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Apple Wrist Wearable Thing


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Brave Ulysses
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Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2014-08-08, 17:22

In case anyone didn't catch it, John Gruber just dropped a surprisingly strong (for him) hint/confirmation about the release of an Apple "wrist wearable thing" next month.

http://daringfireball.net/linked/201...o-360-charging


He and Jim Dalrymple are about as sure bets as can be for providing little comments like this and turning out to be be 100% accurate.

Next month would be quite a surprise.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2014-08-08, 19:21

I could see them announcing their watch alongside the iPhone on September 9, even if it doesn't ship with the iPhone on September 19th or whatever. They'd want to position it as a must-have iPhone companion, and they it's not like they have to worry about eating into their existing watch sales or anything. Getting word of the iWatch out before the onslaught of other smartwatches this fall would be a plus, too.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Yontsey
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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2014-08-08, 19:38

I still have a hard time believing there's a big enough market for something like this.
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Brave Ulysses
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2014-08-08, 20:43

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo View Post
I could see them announcing their watch alongside the iPhone on September 9, even if it doesn't ship with the iPhone on September 19th or whatever. They'd want to position it as a must-have iPhone companion, and they it's not like they have to worry about eating into their existing watch sales or anything. Getting word of the iWatch out before the onslaught of other smartwatches this fall would be a plus, too.
I guess it makes sense since iOS 8 will be released on September 9. Why wait? Healthbook is obviously dependent on a device that does not exist yet.
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PB PM
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2014-08-08, 22:25

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
I still have a hard time believing there's a big enough market for something like this.
I agree, but then again I dislike wearing a watch. It kind of feels like a gear head type gadget, not something mainstream. Unless the iWatch is farting out magic mushrooms that will make me rich overnight, I'm not likely to be ordering one.
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709
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Join Date: May 2004
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2014-08-08, 23:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
I still have a hard time believing there's a big enough market for something like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PB PM View Post
I agree, but then again I dislike wearing a watch. It kind of feels like a gear head type gadget, not something mainstream.
Count me in as a wtf observer of this 'iWatch' thing. It just doesn't seem like Apple is going to do something small and uninteresting as an armband unless it's a first step to a . . . ?

Who the fuck knows.

I won't wear anything on my wrists, so I'm out, I guess.

So it goes.
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Robo
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2014-08-09, 00:04

I would be surprised if it's anything like the existing smartwatches. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something more similar to a Nike Fuelband or Garmin Vivofit, but with some non-fitness uses too.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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709
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Join Date: May 2004
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2014-08-09, 00:21

Or, maybe, just a thin band with sensors in it. Maybe it's all about the iPhone as your you, as if it wasn't us enough, but yeah, I could see it, sure.

Basically, the armband as a transmitter, not so much a device. A tiny display with time, bpm, angry clouds, etc. Nothing too complicated.

So it goes.
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Brave Ulysses
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2014-08-09, 00:41

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
Or, maybe, just a thin band with sensors in it. Maybe it's all about the iPhone as your you, as if it wasn't us enough, but yeah, I could see it, sure.

Basically, the armband as a transmitter, not so much a device. A tiny display with time, bpm, angry clouds, etc. Nothing too complicated.
Would it even need a display?
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709
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Join Date: May 2004
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2014-08-09, 01:12

An identifying blip, or enough to tell time, to do, next up without being intrusive, etc.

In short, nothing fancy.

I chuckle a bit at even reading that. IMO, there's not a thing that Apple can introduce to even remotely rival anything they have currently. A device is one thing. You can leave it, carry it, whatever. A personal device gets into all sorts of intrusiveness.

I'm not worried about the design - they have that covered. What I want to see is connectivity. I'm sure that's the main thing, and I expect there to be a lot of 'wows'.

So it goes.
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PB PM
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2014-08-09, 01:18

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
Count me in as a wtf observer of this 'iWatch' thing. It just doesn't seem like Apple is going to do something small and uninteresting as an armband unless it's a first step to a . . . ?

Who the fuck knows.

I won't wear anything on my wrists, so I'm out, I guess.
To be honest the iWatch thing just feels like a "me too!" product. Android hardware developers are doing it, so Apple is going to. Maybe it will be targeted at the Nike+ types? That is the only explanation for the Healthkit addition, IMO.

The only other group I could see it being useful for are people who want to txt all day, without looking like they are texting. So instead of people looking at their phones all day, they'll be looking at their "watch" to read the next txt message.
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addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2014-08-09, 10:44

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo View Post
I would be surprised if it's anything like the existing smartwatches. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something more similar to a Nike Fuelband or Garmin Vivofit, but with some non-fitness uses too.
I'm with you. There's enough of a market for a health/fitness infoband as long as it's priced realistically. Not a product to cause out the door lines but still. All the tech blog types are getting hot and bothered over the Moto 360 but I'm not seeing what the fuss is all about. I think they are just impressed that it doesn't look as bad as the current smart watches. I'm not paying $300 for a watch to notify me that my phone has a notification that I have a new email or missed a call.
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turbulentfurball
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2014-08-09, 11:23

Gruber tweeted that he was joking about it being announced next month. Read it earlier - I forget where, so I don't have a link handy.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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2014-08-09, 12:13

The Verge posted a super butthurt correction when he told them he wasn't trying to drop a hint. But they're the ones who decided to run a whole freakin' story about an off-the-cuff remark. Embarrassing.

I could *almost* see it having a Fuelband-style dot display, but one that glows through microscopic dots in a seemingly plain aluminum band, like the webcam lights on MacBook Pros. Or something like that. I'm not sure I can see Apple making a traditional smartwatch with a big "watchface" screen. Something like the Gear Fit's narrower LCD screen, at most. But maybe not even a typical LCD at all.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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2014-08-09, 13:27

If Apple does this, I bet it just looks like a regular, ol' every day watch. A touch screen that appears to be a watch all the time until an alert pops over. Alerts are programmed into the phone, not the watch. The phone sends over what you want. Alarms, fitness data, playback controls, etc. The iWatch will be a watch with built-in health sensors. You tell your iPhone health app what to monitor and what to notify you of, and it does that. You set an alarm, the watch beeps like old watches did. You're listening to iTunes and want to skip a track, you press a button to do that.

Android manufacturers are trying to make their watches "smart" watches that do all kinds of tricks. Dumb, clunky interfaces and atrocious battery life get in the way to yield up a disaster. I see Apple taking the simplicity approach. The iWatch is a watch. Then, it is a sensor. Then, it is an alert device. You don't put it up to your head and talk into it. You don't fart around with a complicated interface. Don't even think 6th-gen Nano. Think Rolex with some groovy sensors and alert features.

By the way, I still see bazillions of people wearing watches and yapping away on their iPhones. If Apple does what I just described for, say, $149, it'll be a runaway, must-have hit.

That's it. Any more complicated than that and it fails.

Edit: Also, the watch is available in black, silver, and some girly colors. Only B.S. on the face is an Apple Logo dead-center with digital watch hands spinning around it. The face is white or black and changes to show alerts or bring up controls. Nothing else. Hi-res screen, thin. Without the logo you would never know you were wearing anything other than a nice watch. That's the approach I think Apple takes.

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CalebTheCool
 
 
2014-08-09, 19:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
I still have a hard time believing there's a big enough market for something like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kscherer View Post
If Apple does this, I bet it just looks like a regular, ol' every day watch. A touch screen that appears to be a watch all the time until an alert pops over. Alerts are programmed into the phone, not the watch. The phone sends over what you want. Alarms, fitness data, playback controls, etc. The iWatch will be a watch with built-in health sensors. You tell your iPhone health app what to monitor and what to notify you of, and it does that. You set an alarm, the watch beeps like old watches did. You're listening to iTunes and want to skip a track, you press a button to do that.

Android manufacturers are trying to make their watches "smart" watches that do all kinds of tricks. Dumb, clunky interfaces and atrocious battery life get in the way to yield up a disaster. I see Apple taking the simplicity approach. The iWatch is a watch. Then, it is a sensor. Then, it is an alert device. You don't put it up to your head and talk into it. You don't fart around with a complicated interface. Don't even think 6th-gen Nano. Think Rolex with some groovy sensors and alert features.

By the way, I still see bazillions of people wearing watches and yapping away on their iPhones. If Apple does what I just described for, say, $149, it'll be a runaway, must-have hit.

That's it. Any more complicated than that and it fails.

Edit: Also, the watch is available in black, silver, and some girly colors. Only B.S. on the face is an Apple Logo dead-center with digital watch hands spinning around it. The face is white or black and changes to show alerts or bring up controls. Nothing else. Hi-res screen, thin. Without the logo you would never know you were wearing anything other than a nice watch. That's the approach I think Apple takes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by addison View Post
I'm with you. There's enough of a market for a health/fitness infoband as long as it's priced realistically. Not a product to cause out the door lines but still. All the tech blog types are getting hot and bothered over the Moto 360 but I'm not seeing what the fuss is all about. I think they are just impressed that it doesn't look as bad as the current smart watches. I'm not paying $300 for a watch to notify me that my phone has a notification that I have a new email or missed a call.
I wouldn't spend $149 on something like that! I don't have health problems; I don't need a watch that has "built-in health sensors". They shouldn't call that an "iWatch". All previous "i" products have been computers, whether desktop, laptop, or smartphone. They should make a watch that behaves like an iPhone: iOS, you can call or text people (WITHOUT an iPhone in your pocket), you speak commands, you can go online, research stuff on Google. THAT would be an iWatch!
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Bryson
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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2014-08-12, 23:26

What if.... The supposed Apple Wearable thing isn't an Apple-branded product at all, and is in fact branded as a Beats product? That would seem to be an interesting move for a fashion-focussed product, no?

I also stand by my speculation that "wearable" can mean many things, and perhaps how you wear it depends on the "case" you get. IE: it's a little "chunk" of electronics that can be worn all kinds of ways. Like the old iPod Nano...but better.
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drewprops
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2014-08-13, 00:05

That's an interesting take on things.

Wearable = Fashion

The iPod/iPhone line is a commodity now, not a trending fashion statement like Beats.

Let's see what happens!

...
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Mugge
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2014-08-25, 14:41

I am quite curious about what Apple's take on the smart watch will be. The stuff we have seen so far have been fairly predictable and apart from the Pebble I haven't seen any model that has managed to both gain market traction and be practical in daily use.

Health and notifications are probably certain to be among the features, and maybe that will be all in the first revision. It seems most Apple-like to do a few thing well rather than to try and make a Galaxy Gear out of it. Oh, and I doubt we will be seeing any offers á la "buy an iPhone and get an iWatch for free". Oh, and there are a lot of computer old techies around now, which might suggest why they are all suddenly into developing health apps and devices. All those sleepless nights spent coding has taken it's toll on them and now they need to undo some of the wear they have sustained over the years.

Off-topic (click to toggle):
Ultimately, I still believe that the future of the smart watch is that of a stand alone device. It probably won't gain all the same features as a smart phone, because the format demands other solutions due to the size constraints. But I'm sure new UI solutions will allow it to replace the smartphone in many tasks. Which ultimately might result in the smartphones role being cannibalised by the tablets (or phablets).

I'm just restating this because it has been an inexcusable long time since my last visit here.
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Brave Ulysses
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Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2014-08-28, 07:18

So now September has been "confirmed".

I still think there was something to Gruber's september comment. I think he likely just got "in trouble" for making it.
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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2014-09-05, 18:13

Well, now that Mark Newson has been scooped up by Apple, it's time to have a look at his timepieces for some inspiration.
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addabox
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2014-09-05, 20:15

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kscherer
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2014-09-05, 20:45

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