Well, that writing style certainly is calculated to make me think that the author is a douche.
As to the substance of the argument: if your basic point is connecting AirPods to the Apple Watch, then man, you're really begging the question. I suppose it's possible that the watch will eventually become a big success, but it just has not yet.
(I was also amused to see the gold Edition watch ad in there -- the gold has been discontinued and the Edition has gotten a 90% price break).
>Well, that writing style certainly is calculated to make me think that the author is a douche.
Funny thing, people name-calling others "a douche" for their writing does the exact same thing to me. Meta, huh?
>I suppose it's possible that the watch will eventually become a big success, but it just has not yet.
Big success compared to what? It already outsold all smart-waches 10 to 1, and is the number #2 watch brand (overall) in the world in sales. And that's in its first iteration, and from a company that never made watches before, and when technology (battery, etc) is still immature for most of things one could add. To contrast, it took several years for the iPod to be that succesful.
If that's failure, I'd like to see what success is like.
Apple does that selectively, and doesn't say how units they sell for many products. Including highly succesful ones. Besides, he have estimations, and are all big numbers for a watch, so?
>Apple moving to a 12 month release cycle.
That doesn't make any sense. A watch is not something people buy every few years, like phones have been since forever (also thanks to subscription contracts people have to pay for phones anyway which subsidize part of the cost).
Not are they like laptops which people change every 4-6 years because new machines are much faster and come with new connections and stuff (SSDs over HDs, thunderbolt, retina displays, etc). Besides people have started updating laptops that much the last 5 years or so, as CPUs hit a plateu that's been good enough for most.
Even when there are some breakthroughs to show for it (like this model's more capable cpu/battery, the waterproofing, etc), people won't just buy another $300 or more smartwatch in 12 months, heck not even in 2-3 years.
This means Apple's best move is to put out new models at the pace when they have enough interesting tech/changes to add. A new release in 12 months wont have that, and even if it had them it would be too fast a cycle for repeat buyers.
>Anyone besides people who were emotionally invested in its success from pre-launch thinking that it's a success.
Yes, Apple is selective with the products they disclose unit sales for: specifically, they tell the ones that are big successes.
As to release cycles: If people won't pay another $300 in 2 years for a watch, no matter how much the internals change, that certainly does put a cap on the consumer enthusiasm for said watch, doesn't it?
>As to release cycles: If people won't pay another $300 in 2 years for a watch, no matter how much the internals change, that certainly does put a cap on the consumer enthusiasm for said watch, doesn't it?
Yeah, like it puts at cap at around 2 years for a phone, of around 5 years for a laptop, etc. Reality tends to put caps on things.
You expected people buying new watches every year? Or do you think Apple expected that?
You don't have your lifecycle set to the generation length -- phones, as you note, are around 2-3 years, but they have a lifecycle of one year. The fact that the watch has a much worse lifecycle than the phone -- despite being half the cost -- gives valuable insight into Apple's beliefs about how compelling it is.
If the Apple Watch were amazing, and a new generation could be more amazing yet, why wouldn't a substantial number of the owners upgrade in a year?
As to the substance of the argument: if your basic point is connecting AirPods to the Apple Watch, then man, you're really begging the question. I suppose it's possible that the watch will eventually become a big success, but it just has not yet.
(I was also amused to see the gold Edition watch ad in there -- the gold has been discontinued and the Edition has gotten a 90% price break).