Extraordinary social media buzz indicates the world's most profitable company has another hit on its hands. But NBR still has grumpy questions. UPDATE: Pricing, first wave of countries announced.
US media is an absolute frenzy over Apple's Watch launch this morning (NZ time), ensuring the world's most profitable company has a monster hit on its hand. Business, tech and general news sites are falling over each other to be the first to reveal Apple's TV ad for the watch (a.k.a, playing it free).
My favourite coverage so far comes from The Onion, which reveals the following about the time piece:
Check out the satiric website's full feature list here.
Back in the real world, Apple says the Watch will be available in nine countries from April 24. NZ isn't on the list (which runs: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US).
The relatively chunky Watch will come in two sizes - 38mm and 42mm - and three "collections", each with a variety of cases and straps: Apple Watch Sport, priced at $US349 and $US399; Apple Watch, available from $US549 to $US1099 (US); and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $US10,000.
Apple Watch (Apple)
There were no surprises today. The key features are as flagged by Apple late last year. There's a touchscreen that combines with a "digital crown" (knob on the side) for zooming and panning; a built-in speaker and microphone that lets you make and receive calls from the watch; an Apple Watch app for iPhones which will be used to browse apps for the watch; and a heavy emphasis on health and fitness apps.
Apple has confirmed battery life will be around a day, with power-saving features (checkout full tech specs on Apple's website). That's yet to be tested by reviewers, but regardless, I don't consider a gadget lasting 12 or 24 hours any great achievement.
There is no killer feature that's not available in smartwatches today from Peeble, Samsung and others, but from the demo at least, the interface looks fluid, and the case full of engineering smarts. We'll see how it goes in real life.
Apple's Watch will come in a wide range of cases and straps. Apple chief designer Sir Jonathan Ive says people are “Okay or Okay to a degree,” with carrying a phone that is identical to hundreds of millions of others, but they would not accept this in something that’s worn. All-up, there is close to 100 different strap, case and size combinations. (Image: Apple)
The extraordinary media and social media buzz today indicates Version 1 of the Apple Watch will be a sure-fire hit.
But I'm still wondering if the hype will sustain into Version 2. Will people want to upgrade their watch every year? Will they be happy with a tech gadget replacing the jewellery role of a tradition watch? (Quite possibly, given Apple has taken the trouble to have multiple designs, and almost no-one under 30 wears a watch in this smartphone age, so there's nothing to replace.)
And, most of all, will people get fed up with yet another gadget that has to be charged every day, with power-saving modes during the day to string out battery life, and the need to sync with an iPhone that at any point might run out of juice?
That answer won't come today, but in the months and years to come.
