There are probably a few people out there who have wondered what the reason for Apple’s Smartwatch is. It’s one thing to read an article claiming that the watch is going to change things, or that it does what the iPhone already does but on your wrist. The price of the Watch models are quite high, so what would make the devices worth the expense? Why would someone own a smartwatch and a smartphone?
According to those at Apple, it’s to get people back into the moment. People are looking more and more into their phones and less into their lives. It’s something everyone notices, and someone many of us attempt to avoid being. We are always connected, with notifications constantly. Sit in a university lecture, in the work place, in cafes, with friends, when drunk and on a dance floor, everywhere people on their looking down into a glow.
In the design process, Apple figured out that speed was to be of the essence. The arm had to move quickly, to avoid the arm tiring out. Apps and notifications are to be looked at or ignored in less than 30 seconds. Sensors within the Watch know if the user is holding the device up or down, and either continues to show the message or removes any notification of it. Users can send a simple message in reply, speak a text using Siri, or use their iPhone to send something detailed.
The luxury watch market is a high value market, and the Watch could end up as a sign of affluence. The high-end watch companies sell to high-end customers, and the market has revenue of more than $20 billion a year. Apple is well known for its design, and is usually priced well away from the low-end products. It’s likely that Apple will get a head start in the market, as they did with their iPhones, before other companies start to gain a share of the market.
The Watch is a product that may take some people getting used to. There are some people who are constantly on their phones, but there are many others who aren’t. Some will still be outside of the moment, stuck behind headphones. But, it would be a good change for more people to be engaged in the world. Apple’s Watch may be a sign of affluence in the end, but it will have a range of Android and other smartwatch devices follow in its path.
Source: Wired
