“Beyond the initial supply constraints for its new Apple Watch, Apple’s big hurdle with consumers will be changing the mindset that wearable devices are, well, nerdy,” Therese Poletti writes for MarketWatch. “That said, the Apple Watch’s new app store is already populated with more than 3,000 apps.Indeed, one of the biggest challenges for new users may be how to deal with the distractions and alerts that pop up on their wrists.”
“When integrated with Apple Inc.’s Passbook on the iPhone, you can also get your boarding pass information on the small screen, and swipe your wrist on the TSA scanner at the airport,” Poletti writes. “Joshua Martin, an analyst at Strategy Analytics in Boston, believes that the Apple Watch’s greatest immediate impact will be in the areas of communications, finance, health and fitness, and travel.”
” In order to appeal to a mass market, the watch has to be seen as stylish, trendy — and not annoying,” Poletti writes. “‘Apple has brand cachét, a strong app ecosystem, and — they hope — good looks,’ said Liza Kindred, founder of Third Wave Fashion, a fashion tech consulting firm and think tank, in an email. ‘“The truth is, though, that the watches still look like a piece of technology and not a piece of jewelry. Google Glass failed to get mass adoption in part because it made it’s wearers looks like cyborgs.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Judging Apple Watch from images online varies greatly from actually seeing and wearing one for real. And, comparing the looks of Apple Watch wearers to a handful of Glassholes is ludicrous.
This article, like so many others, is much hand-wringing about nothing. If looking “nerdy” is its “biggest challenge,” Apple Watch has absolutely nothing to stop it. Everyone who’s anyone is already, or soon will be, will be wearing Apple Watches everywhere. Watch and see.
Thinking an Apple Watch is “nerdy” just makes you look illiterate. People who don’t embrace technology in 2015 are beyond help and belong with the Amish.
I walked 15 miles and caught a buggy to ride the remaining five to come to an Apple Store and say “What is wrong with being an Amish? Ay, English?”
Here we are… 2015. And people assume Apple’s product won’t work because the other guys’ versions didn’t work. How many times do these asshole analysts have to be proven wrong?
Oh, that’s right. They know they’re talking shit. They put APPLE in the headlines and get the clicks they need to secure their jobs.
Liza Kindred must be hoping to keep her job (or thinks she has some compelling, competing product in the works).
Spot on.
Not only that, but wearables like FitBit or Nike Fuel have been selling very well to non-nerds for quite some time. And believe it or not, media members, some people actually do still wear watches.
“This article, like so many others, is much hand-wringing about nothing. ”
This article, like far to many (most?), is more about driving eyeballs, than it is about providing meaningful information.
Baseless speculation used to fill column inches on a slow news day at MarketWatch.
I read your post quickly and thought it said “on a sloth newsday”. That would have worked too.
I have to give credit to the piece, it’s prelude by the word “Opinion” and those types of articles inundate the tech reporting, sadly articles based on facts, not so much, at least when it comes to Apple.
Apple’s “biggest challenge” for Apple Watch is not being able to produce them fast enough. 🙂
time again to pull out the old post. today we’re back at ITEM 2 again…
—–
Analysts:
“Apple will never produce another hit platform product. Companies only make one of two of these in their existence”
then
“OK Apple made the Apple Watch but it will not sell”
then
“OK Apple Watch sold out but only because they had small numbers Available”
then
“These ‘supply constraint’ problems show Apple’s supply chain is deteriorating or they had ‘no faith’ in the product and ordered little”
then
“Apple Watch sold gazillions but that is BAD because next year without a new product launch sales will pale in comparison”
then
“Although Apple Watch has been selling millions over the last few years we are sure THIS year the market will be saturated”
then
“OK market not saturated yet but THIS year the new (version 17) Nexus-Galaxy – Andromeda – Edge Backside Bazooka will destroy the watch…l ”
then
“OK Apple is taking 90% of the profits and the Backside Bazooka has stopped production BUT WE KNOW in the future : “Apple will never produce ANOTHER hit platform product. Companies only make one of two of these in their existence”
in short
“Never buy Apple Stock , we’ve said it since 1976… “
(Dilbert “You mean success is due to circular logic?
Dave gets it.
Don’t forget, Apple is DOOMED! LOL : )
Paid by the word. One grade above a tele-marketer.
These people always seem to think, if they don’t buy or like some product, neither will anyone else. That’s in a world of billions of people. Egocentric thinking to the max. I doubt Apple has ever tried to target everyone and I’m sure there are lots of companies that think that same way. I would think it’s easier to target a smaller section and meet with success than to try to target everyone.
It’s a bonus it doesnt look too much like jewellery considering how gross and tacky so much of the pretentious stuff looks, antithesis to what Apple stands for. Being essentially minimalist is far more tasteful than Gucci like gaudiness and will help them stand out too.
Stop calling this a “mass market” item.
It is not.
It is limited to a fraction of iPhone users only.
Yes, because a 1-in-10 (10%) “fraction” of early adopters equals 30 to 40 million Apple Watches sold (or on waiting list) by the end of 2015. That’s not “mass market”?
Even a 1-in-100 (1%) fraction of iPhone (5 and later) customers buying Apple Watch is still millions sold. For any company that does not have an apple logo, THAT volume would be considered highly “mass market.”
I think the adoption rate, over time, will be well over 10%. And the number of iPhone owners (potential Apple Watch customers) is also increasing significantly, every quarter. In the last reported quarter alone, Apple sold almost 75 million.
A small fraction of 400+ million (and growing) is a HUGE success. Or explained differently, that would be about 3,000 X more than all competitors combined (in just first year sales).
Fragmented Android in a licensed horizontal market cannot compete with vertical integration of proprietary hardware and software. PERIOD.
Theresa Polleti is an aspiring Henry Blodgett
This commentator isn’t as far off the mark as you might think.
Listening to the radio this morning on the way to work, the (decidedly non-techie) hosts were saying exactly this – that only nerds would be wearing the watch and they’d be acting like asses, bringing their wrist up to their face to make sure you’d see that they had an Apple Watch.
That said, I still think the biggest hurdle the watch has to clear is convincing people that it can be useful. Other companies’ attempts haven’t impressed anyone. We’re looking to Apple to show ’em how it’s done.