Apple Watch is coming...anybody excited about it?

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
You might have heard the rumors, and they appear to be true. Apple is going to come out with the iWatch sometime in 2014. The articles I am reading all seem to be sighing a collective "meh".

Nobody really knows what it will look like yet, but there are plenty of fan created designs floating around:

iWatch concept -580-75.jpg

iwatch_concept-580x405.jpg

iwatch12.jpg

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These all look cool, but the thing is...who wears watches anymore? I used to have some beautiful watches. I still have a Cartier tank-style watch which I have not worn for at least three years. Why dont people wear watches anymore? Because they have clocks with alarms and programmable reminders on their smartphones. Because people have gotten very comfortable with the idea that the wristwatch is no longer going to leave a soft, sweaty white ring around their wrist where their arm hair has decided to grow into a little forest. Because as the statistics show, mostly adults over age 35 wear watches and not young people which is who this smartwatch is being aimed at.

There are already many smartwatches on the market from Pebble, Sony, and others. They have already come out in the past, and they did not do well. But a smartwatch from Apple will be noticed because it is made by Apple. It will likely connect to iPhones and iPads via bluetooth and might be able to display texts or incoming calling information. It will likely have enough storage for lots of music too. None of the iPhone or iPad apps will fit on such a device, and people buying them will be locked in the walled garden like all other Apple devices. Does this thing stand a chance?

...didnt Apple go here before?

fashion-design-watch-strap-wristband-for-ipod-nano-6-p13305229420.jpg

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Those are the iPod Nano 6th generation devices, with assorted bands to go with them.

rock-band-ipod-nano-6g.jpg


Is anybody really going to try and watch Netflix on a wrist device? Probably not. But it can serve as a health device displaying bio information like heartbeats, body temperature, perhaps as a pedometer, as well as the other functions being rumored like interconnectivity to Apple devices. Therein lies the problem. Will people flock to a wrist device, and if they do will it be from Apple? Android is coming up with one too.

I dont know about the rest of you, but this does not at all excite me. I do not want to go back to wearing a watch on my wrist. I dont need the sweaty white untanned ring around my wrist, and I certainly do not want to work out with something around my wrist.

Analysts are predicting a lukewarm reception for this device, and I agree with that. Thoughts?
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I would be open to a wrist holographic everything device, and where is my damn flying car :joemalllozzi02:

Why don't you backstep 7 days and post up some useful lottery numbers instead of bitching about flying cars and holographic wrist watches you'll only use to project 3D porn anyway?


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
B

Backstep

Guest
Why don't you backstep 7 days and post up some useful lottery numbers instead of bitching about flying cars and holographic wrist watches you'll only use to project 3D porn anyway?


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


:icon_rotflmao::SmileyLaughingTears:


First, I will wait till the jackpot get bigger.
Second, Going back 7 days cost money, deposit 1,000,000.99 in Gold into this account. xxx-xxxxx-xxxx :anim_40:

Watching 3D wrist porn while flying in a car :sulkiness: Where is my damn Holosuite :joemalllozzi02:
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Wow, Apple Watch. :) I have to say, Apple has had me in head shake mode since it first launched iPhone. This is a drop test on a brand new Apple Watch (probably the tester's watch). Obviously, he is quite disappointed with the results of the test. I just laughed.


Apple continues to foist substandard products on their flock, hoping that they can keep things going long enough until the next substandard product is released. Why did they think Apple Watch was going to suddenly become a "thing"? The whole wearing watches thing sorta went away with the Boomer generation who wore them regularly. Sure, many people still wear them, but the people wearing them are wearing regular watches. The very dichotomy between the older watch wearer and a digital smartwatch are diametrically opposed.

For shits and giggles...

iPhone 6 drop test


I have yet to see a smashed screen on any Galaxy, HTC, Nokia, Blackberry or LG phone since 2013. But almost every smashed phone I see is an iPhone.

Sapphire MY ASS.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ls-handsets-repeatedly-failed-drop-tests.html
  • Sapphire screens were rumoured to be a feature on the iPhone 6
  • But the new handsets feature ‘ion-strengthened glass instead
  • Source claims Apple had to abandon its sapphire screens
  • They repeatedly cracked during tests carried out by Apple suppliers
  • Sapphire screens were the most wanted feature of the handset
  • Insurers have seen a 31% increase in damage claims in the past year
 
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Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I have yet to see a smashed screen on any Galaxy, HTC, Nokia, Blackberry or LG phone since 2013.

My S3 and S4 both failed the drop test. My S3 fell face down from the coffee table onto my marble floor, less than 2 feet. My S4 was accidentally smacked with its back-side against a shopping cart handle and the screen went dead plus it had a hairline crack on the LCD underneath the glass. :(

The one problem Galaxies have that I have not seen on any other brands is a shitty USB port that degrades over time or stops charging altogether. :(
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
My S3 and S4 both failed the drop test. My S3 fell face down from the coffee table onto my marble floor, less than 2 feet. My S4 was accidentally smacked with its back-side against a shopping cart handle and the screen went dead plus it had a hairline crack on the LCD underneath the glass. :(

The one problem Galaxies have that I have not seen on any other brands is a shitty USB port that degrades over time or stops charging altogether. :(

I have never shattered any of my phones. I bought rubberized hard cases with every phone at the same time I bought the phones. I have purposely dropped them or thrown them against walls to demonstrate how safe the cases are.

But that USB port thing, I totally know what you mean. Every single galaxy I had would get that problem.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I have never shattered any of my phones. I bought rubberized hard cases with every phone at the same time I bought the phones. I have purposely dropped them or thrown them against walls to demonstrate how safe the cases are.

But that USB port thing, I totally know what you mean. Every single galaxy I had would get that problem.

I used to carry my phone around bare. My thought process at the time was, "Why the hell get this beautifully crafted, slim, sleek phone if I have to encase it in a big old rubber coffin and look like I'm carrying around a shoe in my hand with a color screen?"

I've since changed my views. :icon_lol:

getsmart-shoephone-hdr.jpg
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I used to carry my phone around bare. My thought process at the time was, "Why the hell get this beautifully crafted, slim, sleek phone if I have to encase it in a big old rubber coffin and look like I'm carrying around a shoe in my hand with a color screen?"

I've since changed my views. :icon_lol:

getsmart-shoephone-hdr.jpg

Even my LG G2 lives safely within it's ULAK two-piece hard case with silicone liner.

ulak.jpg
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
But really that all goes back to why we should have to put ANY smartphone in a protective case? If they were constructed properly (as in proper coating and shock mounted and slightly recessed in the casing) it would not be necessary. It's the constant trying to make smartphones look artsy that leads to the fragility.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
But really that all goes back to why we should have to put ANY smartphone in a protective case? If they were constructed properly (as in proper coating and shock mounted and slightly recessed in the casing) it would not be necessary. It's the constant trying to make smartphones look artsy that leads to the fragility.

I think this is where Android has had it right from the very beginning. Every version of iPhone has promoted the development of a case to put it in because of the extreme fragility of them (from the very first one). Androids stopped the shattering issues by using Corning glass, but even if it shattered, the loss in dollars was not nearly as great. So, Android has given us practical plastic shells on their phones, which when covered by a case made it almost shatterproof. iPhones make such a big deal of the metal case and all, but most 90% of all iPhones are put into a case which covers it up so how great is it?
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Note I am saying a properly constructed phone should not need a case. Unfortunately the trend nowadays is form over function and so we get phones which need cases (which as you noted invalidates the form in the first place).
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Note I am saying a properly constructed phone should not need a case. Unfortunately the trend nowadays is form over function and so we get phones which need cases (which as you noted invalidates the form in the first place).

Many people see their choice of a case as being the way they personalize their phone. In the case of an iPhone, it is just one of the already severely limited ways to customize it. A properly constructed smartphone is not going to be in a brushed aluminum case. Apple iPhones are designed to be stylish, not to be more functional than other phones.
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Many people see their choice of a case as being the way they personalize their phone. In the case of an iPhone, it is just one of the already severely limited ways to customize it. A properly constructed smartphone is not going to be in a brushed aluminum case. Apple iPhones are designed to be stylish, not to be more functional than other phones.

Actually it could be - but not the way Apple or Samsung are doing it.

You need to use a much harder version of aluminum to prevent scratching, give the screen proper coating (The current androids, Windows Phones and the iPhone 6 are all using the same thing - Gorilla Glass 3), shock mount the screen and recess it slightly so a face down drop does not put the entire impact on the screen.
 

Quetesh

Well Known GateFan
My watches have been gathering dust for years in a drawer. Who wears watches all that much for day to day life now?
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I think this is where Android has had it right from the very beginning. Every version of iPhone has promoted the development of a case to put it in because of the extreme fragility of them (from the very first one). Androids stopped the shattering issues by using Corning glass, but even if it shattered, the loss in dollars was not nearly as great. So, Android has given us practical plastic shells on their phones, which when covered by a case made it almost shatterproof. iPhones make such a big deal of the metal case and all, but most 90% of all iPhones are put into a case which covers it up so how great is it?

Meh, I have two Samsung Galaxy phones that beg to differ. :D

My wife got a slim transparent silicone case for her iPhone 6 and I have to admit that it looks really nice as it doesn't completely hide the iPhone's form factor. She's dropped it more than once already and it survived the fall in its case so far.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Meh, I have two Samsung Galaxy phones that beg to differ. :D

My wife got a slim transparent silicone case for her iPhone 6 and I have to admit that it looks really nice as it doesn't completely hide the iPhone's form factor. She's dropped it more than once already and it survived the fall in its case so far.

Really? I remember you posted a picture of the shattered S3. I dont understand how you could do that, but then again I have never purchased an Android phone without leaving the store with it in a sturdy case. I drop my phone regularly, and it has to withstand that.

But this Apple Watch is unlike the iPhone and iPad and the computers, in the sense that you cannot just slap a protective case on it. I can imagine somebody smashing this thing by just accidentally hitting their wrist on a doorjamb. :anim_59:
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Really? I remember you posted a picture of the shattered S3. I dont understand how you could do that, but then again I have never purchased an Android phone without leaving the store with it in a sturdy case. I drop my phone regularly, and it has to withstand that.

The S3 fell a little over 2 feet from my coffee table to the marble floor face down and shattered the glass. The S4 was dropped on one of its corners, causing some glass damage, though not that bad, and later on was dropped on its back which totaled the LCD. Neither one was in a case.

But this Apple Watch is unlike the iPhone and iPad and the computers, in the sense that you cannot just slap a protective case on it. I can imagine somebody smashing this thing by just accidentally hitting their wrist on a doorjamb. :anim_59:

:icon_lol:
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Not unexpected...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2945693/a-broken-watch-surveying-the-apple-watch-doom.html

http://www.inquisitr.com/2257782/the-iphone-ipod-and-macbook-are-more-popular-than-the-apple-watch/

http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/08/technology/apple-watch-demand-decline/

Apple is still selling around 22,000 of these Apple Watches globally per day, but that is really not much when you consider their projections and forecasts. Whatever it is, if not a flop, is still definitely not a "hit" (like the iPod or iPad or iPhone). I have my own opinions of why it is not a hit and may ultimately fail as a mass marketed product. I think that as a high tech fashion accessory, it has as much chance as all the other overpriced high fashion baubles (particularly the mechanical high end watches from Bvulgari, Patek Phillippe, Rolex and others).

My question: Who is still wearing watches?

I dunno. I dont wear jewelry, but when I was in the 1980s I wore lots of 14K gold chains. Everybody did. :) Most of my money went to buy clothes and shoes and cologne and such....it was DISCO TIME! Why wear a watch? If I want to know the time, I have my phone, the clock in my car and on my stereo, my microwave and oven and computers all display the time. Seeing somebody wearing an Apple Watch amuses me. :)
 
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