Come early next year, Apple will unleash unto the world the Apple Watch, the much-anticipated, highly customizable, and very expensive smartwatch-fitness tracker in a wrist-friendly form factor. Let me rephrase that slightly: Apple will release the first generation of the Apple Watch, as we can certainly expect the company will iterate the design, internal technology, and usability to make this watch even better in a year or two.
All those aspects of the Apple Watch—its high price tag, its fitness tracking capabilities, the fact that it's a first generation device, and so forth—were deliberate choices for Apple, and I think smart moves, toward making the Apple Watch a winner. Here's why.
1. It's Not the First Smartwatch
The Apple Watch isn't coining the word "smartwatch." The Pebble smartwatch, one of the earliest in this category, launched its Kickstarter campaign in April 2012. (There were earlier variations on the category from Fossil and Microsoft, and even a late 90s attempt at a Linux smartwatch, but those are all from the pre-smartphone era.) Pebble was publicly released in 2013, the same year that Samsung, Sony, and others released smartwatches as well. During this time, Apple watched and waited. Were smartwatches catching on? What were the earliest models in this category trying to do, and did consumers like it? Apple was able to learn from the mistakes of its competitors for more than a year, while still getting in on the trend early enough to not be considered a late-comer to the game.2. It's Not the First Fitness Tracker
Similarly, Apple learned a lot from the fitness tracking industry and rise of the self-quantification movement. Fitbit, still one of the leaders in the space, announced its plans to make trackers way back in 2008 and had a killer product on the market (the Fitbit Ultra) by 2011. More device makers came to the table to compete in the fitness-for-everyone revolution, and Apple once again watched and waited.
The company saw a few other devices start to combine aspects of fitness tracking with smartwatches—the Samsung Gear Fit being the primary one—and once again paid attention. What did people like? (Great displays!) What seemed most innovative? (Built-in heart rate monitors!) What needed improvement? (Touch screens!)
3. Design
Taking what it learned from both the smartwatch and fitness tracking spaces, Apple was able to build its new watch smarter than some of the competition. Last year, the company hired a couple of ex-fashion industry executives from Yves Saint Laurent, Tag Heuer, and Burberry. Some say this is part of a larger move for Apple to become a lifestyle brand, and that's probably true. But the Apple Watch certainly is a signature piece.And let's not overlook the fact that Apple has planted its flag in consumer tech design several years ago. Say what you will about price, horsepower, functionality, but there's no denying that Mac and iOS products look great. Jony Ive is a practically a household name, and it's well-deserved.
4. Haptic Feedback
The Apple Watch has one truly unique feature: haptic feedback that goes beyond a simple vibration. The details are vague right now, but it appears that this feature driven by the Taptic Engine will entail some sort of tapping on your wrist indicating specific kinds of notifications. That's not quite the highly advanced push-pull technology that researchers are developing for navigation in consumer electronics, but it is unique, and it is actually a usable feature rather than being innovation for innovation's sake.
5. It's Too Expensive
Pricing for the Apple Watch will start at $349, but I see as an asset. It will draw in enough early adopters, probably several thousand, without being too in-demand. Why is that good for you, the consumer? Well, it gives Apple time to work out any kinks, and rest assured there will be kinks. The Apple Watch promises several impressive features, such as parsing natural language from incoming text messages to give you appropriate quick replies that you can send from the watch. Who knows how well that will work at the start? And what about directions? Are those going to come from Apple Maps, or will users have a choice in which GPS mapping program the Apple Watch uses—and will they demand that choice is denied? And mobile payments! By golly, let's let some security experts pick through that can of worms before we enter our credit card numbers anywhere!Not everyone wants to shell out $350 with so many unknowns, and I don't think Apple wants too many people going through that experience either. Wait a year or two, and we're likely to see a second-generation Apple Watch, with improved software, design tweaks, and a lower price (or a reduced price for the first-generation units). That's when the tipping point will (or won't) happen.