“Back in early 2013, when I first launched the Un-carrier movement and announced real change was coming to U.S. wireless – most of the industry experts thought I was crazy, bluffing – or both. You know who you are,” John Legere, T-Mobile US President and Chief Executive Officer, writes on T-Mobile US’s Issues & Insights Blog. “Now, a lot of the same experts are asking what’s next in wireless. So I’m laying down a few 2015 predictions for the Un-carrier and for the industry.”
“Wearables and phablets will be the big device stories of 2015 (and maybe some connected cars!)” Legere writes. “I love what Jawbone, Fitbit, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and others are doing in the wearables space. But we haven’t begun to see the potential of this category. It’s going to go from $1 to $20 billion in the next few years. And though we won’t see its full impact in 2015, I believe that the Apple Watch will mark the tipping point when wearables go from niche to mainstream.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Attribution: AppleInsider. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
He “loves” what Samsung has done in the wearables market? That statement is supposed to give him some kind of credibility? It is undoubtedly true that Apple will blow open the wearables market, but to “love” what Samsung did is just pandering.
Most of the other “wearables” are separate products. This is by necessity, because the producers of those products cannot assume the customer will use it in conjunction with another product (or that such other product will even be owned in large numbers). Therefore, their wearable product MUST have purpose and functionality by itself, and THAT is their limitation.
Apple Watch MUST be used with an iPhone. There are more than enough iPhones in the existing customer base (and millions more being sold) for Apple to require Apple Watch customers also own a recent iPhone. And that blows away the limitations of Apple Watch as a wearable device, because Apple Watch is powered by iPhone. The purpose of Apple Watch is to “upgrade” the user experience of being an iPhone customer. And iPhone customers LOVE upgrades.
Apple has a HUGE advantage here, because Apple is uniquely capable of producing a device that integrally interacts with another device. The competition will be talking about “partnerships,” but partners have separate agendas and conflicting leadership. The competing mobile platform is so fragmented that claiming “compatibility” is a joke; existing devices can’t even run the latest software. Apple OWNS the complete user experience.
You claim AppleWatch has a HUGE advantage by complementing an iPhone. That’s odd because practically all the anti-Apple camp say that’s a HUGE disadvantage of being tied to an iPhone. I guess it all depends on one’s viewpoint. It’s obvious no non-Apple users like “walled gardens”.
I’m sure AppleWatch will be able to do some things on its own, but one would expect all the heavy lifting be done on a separate device. Mainly a device that has more processing power, additional sensors and better battery life. We’ll need to see how dependent AppleWatch is on the iPhone to get anything done except display time functions. Using an iPhone with AppleWatch makes a lot of sense to me. The iPhone has a bitchin’ processor to handle just about any task possible and then just send the results back to the AppleWatch. It will be a nice synergy thing. I don’t mind it that way but others hate that idea. They want some feeble wrist device to do everything on its own. Good luck with that and kiss their watch battery goodbye.
Whatever. Apple has it’s own theory of how a smartwatch should be used and I’ll go with it until someone proves otherwise. If AppleWatch turns out to be more versatile than rival smartwatches by being tied to another device, I’m all for it. I suppose it will be a two-way street as the iPhone will likely be able to take advantage of the AppleWatch sensors for data collection. Let’s just wait and see.
I actually said the “HUGE advantage” is Apple having full control and ownership of the user experience. And THAT is something significant.
Apple Watch complementing iPhone is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The people who say the disadvantages outweigh the advantages see Apple Watch as a “watch.” They also believe Apple Watch will become more independent over time, and THEN it may become a worthwhile product. What they see as a key limitation of Apple Watch is its biggest advantage.
Because Apple Watch is “powered by iPhone,” it can do far more than an “independent” device of similar size. Only Apple can create a (viable) smartwatch that requires the customer to also own particular smartphone. That’s where the HUGE advantage comes into play; no one else can replicate it. Microsoft could potentially do it, but its Windows Phone platform is going nowhere, so its “Band” needs to interact in a more limited way with the popular platforms it does not control.
Over time, Apple Watch should NOT decrease its dependence on iPhone. That’s not “progress.” Instead, Apple Watch should become more and more sleek (less bulky), and INCREASE what it can do under the control of ever more powerful iPhones. Optimize iPhone as the “brains” and optimize Apple Watch as iPhone’s “interface” on your wrist.
Apple Watch is just the first of devices that enhance the iPhone customer experience. Apple creates a “smart headset.” It looks like a Bluetooth earpiece, but with more iPhone interaction capability. It has many features of Apple Watch (including sensors and “haptics”), except optimized for voice-based interaction with iPhone using future-Siri. Apple can do Google Glass the right way, with eyewear that looks “normal.” It provides iPhone with the user’s-eye view plus sensors and iPhone interaction. Google Glass was “wrong,” because it’s designed to be an independent device. Third-parties can create devices for more specialized needs (with Apple licensing and technical cooperation). The future iPhone customer has one of more of such wearable iPhone “enhancement” devices, and they all work in unison (as ONE system) under the control of iPhone.
Macintosh is the HUB of personal computing. iPhone is the HUB of wearable computing.