

5 Reasons Why iWatch Will Be A Disaster For Apple - kritiqqr
http://amistakes.com/2013/04/22/5-reasons-why-iwatch-will-be-a-disaster-for-apple/

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coldtea
From the authors that brought you:

5 Reasons Why the iPad will be a disaster for Apple. 5 Reasons Why the iPhone
will be a disaster for Apple. 5 Reasons Why the iPod Mini will be a disaster
for Apple. 5 Reasons Why the MacBook Air will be a disaster for Apple. 5
Reasons Why the Intel migration will be a disaster for Apple. ... ...

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fusiongyro
Watches have gone through some changes since they were invented, and though
for a while they were purely utilitarian (Casio), they are now almost
exclusively a fashion domain. Apple has demonstrated that they are quite good
at promoting technology to fashion, but they've failed at going in the
opposite direction (capturing fashion).

Point #1 is irrelevant. Steve also didn't wear shirts with color. That doesn't
mean they were obsolete.

Point #2 is valid. The utilitarian purpose of the watch is adequately
fulfilled by your phone, which you must have. Also, everybody has a phone, and
there are clocks everywhere. It's very unlikely that you _need_ a watch for
utilitarian purposes.

Point #3 is weak.

Point #4 is practically an argument _for_ Apple. They have never originated a
market. Instead, they enter a market with horrifyingly bad user experience and
fix it. They almost never try to _create_ a market when they could instead
_capture a young, but rapidly growing_ market. If this were a rapidly growing
market, I would say this is a point for the opposition. However, I don't think
it is a growing market, certainly not growing at the rate that would interest
Apple in it, Pebble be damned.

If people suddenly decided they absolutely had to have a watch, I could see
Apple trying to enter the market, but I doubt they would succeed simply
because they tend to fail at fashion for its own sake.

Point #5 is the best one. Apple tends to be both aspirational and democratic.
You may balk at spending $600 on a tablet, but it's unlikely that this price
point is truly out of reach for the average Westerner. You're only balking at
it because you know you can get a Nexus for $400 or whatever. But for the
wealthy, who are basically the market for good watches, they are a status
symbol, which means you either want something unique (the $5M watch) or you
want something instantly recognizable as expensive (the $5K+ Rolex). Apple
fails in both these markets.

I'd be shocked if Apple actually tried.

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anigbrowl
No bias here...

...but that said, these are (mostly) good criticisms. I am not sure about the
last one; wealthy people do often wear expensive watches, but I've also seen a
lot of whimsy and individuality in watch choices. I've known millionaires that
wear Swatches, their Dad's old Timex, etc.

