I’ve been a Mac user forever, love all my Apple products (MacBook Pro M3, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K) and certainly have enjoyed the chunk of Apple stock I bought 15 or so years ago,
BUT, I will NEVER sit around with one of those things on my head.
The plan obviously failed. Like it did when Apple had to drop the price of iPhone and give refunds after 3 months. And the plan when Apple had to fully pivot Watch away from fashion. Not to mention relaunching the same HomePod or recently the MBA M2 15” launched a year after 13” due to market demand for 15” that Apple failed to see.
They didn't "fully pivot" the Watch. The current Workouts app, and notifications, were the two primary use cases and remain essentially unchanged today. The initial launch came in three finishes including stainless steel, and premium handsome straps, which they've sold for years. Sure there was a gold option, but IMO the push to position the Watch as something other than a techie gizmo was 100% successful, as it was quickly adopted by the masses and continues to come in numerous premium finishes. Hell I just bought a $200 titanium strap from Apple and it makes the Ultra a very nice looking watch that I have no problem wearing to dinner in lieu of my stainless steel.
The "But it's too expensive!" crowd are hilarious. The original Macintosh cost over $7,000 when corrected for inflation (double the cost of the AVP), and did a fraction of what a modern Mac does. So will be the case with this new category, as technology improves, economies of scale grow, and R&D is recovered. None of this is new.
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BUT, I will NEVER sit around with one of those things on my head.