The verdict is still out on whether or not the Apple Watch is going to change the smart watch i.e. “wearables” game forever. The internet has been all aflutter since last Monday,’s Apple Event in Cupertino, sending people all in a tizzy over the exorbitant, widely disparate price tags and giving credence to the wearables trend as a whole. Apple definitely has an advantage: a built-in fan base that’s eager to gobble up anything Apple offers them. And yes, the Apple Watch looks cool. But it isn’t worth the hype. And here’s why:
Apple’s Charging You Way Too Much For Something They Haven’t Perfected Yet.
Just as a refresher, here’s what Apple is charging you for three different models of the Apple Watch:
Apple Watch Sport: $350
Regular Apple Watch: $550
14-karat gold Apple Watch Edition: $17,000
Those are hefty price tags for basically glorified iPhones that are totally reliant on—well—your iPhone to work. There are so many other kinds of wearables available on the market today that perform similar functions at a fraction of the cost that are both iOs and Android compatible.
For example, while the battery life of the Apple Watch is good, it’s not great. Apple claims that the Apple Watch will last 18 hours of mixed use on a given day. The Pebble, meanwhile, will last you up to a week of moderate use and the Sony SmartBand Talk will last up to three days without needing to charge. In fact, after last week’s Apple Watch Event, pre-order sales for the Pebble Time Steel (which can be used with Android and iPhone) skyrocketed at a staggering 167 percent per hour, proving that people are indeed interested in wearables…but they’re not totally convinced by Apple’s first go at them.
Finally, wearables themselves are a “one-size-fits-all” technology, as much as Apple would like you to believe the opposite. Unlike a phone, which can be easily stored away, a smartwatch is visible at all times on your wrist, yet you are unable to customize the weight, feel and size of it like you could, say, a regular watch. It’ll be worth watching to see, as this wearables race intensifies, if Apple and similar companies will be creating even more customizable options for users.
It’s not to say that Apple Watch can’t become the ultimate in wearable technology. It’s been hinted at already that the Apple Watch 2.0 will be able to be used independent of an iPhone, which would put it leagues beyond its competition…if the rumors are true, of course. Clearly Apple has grand plans for their new product line, which leaves room for a lot of improvement and plenty of time for rivaling companies to continue developing even more competitive technology.
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