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Thread: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

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    Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Prices to range from $349 to $17,000 (£299 to £13,500 in the UK).
    Read more.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    While many of its smartphone making rivals have produced smartwatches and smartbands over the months leading up to now, the media in general seems to have felt that it would take Apple's wearable launch to define and to kick-start the industry.
    That's because a large segment of the media are completely Apple obsessed - just look at the pre-launch hype frenzy. Which, given the lack of enthusiasm here on Hexus, seems a little overblown.
    Despite this the Apple Watch can cost anywhere between $349 and $17,000 (£299 to £13,500 in the UK).
    Ouch, ouch, ouch - so I can buy a (better looking) LG G Watch R for £100 less, or a bling'd "Urbane" model for the same price? Um, "fail".
    He noted that the Watch's 18 hour battery life means that it won't offer sleep tracking.
    Hmm, is that a big deal considering that Fitbit/Jawbone/etc do that feature with their products? Or is the iWatch supposed to be the "device to rule them all". (Oh, and the Fitbit/Jawbones work with both Android and iOS!)

    Only attraction of the iWatch is the newer interaction methods - some of these look like they could have some real potential if 3rd parties are going to pick 'em up and run with them. So maybe some kudos to Apple for daring to do this rather than playing it safe with merely an "electronic watch".

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    I haven't worn a watch in over a decade, and I don't see this changing things.

    The new Pebble is more interesting IMO. I expect sales on its kickstarter are going up a lot now that people have seen the Apple watch reveal.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Whilst the prices are comparable to real watches (in fact fairly cheap), it is eye-wateringly expensive compared to a petrol station Casio. Is it really worth paying that much for a disposable product that will probably be obsolete (or useless due to battery failure) and consigned to recycling or the back of a drawer within a few years?

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Even Apple fans are saying it's too much.
    The presentation also showed that most users struggled to use the digital crown and the menu trawling was very evident...
    Old puter - still good enuff till I save some pennies!

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian224 View Post
    Whilst the prices are comparable to real watches (in fact fairly cheap), it is eye-wateringly expensive compared to a petrol station Casio. Is it really worth paying that much for a disposable product that will probably be obsolete (or useless due to battery failure) and consigned to recycling or the back of a drawer within a few years?
    Just nipped to WatchShop and did an online search for men's watches £199-399 with alarm feature and leather strap. This returned a Zeppelin, two Mondaine's, two solar-powered Seiko's and three Citizen's. All but one of the Seiko's would have given you a lot of change from the £399 base price. And all of them are waterproof to at least 30m, (200m for the Citizens!) and arguably better looking than your typical smartwatch.

    I'm still thinking that smartwatches are a solution in need of a problem at the moment, and rather than going "designer" the manufacturers need to be doing the equivalent of that petrol station Casio.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Quote Originally Posted by crossy View Post
    ...All but one of the Seiko's would have given you a lot of change from the £399 base price...
    I must admit I was thinking of mechanical watches. I still have my father's Benson, given to him for his 21st birthday in the 40s, and it works perfectly. although the radium dial is a lot less bright (although the radium has a half-life of 1600 years, the phosphors degrade). If I was spending mechanical watch money on an iWatch, I would expect the same longevity for the same price.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    My Seiko cost me £120 a few years back. It is the kinetic range and is safe upto 50m.

    It also has a very tough scratch and smash resistant face. And it can tell me the time, any time of day. I call it a watch.

    These new smart watches are simply technology bands, designed for the sake of it. Expensive, impractical and somewhat useless without a smart phone to connect it to.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    If I was interested in a smart watch the measly 18 hour battery life would be an instant no-no for me, esp when that is the stated battery life so will quickly be less than that.

    Having to charge my phone once a day is an annoyance and that isn't attached to me. Having to charge my fitbit once a week annoys me.

    I would accept 2 days battery on a device like this but obviously prefer more.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    I can see these selling well, not least for pose value, among those that think iProducts are poseworthy.

    But for me, it's a non-starter. For a start, no iPhone. Secondly, the 18 hour battery life. I bought my current 'day' watch about 8 years ago, and have yet to either wind or charge it (Seiko Kinetic), and it's never failed to tell me the time.

    For a watch, ANY smartwatch (so far) is an expensive, and in my opinion, inelegant, overkill. But for a "technology band" .... well, that comes down to whether you want or need what they offer, whether you like the implementation, usability and styling, and whether cost/benefit justifies it.

    For me, it doesn't. Yet. At some point .... who knows? I sure don't. Though I have doubts.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    A watch that only lasts 18 hours and less if you actually do something with it is pointless. They will sell like hot cakes.

    Should have done some proper engineering and made a strap containing batteries rather than 5p worth of rubber.
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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    *cough* Pebble Time

    and with their plans for smart straps I'm very interested!

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Quote Originally Posted by Dooms View Post
    *cough* Pebble Time

    and with their plans for smart straps I'm very interested!
    The way it should be done imo. I'd go for a pebble or a LG G Watch R. The apple one is just priced stupidly.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    For $17,000, I'll either buy a new, mid-ranged Rolex, or go to the local pawn shop and buy a used, very high end Rolex. Either way, I'll have something that can be passed down through generations, retain all of its value and then some, and still look good. The same cannot be said for any smart device, be it computer, tablet, phone, or watch.

    As is often stated, these smart watches are a solution looking for a non-existent problem, and given the current pariah status (at least here in the US) of certain smart phone activities (texting/talking/actively gps'ing while driving), this (and all the other brands) are creating or exasperating those existing problems on an even higher level.
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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Quote Originally Posted by mike306dt View Post
    The way it should be done imo. I'd go for a pebble or a LG G Watch R. The apple one is just priced stupidly.
    ^-this. Actually that Pebble Time looked pretty handy (for a smartwatch) and if I had the disposable at the moment then I would have had a punt. In the meantime I'll just have to put up with the very nice analogue face that my G3's Quick Circle case puts up.

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    Re: Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

    Quote Originally Posted by GuidoLS View Post
    For $17,000, I'll either buy a new, mid-ranged Rolex, or go to the local pawn shop and buy a used, very high end Rolex. ...
    Or a good watch, like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin.

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