Apple Watch

[WilliamTheIrish]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/..._campaign=news

After months of rumors and dozens of fan-created images of what an Apple watch might look like, the tech giant will show us what it's been working on today, when it's expected to unveil a new smartwatch at a splashy event in Cupertino, Calif.

We'll be updating this post with news from Apple today, including tweets from NPR's Laura Sydell, who's at the event at the Flint Center.

[mr. tegu]

It is so innovative!

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by KC native

Yes, nothing exciting but they will sell a metric **** ton of the iPhone 6s as the Iphone 4 holdouts roll into new devices.

I think they came way to high on the price point for the watch. It will be interesting to see the adoption of it.

My guess is that their margins on that watch are lower than just about any other product they make. It's just expensive as hell to design anything with any amount of power that small.

I think it's going to be more a question of the category's value as a whole rather than whether Apple's version is worth it.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by DaFace

My guess is that their margins on that watch are lower than just about any other product they make. It's just expensive as hell to design anything with any amount of power that small.

I think it's going to be more a question of the category's value as a whole rather than whether Apple's version is worth it.

I agree. I like the concept and briefly looked at the Samsung Gear, but then I looked at the price tag and determined the novelty wasn't worth it.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Fish

Good ****ing grief. That sounds like my grandma after her 11th cigarette of the day....

*sigh*

Yup. Every day starts with a turd that was yesterday's best meal...

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by KC native

I agree. I like the concept and briefly looked at the Samsung Gear, but then I looked at the price tag and determined the novelty wasn't worth it.

The MOTO 360 is the best "deal" right now and also the best looking but $250 is still a bit high. Of course at that price it sold out within 3 hours of launch so who knows.

[listopencil]

So...Apple shows up with an overpriced product that does nothing new and pretends that they've created a breakthrough. I am now patiently awaiting the Apple buggy whip for my iHorse drawn carriage.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by listopencil

So...Apple shows up with an overpriced product that does nothing new and pretends that they've created a breakthrough. I am now patiently awaiting the Apple buggy whip for my iHorse drawn carriage.

So... no different than the last few years.

There will still be mile long lines with people waiting for 3 ****ing days to buy one.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

Thus concludes Kyle's annual meh reaction to Apple's new lineup.

Didn't even have to open the thread to know what his reaction would be. It's not groundbreaking, but it's not terrible. Either way, he'd be shitting all over it.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by Silock

Didn't even have to open the thread to know what his reaction would be. It's not groundbreaking, but it's not terrible. Either way, he'd be shitting all over it.

I said almost the same thing you just said. So I guess you are shitting all over it too?

It's not terrible, it's just another in a long line of failures to innovate from Apple the last few years. While that was enjoyable to me at one time it is now a genuine concern. I will however continue to shit all over you fanboys.

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by KevB

If you're an Apple guy, I'd be interested to hear why you'd be excited about today's announcements. I'm not antagonizing here. I'm sincerely interested. I tend to agree with Kyle's take. I'm not an Apple "fan", but not a hater either. We have plenty of diversity in my household when it comes to tech products, including 3 iPhones and 2 iPads.

I'm not rating this from a Android vs Apple tech standpoint. I'm just ready to get a new, larger phone with a better processor, 2x the storage, and cool new biometric features from the coprocessor.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

I'm not rating this from a Android vs Apple tech standpoint. I'm just ready to get a new, larger phone with a better processor, 2x the storage, and cool new biometric features from the coprocessor.

It's definitely an improvement from the last iteration. It's just lagging about a year or so behind the competition in tech terms. I just expected at least ONE truly innovative feature from Apple so that other companies can steal it. Having one less innovator in the marketplace is bad for everyone.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I've had my eye on the Moto 360 for a while now - it's a damn classy looking watch. I agree that the Apple watch isn't anything special, but I think it looks nicer than the square watches that Samsung and LG have put out so far. Combine that with the fact that there's no cross compatibility, and I bet that the Apple Watch will sell reasonably well.

Of course, I haven't convinced myself that $250 for a watch is worth it in general let alone $350. It'll be interesting to see how many people are willing to drop that kind of dough on a watch.

You'd be surprised. It isn't hard to drop that kind of cash on accessories. I mean there's no way I am going to do it, but it isn't hard.

Originally Posted by AustinChief

The compatibility issue is the only thing that should save Apple on this one. I doubt anyone is going to switch platforms over a watch.

The real issue is that Apple seems to be content to play catch up these days. When was the last time they did anything remotely innovative? I like to piss on the Apple fanboys out there but Apple failing this hard isn't good for anyone. I hope they get their shit together.

I agree. Initially I started with Apple after I dumped crackberry because all the android based systems were so all over the place with quality and feel, and nothing (at the time) could compete with battery life. Then when I switched, I was GODDAMNED busy and didn't want to switch.

It's a far different environment now a days. If I were switching today, it would likely be an android device.

Originally Posted by Cochise

I would be interested in the iwatch if it would replace the iphone. If it had a phone and could send and receive texts and do light web tasks. Then I would be first in line. I don't enjoy doing many other tasks on a little phone screen... or even having to carry a phone around at all.

To me, wearable tech needs to constitute an improvement over something I already have. I don't want an additional device I need to carry around. I want something that replaces what I have without losing any function I consider essential.

I don't think we are all going to feel we "need" smartphones that much longer. We are surrounded by wifi or nearby computer terminals at work or schools most of the time. We can get to computers in minutes or seconds if we need to do a heavier computing task. Voice rec and some time to mature will have wearables to the point where we don't feel like we need 4 different kinds of devices around.

Disagree. I'm virtually never around wifi.

[DaveNull]

Pretty early to be making too many declarations about the watch. No word on battery life, no explanation of how tethered it is to a phone and no word on price beyond "starts at $350".

What I saw from their demo was pretty slick though and you can expect that developers will prefer to develop for the Apple watch over the Android stuff because there will be a bigger potential market.

Should be interesting to see what happens in the spring.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by listopencil

So...Apple shows up with an overpriced product that does nothing new and pretends that they've created a breakthrough. I am now patiently awaiting the Apple buggy whip for my iHorse drawn carriage.

Where is Apple claiming to be an innovator?

[Hootie]

I guess I don't understand smart watches..

why the **** do you need one of those when you have a smart phone?