

Apple Watch orders fell sharply after the first day and haven’t grown since - walterbell
http://qz.com/410027/apple-watch-orders-fell-sharply-after-the-first-day-and-havent-grown-since-a-shopping-data-firm-says/

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joshuak
I don't know about anyone else, but my thinking is either I buy it pre-order
and get it as early as anyone gets it, or I don't think about it until it
'ships within 24 hours' (or I can walk into the store and buy one). Therefore,
I would completely expect there to be low demand right now. At least if other
people behave like I do.

I didn't pre-order the Apple Watch because a watch (which I haven't worn
regularly in decades), doesn't carry nearly the impact (that I can see yet) of
a new touch phone that solves huge frustrations with existing phones, or a
tablet the finally fulfills the promise of digital books and magazines from
the 90s.

Perhaps it's missing the killer app that would help me 'get it'. I guess that
means I need to workout more?

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threeseed
I goto the gym every day for an hour. The Apple Watch is a fantastic workout
tracker. And it's great that it's reminding me to stand every hour. But what
is the point of the data it collects ? Apple isn't doing anything smart with
it (yet).

The workout tracker is not the killer app. And neither is everything out there
right now.

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kaolinite
This isn't a surprise at all. Most people won't buy version one of a new
product like this (think about how few people bought the first iPhone, for
example, and that was a fairly well established category already). The people
who do decide to buy it, they're probably really enthusiastic about it - so
they've already ordered it. I suspect Apple Watch orders will really take off
around Christmas - I bet it'll be a very popular gift.

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DiabloD3
Honestly, I kinda feel sorry for Apple. Multiple Google Wear watches with
better designs and what seems to be more supporting apps came out before the
Apple Watch, just completely spoiling their party.

Since Google Wear seems to be the better platform, and I don't own any iOS
devices anyhow[1], I wonder when I'm going to start seeing decent <$150
watches that have 2-3 day battery life and use, say, color eInk to get that
battery life.

[1]: Compare my Nexus 5 vs the iPhone 5S (which both came out around the same
time), my Nexus 5 has more CPU power, more RAM, faster RAM, faster flash in
both IOPS and flat out sequential, a higher res and bigger screen, more
brightness, better contrast, better performance (in speed/distance, latency,
and energy usage while active and idle) with Bluetooth, WiFi, and Cell, and
also will be supported for OS updates much longer by Google than the iPhone
will by Apple, and the Nexus 5 has NFC while the iPhone 5S doesn't; and the
price comparison of the 32GB model of both, the Nexus 5 was somewhere around
$200 cheaper.

Now, compare vs the iPhone 6 that came out about a year later: CPU is about
the same, I still have more RAM but about the same speed, flash caught up,
screen is same size but Nexus 5 is still higher res, brightness and contrast
are about the same, Wifi, Bluetooth, Cell performance is about the same,
iPhone finally got NFC, but it still suffers from a much shorter support track
for iOS updates, and it still cost a lot more.

So yeah, given all of that, I still don't understand why Apple refuses to
compete with Android phones.

Edit: Downvoting me to Apple fanboy is not the correct reaction. Google, LG,
HTC, Samsung, etc _need_ Apple to compete with them, and vice versa.

I'm afraid phones will stop getting better if Apple keeps going down the path
they're on.

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sukilot
When apple enters a market, the preexisting offerings are known to not have
existed anymore. Apple is always "first".

~~~
DiabloD3
Yes, I've noticed that. There is nothing wrong with not being first, Apple
should focus on trying to do it better, not faster.

~~~
SocksCanClose
In fact, many Apple executives describe their strategy as "Last Mover" quite
publicly. And I think that holds up to scrutiny. Remember the Rio? And I
certainly recall pre-iPad tablets. And of course, as cited above, many, many
Android "smart watches".

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node-bayarea
That stat is coming from slice.com. They only have a small user base, so I
don't trust them.

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dadude
and yet you still can't buy one in a store and online orders are late June
early July.

Someone doesn't have their facts correct and I don't think its Apple hiding
stock somewhere to pretend they are selling out.

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threeseed
Hardly surprising.

As someone who has had it a while ago it has two real problems. App loading
performance is terrible. It needs to be instant like glances. And most
importantly there is no killer app.

~~~
Terretta
The "killer app" is leaving your phone in your pocket or purse.

And then there's a "better than sum of parts" thing going on.

No longer wearing my Pebble Steel which had that "phone in pocket" killer app
and week long battery, because the Apple Watch support for Microsoft Exchange
Calendaring is so phenomenal.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
That's not a killer app. That's a "Hmm, maybe" app.

When most of the population spends so much time looking at phone screens, a
pitch like "Well now you can look at a much smaller screen, only you can't do
so much with it, and it's a bit slow and unresponsive" is less than completely
compelling.

Watch is a trinket at best. IMO Apple shouldn't be in the trinket business.

~~~
51Cards
I had your line of thought until I got a smartwatch. On my second now (Pebble
first, then LG Gear) and yes, leaving your phone in your pocket IS the killer
app. Knowing if that email alert is important, glancing at a text and flicking
off a quick reply, being able to feel notifications in a noisy environment.
Most importantly, my phone now goes all day on a charge due to the decreased
amount of screen on time. I know the form factor isn't for everyone, but it
can be very useful and shouldn't be outright dismissed.

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bsaul
A big difference with the iPad ( the other product people were skeptical
about) is that once you start using the iPad you realize its use. With the
Apple Watch, not so much.

I think it's quite possible they really blew it this time.

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SocksCanClose
Do ou own one?

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SocksCanClose
All the people I know who have received theirs already have actually described
just this experience (essentially, 'I didn't think it would be useful, but
within a day, I realized it was pretty amazing,' &c.).

