This prediction is just fantasy. Gene Munster is interviewing people about an unannounced product with unannounced features at an unannounced price. I buy a lot of Apple products and I have no idea whether I would be an iWatch or not. Samsung just released a watch product that is a total failure in the marketplace. If Apple released an identical watch, would it sell any better? No, it wouldn't. Of course, that wouldn't happen because Apple doesn't release products until they feel that there is a compelling reason to buy it. Gene Munster needs a real job. Incidentally, any iWatch product would probably need to be worn frequently in order to be useful. Apple would be hard-pressed to design a watch that I'm going to want to wear most of the time and not swap out with other watches I own, unless its features focus on wearing during exercise.
A future device will be able to take a large number of readings and automatically, or semi automatically, communicate with a GP who can make changes or suggest changes to medication, or make diagnosis', without the patient needing to be seen in person. Early detection of problems will also save money. I guess saving huge amounts is overly optimistic, but this kind of technology may help slow increasing costs of healthcare for an ageing population significantly.
Cool made up numbers for a nonexistent product, bro. I guess the iWatch is this year's iTV. Next year we shall hear about a rumored iCar that will fail to materialize.
Saw my first Samsung Gear watch on the wrist of a guy buying a phone at an AT&T store. My first impression was shock and disbelief in actually seeing one. My second reaction was to look for some sign that it actually WAS one–the four little screws were the clincher. My last impression was that it didn't look as fugly as I had assumed it would. On the other hand, it was no fashion statement either. My overall impression was that it was rather nondescript.
dude, that's a hell of a negative trend: Apple is doomed by the time it finally will release iWatch.
Most likely anticipated supply constraints due to increased competition from Samsung and anticipated yield problems. They'll also need to make a cheaper watch for emerging markets.
10 million is at least realistic but $790m profit in a year is a pretty small impact on a company that makes $40b+ profit per year. More profit is good but Apple does well by focusing on very few things. A digital watch seems like one of those things that would take a lot of time to get right, take a lot of support and not make much money. It doesn't seem like a high growth market either:
"Statistics have shown that the global sales of watches have been in constant decline since 2005, even after accounting for the economic recession that hit the United States.
For watch lovers however, there is no need to fear that the wrist watch will be consigned to the dustbins of history, as watches are a direct parallel to the fate of fountain pens."
There was some growth in more recent years but for high quality brands:
"The watch owes its staying power to luxury brands like Rolex, analysts say. High-end timepieces (those with retail value of $1,000 or more) are now being sold for $2,500 on average."
If Apple can make a watch that lasts at least a week without charging, is functional enough on its own, is reasonably priced (I'd say under $200) and not strictly an accessory for a smartphone/tablet, it can take on the likes of the higher end digital watches like G-shock, Casio, Timex. It won't impact the luxury wristwatch market and it'll be a small market. I don't think they should bother with it as there are more profitable and important markets to take on.
An iwatch will be just that. An easy to use, multifunction watch. Better be water proof since I swim and shower with the watch on.
But the idea that it will be driven by biometric measurements is ridiculous. Unless you have sensors implanted in your body to which a iDevice is attached, there is nothing of any import that can be measured. Think of all the machinery attached to hospital patients, and frequent blood test monitoring, stress testing, etc. Unless more and better non-invasive tests become available, or people willing to have monitoring equipment imbedded, there is no chance of an iwatch being useful.
I think Apple could have started rumors about the iwatch designs just to get other companies to waste their money on wasteful spending.
If Apple puts a computer on our wrists it will be as much a "watch" as the iPhone is a "phone"--that is hardly at all. I make about 2 calls a week on my iPhone and I take it everywhere. The selling point for what we're calling an iWatch will NOT be telling time. Sure it will tell time because some of us do wear watches and this would replace that, but it's more about ubiquitous computing that does compelling things.
It could just be a Siri extension. Leave your iPhone in your pocket except when you need a large screen, for many other things you use your iPhone for, a tiny screen on your wrist is sufficient--and better. It even doubles as a game controller for your iPhone and iPad (and Apple TV).
Oh, I don't know about this. A lot of young adults I know have abandoned watches and just use their phone.
I once used my phone as a "watch". I now wear a watch. A nice one. I use it for fashion- not time. Once these "young adults" become real adults- they'll most likely wear a watch if they are fashion conscious.
They may take a pass, particularly if iWatches are regarded as nerdy.
Absolutely- that's why I've had the stance it wont be regarded as nerdy. Two-fold. One- it's Apple, which in and of itself isn't nerdy. And two- it will be health-focused. Healthy isn't nerdy. Healthy is trendy. With health being the biggest focus, it takes the "nerd" out of it, and people look at those who wear it as people who care about their health.
This iWatch is, at best, likely to go a few months or, at worst, become yet another gadget to be recharged.
You don't sleep in your watch, do you? So if you take it off and you place it on a device that charges (or charges wirelessly)- wouldn't that be exactly the same as setting your watch in a case or throwing it in a drawer?
Mobile technology is getting impacted by a fatigue factor. Too many gadgets waste time and energy rather than save it. If the iWatch only saves us the bother of pulling a phone out of our pockets, it's going to have the popularity of always worn Bluetooth headsets.
This is so true. but my thought is it would do a substantial amount more than that- or Apple wouldn't release it. They better not.
IMO ... the iWatch has nothing to do with any wearable tech ... the iWatch will be the new name for Apple TV ... get it?
Your trying to be clever. If Apple release a watch it will be called iWatch. If the release a TV it will be iTV. Look no further than the name of their phone. It's not about being clever, it's about being simple.
An iwatch will be just that. An easy to use, multifunction watch. Better be water proof since I swim and shower with the watch on.
But the idea that it will be driven by biometric measurements is ridiculous. Unless you have sensors implanted in your body to which a iDevice is attached, there is nothing of any import that can be measured. Think of all the machinery attached to hospital patients, and frequent blood test monitoring, stress testing, etc. Unless more and better non-invasive tests become available, or people willing to have monitoring equipment imbedded, there is no chance of an iwatch being useful.
What about your heart rate and oxygen level? A pulse-ox is about as basic as it gets with a fingertip clip and easily the most important aspect in hospitals. On a personal note- I'd LOVE to see my O2 levels during a workout- it would help me adjust my workouts tremendously.
What about blood pressure? The most accurate way to check your blood pressure is through a watch-like device that records the pulse-wave and mathematically calculates the pressure close to your heart.
What about blood sugar? The GlucoWatch is a remarkable product. And in case you haven't noticed- our country has a diabetes epidemic. I'd also love to track this from my workouts.
You've been in a hospital before... right? Stress testing? Lol....
I don't think anything is going to reduce healthcare costs short of a cure for every cancer. What's the incentive? A watch certainly wouldn't reduce costs by "a huge amount." IMO.
A cure for every cancer would substantially increase the cost of healthcare because of the demand. Cancer drugs are not cheap, particularly the ones that work.
Your trying to be clever. If Apple release a watch it will be called iWatch. If the release a TV it will be iTV. Look no further than the name of their phone. It's not about being clever, it's about being simple.
There will be no iTV from Apple. They lost that battle already.
If and when Apple does comes out with an iWatch it unfortunately won't be a surprise. The watch casing will get leaked, the screen will get leaked, the watchband(s), will get leaked, the internals, the button(s), etc. All leaked.
I miss the days of being genuinely surprised...
That "leaking" is how they generate interest in the product to begin with. Springing an untested product on the market after millions of dollars spent on R&D is not the way to go. Because you never know if they will fail or succeed.
Why do you think Microsoft, Samsung and the rest have copied Apple on a number of products? They let Apple do the R&D for them.
Besides, they're not really leaks anyway. They are controlled "messages" meant to give a taste of what's to come, without knowing all the full details of the finished product. The only true leaks are big deals (the stolen iPhone, for instance). That's the only time you've ever seen Apple go ballistic on a leak. All of these other things that come out of China and other sources? You never see deny those, for the most part.
Here we go again: A bunch of armchair analysts and pundits, poking fun at Apple. Much like the pre-jibber jabber about the iPhone (It will fail! Apple make an iPhone?! Pfft, yeah right!), the iPad (what a name! iPad! It'll fall flat on its face). I trust that Apple will get this right too.
I have to believe that this was one of the products that Steve left in the pipeline. Trust in Jony!
Analyst predictions are worthless. There are too many variables, not the least of which is that we know nothing about the assumed fictious product in question. Talk about uninformed numbers!
Comments
On that we agree. The future for wearables is big and has the medical community pretty excited.
http://www.imedicalapps.com/2013/03/google-glass-medicine/
http://onworld.com/mobilesensing/health/
IMO ... the iWatch has nothing to do with any wearable tech ... the iWatch will be the new name for Apple TV ... get it?
Most likely anticipated supply constraints due to increased competition from Samsung and anticipated yield problems. They'll also need to make a cheaper watch for emerging markets.
10 million is at least realistic but $790m profit in a year is a pretty small impact on a company that makes $40b+ profit per year. More profit is good but Apple does well by focusing on very few things. A digital watch seems like one of those things that would take a lot of time to get right, take a lot of support and not make much money. It doesn't seem like a high growth market either:
http://www.bulsuk.com/2011/05/wrist-watches-are-here-to-stay-despite.html
"Statistics have shown that the global sales of watches have been in constant decline since 2005, even after accounting for the economic recession that hit the United States.
For watch lovers however, there is no need to fear that the wrist watch will be consigned to the dustbins of history, as watches are a direct parallel to the fate of fountain pens."
There was some growth in more recent years but for high quality brands:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-watchs-time-isnt-up-2013-07-01
"The watch owes its staying power to luxury brands like Rolex, analysts say. High-end timepieces (those with retail value of $1,000 or more) are now being sold for $2,500 on average."
If Apple can make a watch that lasts at least a week without charging, is functional enough on its own, is reasonably priced (I'd say under $200) and not strictly an accessory for a smartphone/tablet, it can take on the likes of the higher end digital watches like G-shock, Casio, Timex. It won't impact the luxury wristwatch market and it'll be a small market. I don't think they should bother with it as there are more profitable and important markets to take on.
An iwatch will be just that. An easy to use, multifunction watch. Better be water proof since I swim and shower with the watch on.
But the idea that it will be driven by biometric measurements is ridiculous. Unless you have sensors implanted in your body to which a iDevice is attached, there is nothing of any import that can be measured. Think of all the machinery attached to hospital patients, and frequent blood test monitoring, stress testing, etc. Unless more and better non-invasive tests become available, or people willing to have monitoring equipment imbedded, there is no chance of an iwatch being useful.
I think Apple could have started rumors about the iwatch designs just to get other companies to waste their money on wasteful spending.
If Apple puts a computer on our wrists it will be as much a "watch" as the iPhone is a "phone"--that is hardly at all. I make about 2 calls a week on my iPhone and I take it everywhere. The selling point for what we're calling an iWatch will NOT be telling time. Sure it will tell time because some of us do wear watches and this would replace that, but it's more about ubiquitous computing that does compelling things.
It could just be a Siri extension. Leave your iPhone in your pocket except when you need a large screen, for many other things you use your iPhone for, a tiny screen on your wrist is sufficient--and better. It even doubles as a game controller for your iPhone and iPad (and Apple TV).
Think outside the watch.
Oh, I don't know about this. A lot of young adults I know have abandoned watches and just use their phone.
I once used my phone as a "watch". I now wear a watch. A nice one. I use it for fashion- not time. Once these "young adults" become real adults- they'll most likely wear a watch if they are fashion conscious.
Absolutely- that's why I've had the stance it wont be regarded as nerdy. Two-fold. One- it's Apple, which in and of itself isn't nerdy. And two- it will be health-focused. Healthy isn't nerdy. Healthy is trendy. With health being the biggest focus, it takes the "nerd" out of it, and people look at those who wear it as people who care about their health.
You don't sleep in your watch, do you? So if you take it off and you place it on a device that charges (or charges wirelessly)- wouldn't that be exactly the same as setting your watch in a case or throwing it in a drawer?
This is so true. but my thought is it would do a substantial amount more than that- or Apple wouldn't release it. They better not.
Your trying to be clever. If Apple release a watch it will be called iWatch. If the release a TV it will be iTV. Look no further than the name of their phone. It's not about being clever, it's about being simple.
An iwatch will be just that. An easy to use, multifunction watch. Better be water proof since I swim and shower with the watch on.
But the idea that it will be driven by biometric measurements is ridiculous. Unless you have sensors implanted in your body to which a iDevice is attached, there is nothing of any import that can be measured. Think of all the machinery attached to hospital patients, and frequent blood test monitoring, stress testing, etc. Unless more and better non-invasive tests become available, or people willing to have monitoring equipment imbedded, there is no chance of an iwatch being useful.
What about your heart rate and oxygen level? A pulse-ox is about as basic as it gets with a fingertip clip and easily the most important aspect in hospitals. On a personal note- I'd LOVE to see my O2 levels during a workout- it would help me adjust my workouts tremendously.
What about blood pressure? The most accurate way to check your blood pressure is through a watch-like device that records the pulse-wave and mathematically calculates the pressure close to your heart.
What about blood sugar? The GlucoWatch is a remarkable product. And in case you haven't noticed- our country has a diabetes epidemic. I'd also love to track this from my workouts.
You've been in a hospital before... right? Stress testing? Lol....
Most of the IOS 6 UI looks really dated now.
I don't think anything is going to reduce healthcare costs short of a cure for every cancer. What's the incentive? A watch certainly wouldn't reduce costs by "a huge amount." IMO.
A cure for every cancer would substantially increase the cost of healthcare because of the demand. Cancer drugs are not cheap, particularly the ones that work.
Your trying to be clever. If Apple release a watch it will be called iWatch. If the release a TV it will be iTV. Look no further than the name of their phone. It's not about being clever, it's about being simple.
There will be no iTV from Apple. They lost that battle already.
p.s. *You're*
If and when Apple does comes out with an iWatch it unfortunately won't be a surprise. The watch casing will get leaked, the screen will get leaked, the watchband(s), will get leaked, the internals, the button(s), etc. All leaked.
I miss the days of being genuinely surprised...
That "leaking" is how they generate interest in the product to begin with. Springing an untested product on the market after millions of dollars spent on R&D is not the way to go. Because you never know if they will fail or succeed.
Why do you think Microsoft, Samsung and the rest have copied Apple on a number of products? They let Apple do the R&D for them.
Besides, they're not really leaks anyway. They are controlled "messages" meant to give a taste of what's to come, without knowing all the full details of the finished product. The only true leaks are big deals (the stolen iPhone, for instance). That's the only time you've ever seen Apple go ballistic on a leak. All of these other things that come out of China and other sources? You never see deny those, for the most part.
Here we go again: A bunch of armchair analysts and pundits, poking fun at Apple. Much like the pre-jibber jabber about the iPhone (It will fail! Apple make an iPhone?! Pfft, yeah right!), the iPad (what a name! iPad! It'll fall flat on its face). I trust that Apple will get this right too.
I have to believe that this was one of the products that Steve left in the pipeline. Trust in Jony!
Is this the same watch that doesn't exist yet?
Can you tell me when apple is going to lunch this ???
no wait, it was 65 Million only a month ago: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/08/28/apple-projected-to-ship-nearly-65m-iwatch-units-priced-at-199-in-first-year
dude, that's a hell of a negative trend: Apple is doomed by the time it finally will release iWatch.
*woof*
You are mixing shipped with sold like all the droid fans and droid OEMs