitched tremor of emotion in his voice, CEO Tim Cook finally confirmed all the rumors of an Apple wearable device, while leaving some mystery about how it will work and everything it will do. The product itself was almost less important than the statement the company was making: the future of personal computing will be on your wrist and Apple has the time machine to transport you there.”
“In spite of never once uttering the word ‘smartwatch,’ Apple is now one of the most committed participants in the nascent smartwatch business and has brought its halo of attention to the entire category,” Savov writes. “Because this company launches entirely new products so rarely and so successfully, the Apple Watch has already enjoyed more popular attention than any other device of its kind.”
“Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts and Yves Saint Lauren’s Paul Deneve, who both joined in 2013, are well versed in the act of making luxury brands appealing to a younger audience, which is exactly how Apple wants to position itself,” Savov writes. “As geeky interests like mobile photography become mainstream pursuits, and technology grows more accessible and immediate, the line between tech and fashion will grow ever fainter. Smartwatches are just the next logical step in that evolution. They are about the style of the old mixed with the smart connectivity of the new.”
Much more in the full article here.
Good god the Verge is s terrible website. Very few useful articles. Mostly just click bait to get fanboys fighting with each other.
“The iPhone came first, but it was of secondary importance.”
Well, right there we know that whatever follows is gibberish.
This hyperventilating moron has it reversed. Apple Watch is the start of the “next chapter” for iPhone. Ten years ago, the Mac (or PC) was the “digital hub” for the customer’s personal computing. Now, iPhone is becoming the customer’s hub for wearable computing. Apple Watch extends the customer’s iPhone experience with a convenient secondary display, interface point, and multi-sensor, all on the customer’s wrist.
Going forward, there are likely to be a growing number of devices, from Apple and third-parties, that the user carries or wears, and are controlled by the user’s iPhone. At some point, the concept of a “mobile phone” may become outdated. Instead, there may be a small “hub” device that the user always carries. Maybe it will be called an “iPod.” The user then selects and “wears” (or carries) the appropriate “extension” device(s).
Like the watch but would have preferred a round more masculine version. I predict we will see that in the future.
One of the main reasons for the iPod’s success was that Steve treated as fashion not just tech. Every year they had new models, some in several colors. They had big unveileings, with a bands and videos. Not just a booth at CES. It’s why Sony and MS failed. It was more than something you listen to music on. It was something you showed off. Apple has not forgotten this.
“the statement the company was making: the future of personal computing will be on your wrist”
Wrong! That completely misses the actual point: the future of personal computing will be more personal than any single device.”