Apple Watch: Enthusiasm and questions as Apple enters new market
SAN FRANCISCO (San Jose Mercury News/TNS) – The new Apple Watch breaks some of Apple’s own rules. Hit products like the iPhone and iPad had a narrow range of prices and a limited number of options, typically just the amount of memory and a handful of color choices. But the Apple Watch – as the company revealed at a high-octane event Monday – will sell for $349 at the low end but hit a new price point more in keeping with luxury customers willing to drop as much as $17,000 on solid gold models. It delves into an unprecedented level of personalization, coming in two sizes, three collections and an array of interchangeable bands. And, to boot, it’s entering a market for wearable technology that has seen little evidence of consumer interest. All that has analysts a bit apprehensive as Apple prepares to start selling the watch in April, though few would bet against a company that has already re-imagined digital music and mobile phones. “It’s still not obvious that [the Apple Watch] is a need-to-have and not a niceto-have,” said analyst John Jackson of IDC. “But, having said that, if anybody is going to give the smartwatch a meaningful identity, it’s Apple, and they threw everything they had at it today.” The first brand-new product to emerge from One Infinite Loop since the iPad, it is CEO Tim Cook’s big bet for the company’s next chapter – and a decidedly fun one at that, with a time piece that lets users take calls from their wrists, à la Dick Tracy. The Cupertino-based company flaunted the Apple Watch at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, presenting it as an indispensable accessory to the iPhone with features like health and fitness tracking, communication tricks and a sleek design. Spotlighting apps created by outside developers, they showed how the watch could be used to hail an Uber, respond to instant messages and peruse photos on Instagram. “We think the Apple Watch is quickly going to become integral to your day,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd. But given that the iPhone is already a core tool for Apple’s loyal consumers, some wonder how much the watch can add. Users must have an iPhone 5 or later. “The question is, are there enough people willing to make this additional purchase for the ability to do things that, frankly, they can already do on their phone?” asked analyst Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research. Although the watch was the star of the show Monday, Apple executives did not neglect the rest of their portfolio of gadgets, unveiling a wide range of hardware and software updates. The company announced a thinner and lighter MacBook computer, which features daylong battery life and a new “force click” gesture that allows users to press harder on a trackpad to pull up information such as Wikipedia entries and maps. They debuted ResearchKit, an open-source software program that will allow iPhone users to participate in research on conditions such as asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. The company stressed its commitment to protecting users’ privacy, saying it will not have access to the data. It may be that the suite of Apple products is given a boost with the addition of the watch by strengthening user loyalty to the brand and attracting Android users who are dissatisfied with the wearable offerings in that network, said analyst Carolina Milanesi, chief of research and head of US business at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, a consumer research firm. “All of these things to me speak of success – not just sales,” Milanesi said. Cook said the Apple Watch, which will be available for pre-order April 10 and go on sale in nine countries on April 24, is the company’s most “personal” gadget ever. Gentle taps and a turn of the digital crown on the graceful design allow users to navigate its screen, which is about the size of a postage stamp. “For the first time, I think, we have a wearable device that doesn’t feel like it was designed only for a man,” Milanesi said. The Watch allows users to interact with one another by exchanging taps, doodles and heartbeats, a feature that analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research thinks will help the gadget stand out on the market. “The digital touch stuff is very unique – it’s a way to send a very personalized message,” he said. But others spotted a few drawbacks after testing the watch. O’Donnell said his eyes strained to make out information on the gadget’s tiny screen. “It’s clearly designed for a younger demographic, but that younger demographic doesn’t wear watches.” Still, sporting a bit of tech bling might appeal to some – as long as longevity is not the goal. The “edition” collection features solid gold watches starting at $10,000, a clear play for the luxury market. “You spend all that money today and in two years Apple comes out with a new version, what do you do with the first one you bought?” said Christine Campbell, owner of Crimson Mim, a women’s boutique in Los Altos. “It’s not like having a Rolex that you can pass on to your children or grandchildren. An Apple Watch doesn’t have that same heritage value.”