Three-fifths of Apple Watch owners plan to upgrade to next model sight unseen
A little over three-fifths of current Apple Watch owners are planning to upgrade to the next model, even though any features it might have are still nebulous, according to survey data published on Friday.
The same survey, conducted online by "customer acquisition" firm Fluent, found that just 8 percent of 2,578 people said they already own a Watch. Both owners and non-owners cited the cost of the device as the main disincentive for buying one -- even with a recent $50 price cut, the cheapest model is $299, which can be an expensive proposition for a device that already requires a iPhone.
While a simliar percentage of people said they owned non-Apple smartwatches, the vast majority of respondents said they had no smartwatch at all.
Current Watch owners identified convenience and features as their main interests in buying one, with fashion and affordability being distant concerns. Fashion was slightly more significant with the broader survey group, but behind features.
Very few rumors about a second-generation Watch have emerged, despite the normally intense scrutiny of Apple products. Some have hinted at the prospect of a better battery, a thinner body, and/or improved outdoor visibility -- most recently, Apple began hiring for more watchfaces, but these could potentially be introduced to first-gen units through a watchOS update.
The same survey, conducted online by "customer acquisition" firm Fluent, found that just 8 percent of 2,578 people said they already own a Watch. Both owners and non-owners cited the cost of the device as the main disincentive for buying one -- even with a recent $50 price cut, the cheapest model is $299, which can be an expensive proposition for a device that already requires a iPhone.
While a simliar percentage of people said they owned non-Apple smartwatches, the vast majority of respondents said they had no smartwatch at all.
Current Watch owners identified convenience and features as their main interests in buying one, with fashion and affordability being distant concerns. Fashion was slightly more significant with the broader survey group, but behind features.
Very few rumors about a second-generation Watch have emerged, despite the normally intense scrutiny of Apple products. Some have hinted at the prospect of a better battery, a thinner body, and/or improved outdoor visibility -- most recently, Apple began hiring for more watchfaces, but these could potentially be introduced to first-gen units through a watchOS update.
Comments
youre thinking about it wrong. what you should instead be asking is -- do i get value from this item's job to be done? if the answer is yes, and the cost of that value is within your disposable income, then its good purchase for you.
I'd be open to buying one if there was a killer feature/app that spoke to me, but as of yet there isn't. I would have no use for the fitness functions but I clearly get how others would use those. The other stuff is superfluous to me. Not a deal breaker, but I'd like to see it be a little thinner too.
I want an in-ground swimming pool. Do you hear me, universe! I want it! What? I have to buy something that costs even more money in order to make my in-ground pool viable? I have to buy land? And pay property taxes? Sheesh, what a rip off. I should be able to just buy the in-ground pool. How stupid is it that it doesn't come with ground to put it in! I'm so angry at the world. Fade to black...
I can't see myself replacing it with the next release. It would have to have something that really appeals to me, and being thinner is not one of those things.
The third release is when I will probably replace my existing one with a stainless one. Until then, I'll play it safe, and not bother spending anymore money on their watch stuff, unless it's a new charger cable or a new nylon or sport strap. It would annoy the crap out of me if I got anything more expensive than that, like a leather or link strap and then Apple did something to make them incompatible with a newer model.
For all the analysts who proclaimed the Apple Watch was and still remains a failure, I look forward to reading your rehashed proclamations that the new Apple Watch is a failure.
I think too many folks have underestimated the level of constraint that Apple exercised when defining the core feature set of the Apple Watch. The level of functionality that the Apple Watch provides today is entirely appropriate for its role as a companion device that augments capabilities of the other connected devices it supplements. If it were the equivalent of an iPhone on your wrist it would be horribly disruptive and distracting. People really need to live their lives with their heads upright and engaged with the people and the physical world all around them. An overly complex and gadgety smart watch would be the equivalent of staring at your navel for protracted periods of time.
Just look around you and see the effects that smartphones have had on shrinking the world in which people live. There's nothing sadder than seeing a family or group of friends sitting in a restaurant all around the same table but everyone is staring down at their smart phone, transfixed into a tiny little world whose aperture and central focus is a 6" or less rectangle of synthetic life in their hands. A smart watch has the potential of shrinking your world down to even smaller proportions. Why would anyone want such a thing - life through a pinhole? Fortunately Apple has done a pretty good job of providing a pleasant little gadget that does not try to pull you into an even tinier little world. Instead it simply adds some subtleties that are fairly easy to ignore. They've done a good job of saying NO to complexity and feature bloat without trying to redefine the center of your personal universe. At the end of the day it's just a watch.
Like today Gruber pissed all over 3D Touch so naturally Business Insider had to declare that "Apple fans" have finally come to realize it's a gimmick. Of course Gruber also prefers the iPhone SE so I suppose that means "Apple fans" don't like larger screen phones now? What a bunch of asshats.