
The Apple Watch with LTE and AirPods Is the Future - imartin2k
http://meshedsociety.com/the-apple-watch-with-lte-airpods-are-the-future/
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thinbeige
No it's not. While it's definitely a nice piece of tech all the smartphone
addicts who heavily use Whatsapp, Instagram, an email client, etc want a
device with a large screen, virtual keyboard and a camera. Don't tell us that
AI and voice commands will replace this.

The Apple watch will dominate all health and fitness based use cases though.

~~~
HorizonXP
I agree with you, but I don't think that's what the author's point was.

You'll still probably carry your iPhone with you, but it'll probably stay in
your pocket or bag more often than not. And you're right, the Apple Watch will
never replace the functions you cited.

I've been using smartphones for years, and I'm definitely someone that's very
tied to e-mails and phone calls. Yet I'd rather remove the distraction. I
don't _need_ to be 100% available all day, everyday.

The Watch will let me respond to e-mails, messages, and phone calls without
pulling out my phone. If it's something more involved, I can pull out my
phone. Beyond that, I can wait until I get back to my desk.

The Watch + AirPods won't completely replace the iPhone, it will complement
it. Just like the iPad and MacBook does. None of those verticals are
particularly large for Apple, and will never touch the iPhone. They simply mop
up the periphery users like me that will actually use it. Everyone else is
perfectly served by the iPhone.

~~~
pjmlp
I surely won't pay 300 euros just to avoid taking my phone out of the pocket.

~~~
rayiner
For me that feature has been worth every penny. I'm constantly getting emails;
if one comes in after business hours, 95% of the time it can wait until the
next morning. But 5% of the time it can't, so I've always got to pull out my
phone to check. With the watch, I can just glance quickly and go back to
whatever I was doing.

(I'm somewhat resentful of journalists always interjecting the narrative in
articles about the Watch that it's an underlying symptom of people being
addicted to their phones. For a lot of people, being available is part of the
job. The Apple Watch is the modern equivalent of a pager.)

~~~
yjftsjthsd-h
Can you not have your phone only buzz for messages matching some pattern?

~~~
rayiner
Not in any way that I’d trust.

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whytaka
My hope is that it'll be a very near future for me. I spend a good 70%+ of my
waking life in front of a screen. I really don't need it when I'm out and
about.

If I need to deal with something with more than a quick dictated sentence,
I'll get to a computer and address it head on. If it's REALLY important and it
needs my attention immediately, then we'll talk on the phone.

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Oletros
I think most of those articles have a very big USA centric view.

In the USA, Apple has more less a 40-45% market share depending of the time of
the year and perhapsd is there where Apple Watch and AirPods can be "the
future".

But with less than 20% of the market worlwide, I ddoubt that they will be "the
future".

~~~
VeejayRampay
Welcome to HN where world and USA are virtually interchangeable for some
reason.

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plg
Here in Canada a wireless plan that would allow me to stream Apple Music
constantly throughout the day would cost a frigging fortune, I mean hundreds
and hundreds of dollars per month.

I like the idea but right now it's not practical given the (sad) state of
wireless data cost, at least here in Canada.

~~~
matwood
In the US, most providers added (or already had) a $10 add-on plan for the new
AW.

~~~
HorizonXP
It's the data overage charges that he's referring to. We pay upwards of $80 a
month for 6GB. Tack on $10 more for AW, but you're still going to blow through
6GB.

~~~
matwood
It’s not any different than streaming music to your phone all day.

~~~
plg
In the US do you have truly unlimited LTE data plans? I mean really unlimited?
How much do they cost?

In Canada (as far as I know, for consumer plans) we have none.

~~~
matwood
I've been streaming music and radio over my TMO One plan ($100 month for 2
lines) line for a long time and have never come close to hitting their soft
caps.

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watchme
Apple still requires you to have an iPhone, which reduces the appeal of the
cellular-equipped Series 3 watch. It's a disappointment.

> "Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) requires an iPhone 6 or later with
> iOS 11 or later. Apple Watch and iPhone service provider must be the same."

~~~
BrentOzar
> Apple still requires you to have an iPhone, which reduces the appeal of the
> cellular-equipped Series 3 watch. It's a disappointment.

To people who don't have an iPhone, yes, it's a disappointment.

Given iPhone sales numbers, though, I don't think that market is Apple's
primary concern. Non-iPhone owners are usually said to be more price-conscious
(preferring cheaper/better/whatever Android phones), and those owners have
always had choices for alternative watches that are cheaper/better/whatever
than the Apple Watch.

Apple's flexing their market muscle here by forcing cell phone vendors to sell
cheap plans that share the same phone number between the iPhone and the Watch,
which makes it pretty exciting for those of us in the US with expensive plans.
It's easier for me to justify $10/mo for my Watch to have connectivity with
exactly the same phone number as my iPhone back at home.

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sah2ed
According to the keynote, AW series 3 will support a limited list of carriers
at launch so I'm curious as to how the eSIM which AW3 uses is implemented?

Looks like users on unsupported carriers depend on Apple to enter into a
commercial agreement for cellular to work with their carrier?

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izacus
Hmm, is it true that the new Apple Watch doesn't support roaming at all
(meaning it's useless without phone when traveling) and doesn't allow you to
even change/choose the operator after purchase?

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archagon
I feel the Apple Watch in particular will suffer from the singularness of its
design. Android Wear might be clunky, but at least its watches have a variety
of body shapes and materials. Aside from bands, there's no such choice in the
Apple ecosystem: buying one means buying into the Apple look. People want to
differentiate themselves by the things they wear on their bodies, and even the
best industrial design or technology won't necessarily lure them over.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
This is a weird comment to make now. When Apple Watch was first released,
maybe. But now? It's already more popular than all other smart watches
combined, and it's apparently the best-selling watch in the world period. Not
entirely sure if that's by revenue or units, but regardless, it seems pretty
clear that your assumption is wrong.

~~~
archagon
Yes, it's popular. I'm only responding to the claim that the Apple Watch is
"The Future", i.e. as ubiquitous as the smartphone. I just can't picture the
majority of any population wearing a watch with the exact same body. That's
not how fashion works!

If smart watches are successful, it's far more likely that we'll eventually
see a 20-80 Apple/Android split like we do today.

~~~
BrentOzar
> I just can't picture the majority of any population wearing a watch with the
> exact same body. That's not how fashion works!

You know how cell phones have lots of different cases? The body is the same,
but people just wrap it in different "fashionable" cases?

The Watch is the same thing: just get different bands (or even cases, if
you're super-individualist.) (Source: Hermès owner with multiple bands)

~~~
archagon
While that would certainly work for some people, for others it's all about the
body. After all, it's the designer's signature and the first thing people
usually see.

For me, a watch is a very personal thing, and I'd never want to wear a
multinational tech company's design on my wrist, unless I needed it for work
or exercise.

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diego_moita
> completely redefine the mobile ecosystem over the next couple of years.

I object to the "completely" part. The key issue is applications, smartwatches
are still a solution searching for a problem. The Apple Watch has a clear mass
appeal but its uses are still far from being a "killer application".

Without messaging and mobile web the mobile ecosystem wouldn't have happened.
What are their equivalents to smartwatches?

~~~
dsacco
_> The key issue is applications, smartwatches are still a solution searching
for a problem._

No they aren't, they're just not yet appealing to everyone. Running with my
Apple Watch (Series 2 GPS) and Airpods has literally changed my life for the
better. It's incredibly freeing to have no iPhone on my armband and track
things like time, heart rate, speed and cadence without holding anything at
all or having wires bouncing around my shoulders.

And that's just fitness! I also cook a lot; having a phone call through my
watch is _amazing_ , especially when I combine it with my Airpods. My hands
can be sticky, dirty, etc and I don't even need to hold anything or carry it
with me.

Just because it doesn't appeal to you and your lifestyle doesn't mean it is a
"solution searching for a problem."

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nunez
I agree that this combination will become massively popular now that Apple's
finally made it a thing. It kind of makes me wish I had gotten the LTE version
of the Gear S3 instead of the WiFi only one.

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StreamBright
It would be the future if I had to charge all of those once a year.

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joegaudet
OP is going to have to wait a _long_ time for apple to change the form factor
of the air pods. Apples has only had maybe 3 headphone design changes in since
the iPod.

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fullshark
I've been waiting for wearables to enter a new hype cycle. We are running out
of new surface ideas.

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yalogin
The watch update is a big one and a very good one too. I do t think it got
enough attention.

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knodi
It maybe but not for another 10 years. Apple isn't got to have their watch
compete with their iphone sales.

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VeejayRampay
Stop trying to make Apple Watch happen, this is getting embarrassing.

~~~
prklmn
It's pretty clear that Apple Watch is "happening"
[https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/03/apple-watch-
over-30m-li...](https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/03/apple-watch-
over-30m-lifetime-shipments/)

~~~
VeejayRampay
Apple could take a dump on the dinner table that suckers would still be lining
up to scoop it up though. Just because it sells doesn't mean it's a
transforming, industry-shaping piece of tech. Fidget spinners sold like crazy
as well. Mark my words, AW will be a thing of the past in 18 months to 2
years.

~~~
skygazer
“Hey Siri, remind me in two years to tell Veejay how his prediction panned
out”

OK, I’ll remind you.

~~~
VeejayRampay
Let's do it then. The form factor is somewhat of an in-between in my opinion.
A step in the good direction, but too small to be really useful on the long
run. Something like Google Glass (not necessary Glass itself, but something
similar / improved) combined with hand gestures has more potential I think.
Though we'll see, I might be wrong about this one but I really don't see smart
watches still being a thing in 2020.

~~~
skygazer
"The future is the hardest thing to predict." I just made that up, AFAIK, but
I wrapped it in quotes to encourage reuse. ;)

"The future is fickle." Seems on point as well.

If I close my eyes and imagine the future, all the gadgets disappear, and only
information remains, feeding sensation and aware of intention. Conversations
with omnipresent disembodied voices when I'm feeling old school.

Edit: Too bad this is a 5 day old thread. It's my own comment I would most
upvote if that were possible. ;)

