This morning I read a Forbes article speculating that the upcoming Apple Watch will have “mediocre sales.” The author backs this statement up by saying that the Apple Watch will add very little value to a potential customer’s life, because it doesn’t really have any features that the user doesn’t already get from their iPhone. “All of [the Apple Watch apps] are little more than remote controls for the iPhone.”
I think the author of that article is completely missing the point. Apple doesn’t sell products because they are more technologically advanced or feature filled than their competitors (just compare the technical specifications of an iPhone 6 Plus vs a Samsung Galaxy S5 or Google Nexus 6). They sell products because of the lifestyle and aesthetic associated with Apple.
I know many enthusiastic Apple fans, some who could be considered borderline fanatical, and all of them have a few things in common; they love the Apple narrative/lifestyle and the user-friendliness of the products. The Apple Watch has both of these things – finally an Apple product you can wear as a fashion accessory! And as a bonus, it makes your interaction with technology even more user-friendly by eliminating the need to dig in your pocket for you phone. I think that Apple knows its target market, and that the Apple Watch will do just fine.
BoweryJE22
I don’t understand the point of having a watch that controls your phone, I really think Apple is a very lifestyle oriented company, and agree the watch will do just fine.
I saw this same article earlier today. I completely agree with you. Apple definitely sells their brand and lifestyle more than other competitors . If you see it from that angle it seems to me the watch will do much better than the author of the article believed.
I know the watch will do fine because Apple has so many loyal customers that will but whatever they release. However, I think they have lost the lead they used to have in the tech industry. They hopefully will have a style advantage with this product but I doubt the features will be any more impressive than other smart watches.
The lack of Steve Job’s reality distortion field should also hurt the Apple Watch sales numbers. I used to watch every keynote address that Apple released, and looking back I think a lot of the drive behind Apple’s sales was the personal charisma of Steve Jobs.