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Report: Apple Watch Preorders Almost 1 Million On First Day In the US
An anonymous reader writes The launch of the Apple Watch has got off to a good start, with an estimated 1 million pre-orders in the U.S. on Friday. "According to Slice's Sunday report, which is based on e-receipt data obtained directly from consumers, 957,000 people preordered the Watch on Friday, with 62% purchasing the cheapest variant, the Apple Watch Sport. On average, each buyer ordered 1.3 watches and spent $503.83 per watch."
Obligatory xkcd
I'll admit i was originally apprehensive of getting out of bed at all today until i remembered, with the help of my scheduling butler, the arrival of apples newest wristwatch. Perusing my collection of rare finds from Rolex this morning in the yachts liesure room, as I certainly couldnt bare the shame of being seen in public without a standard timepiece, I chose to dress down as I'd be among the city folk today. Stepping off my yacht and into my helicopter, I could hardly contain my anticipation and as soon as I arrived and my driver was upon the tarmac, I made haste toward the perignon and reclined albeit only subtly in the hand stitched leater seating of the Bentley (im told the city people mostly confine themselves to Bentley and i shouldnt wish to casue a stir.) Finally, after what seemed an eternity of film and caviar I arrived at the Apple store, gazed longingly at the line, and tool delivery of my very own Apple watch from my travel liason. And wouldnt you know, theyre quite a steal at only ten thousand dollars.
now ive heard tell of people saying theyre quite a bit more after "tax" but I assure you ive no concept of what that may be in relation to the product. Perhaps some unsavoury orientals have swindled you good folk, and purloined your earned cash for the song of this "tax."
Good people go to bed earlier.
I haven't worn a (wrist) watch for decades When you have to do frequent hand washing (in the last 35 years I have been employed in the meat industry, food industry, childcare and elder care) its not worth the hassle. Of course I gave up Apple in 1988
I kept forgetting my cell phone so I decided to stop wearing a wrist watch and started to use the phone to keep track of time. Between chencking the time, receiving e-mails, SMS'es and phone calls, browsing the net, playing games or reading e-books when I'm bored it's been years since I left the house without me noticing I had forgotten the damn cellphone within a few minutes.
I can think of several applications I'd have for a smart watch, but I don't think any of the current offerings meet my needs in terms of build quality or battery life. But if millions of people start wearing apple watches, investments into the technology will be made and in a few years there'll be a cheap, high-quality Android watch for me to buy.
So, thank you early adopters.
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
News flash..... Digital watches have existed for decades, Hipsters have been cringing for a long time now about them and lamenting about how the mechanical movements are far superior and make their records sound better.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I haven't worn a (wrist) watch for decades When you have to do frequent hand washing (in the last 35 years I have been employed in the meat industry, food industry, childcare and elder care) its not worth the hassle. Of course I gave up Apple in 1988
You likely represent the minority in your age bracket.
The younger generation that never knew life without a smartphone, never understood the value of wearing a wristwatch.
What will really blow your mind is that is now the same individual lining up to pay someone else $500 for the luxury of wearing one.
Talk about brand power.
Neither had I. Until last July, when my wife gave me an Android smartwatch for my birthday (suck it Apple ... you are not an innovator of smart watches).
Since then, I've worn it every day. I know, what's the big deal about taking your phone out of your pocket.
Well ...
When your hands are covered with mortar dust, and your phone rings. it's pretty convenient.
When you are expecting a call but want to go swimming, it's pretty nice to have a watch that's waterproof for swimming.
When you are driving down the highway and want to get a picture of something, it's pretty convenient. (Oh wait .. the iWatch doesn't have a camera). And it's not distracted driving when all you have to do point your hand in the general direction, and say 'shoot'.
When you want to shut off that damn alarm about turning off the pool equipment, and your phone is in the house.(Pool timer broke, so I direct wired it until I order another one.)
When you don't have to carry your phone around the house all day in your pocket because if someone calls you, you can answer using your watch.
When you need to set a timer to remind you to check the water boiling for tea, it's pretty convenient to not take the phone out of your pocket.
When you can't find your phone and your watch can set off the ring tone.
Oh .. and it tells the time too.
Notice I didn't say anything about the fitness apps. I used them for awhile, then noticed that they really sucked down the battery. Then I realized that I don't need a watch to tell me how far I've walked today BECAUSE IT JUST ISN'T THAT FREAKIN IMPORTANT! My scale tells me every morning if I'm not exercising enough or eating too much.
Is it worth $300? Depends on how much $300 is worth to you. I didn't think it was worth that much, but my wife felt it would make a great birthday present since I was always looking at it but refused to spend the money. Now that I've used it for 9 months, I'd say it was worth every dime. I've learned to discount anyone that says something isn't worth the money, because they only know whether or not it's worth it to them. And since they have never had one, they have no idea what they are talking about.
If I had an Apple phone, I might buy the iWatch. It's definitely not enough to get me to switch from Android. (Has Apple innovated two windows on their iPads yet??? How about multiple users.) Mine has definitely been worth the $300. Isn't. that's cheaper than the iWatch? And it has a camera. And can use standard watch bands.
But I won't be buying the latest Samsung phone either. Why would I buy a phone that I can't swap out the battery or use an SSD card.
If I wanted that, I'd spend more money and buy an iPhone.
I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.
I wear a cheap, waterproof, digital, rubberised, lasts-forever watch that costs an absolute pittance. It shows time and date on the front screen, which is my biggest buying point of them.
Which is NOT why anyone would buy a smartwatch. If all you want is a simple chronometer then buy a simple chronometer. Odds are you have one already. The various new smartwatches are something different. Think of them as a small sensor package combined with a data logger and some basic smartphone features. The use cases are different and the target audience is different. It's like comparing a smartphone to an old basic cell phone. The smartphone is a computer that happens to make phone calls. The old phone is phone and little else. Different devices with overlapping but different use cases.
I have no use at all for Apple's watch but I can see some people who might find it fits their life. I also have no use for a simple watch since there are almost always at least 2-3 clocks within eye shot or easily accessible in my daily life. I honestly cannot fathom why most people would ever need or want to wear a simple wristwatch unless they are doing something like running.
The comments in this thread, I mean.
Seriously - we are talking about new technology - a new gadget to play with. We could be talking about the interface, comparing it to other smart watches, discussing possible future apps that would make sense in this context. But no - it's from Apple, so let's all talk about how we don't want a watch.
Personally I think the success of the watch highly depends on the interface. Other smart watches have been hard to navigate, and I am not entirely sure I believe Apple has cracked the code on the. If they have, this could be a really cool device. If not, I don't think we will see too many generations of it.
-- A good compromise leaves everyone mad. --Calvin and Hobbes
People keep missing the point of these things. These are not practical devices like an iPhone that just happens to also be sleek and fashionable. These are fashion items first and foremost (a universally acceptable jewelry item for both men and women) that also happen to have some clever tech-related features. No one buys an Apple watch so they can tell the time. They're buying it so they can show off something interesting and fashionable on their wrist.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
Question is, who is smuggiest.. the people buying Apple watches, or people saying they are too smart for that.
well without the calendar function on the watch, he lost track of his age.
I've got to admit that initially, I was *not* excited by the Apple watch announcement at all. Like a lot of people, I was thinking, "Stupid! Most people don't wear watches anymore. The smartphone is what KILLED them for many of us!" I thought the prices were insanely high for the fancier models, and it's little more than a "remote display/control for the phone" anyway.
I'm also aware of the Android watches that came first, and one of my best friends uses one. It has its good points, but I never felt it was anything I'd use myself.
But as it turns out, Apple's online ordering for the new watch went live on the day of our anniversary, so my wife offered to get me one as a gift. (Frankly, I wasn't willing to stay awake until 3AM to place an order, but the "hype machine" did at least convince me to browse Apple's site before I went to bed, just to see what configurations they had. I mentioned to my wife that if I was going to get one, I'd probably do the space grey with a black sport band -- as it was the only one I thought looked any good without spending crazy prices for the upscale editions.) Turns out she DID stay up until 3AM and ordered that one for me.
So now, as I wait my 4-6 weeks for delivery, I've been doing more research to find out exactly what this thing will and won't be able to do for me. And as the long-term reviews come out from people who got to use one for a week or more, it sounds promising. Unlike the initial reports that the Apple Watch would basically "do nothing but tell the time" when it wasn't paired up with your phone in your pocket? I'm finding out that's not quite so. For starters, it apparently has 2GB of storage in it for music. So you can use it as a music player with a pair of bluetooth earbuds without your phone anywhere around. It's also smart enough to pair to your phone via your wi-fi network, as well as via low power bluetooth. So you can walk around your house or office and the watch will be fully functional, even though your phone was left on your desk or nightstand.
Additionally, reports are coming out that as long as the watch is on a wi-fi network, you can send and receive iMessages on it without the need of a paired phone.
Then there's the fitness tracker aspect of it. My workplace just started a program where everyone gets a free FitBit and there's a website you can log into to compete with co-workers for who walked the most in a day or a week, etc. etc. It's part of the overall "wellness program". Great, but I really dislike my new FitBit. Because it lacks any GPS functionality, it's too "brain dead" to realize when I'm in a car, on the metro, in a plane, etc. etc. -- so any vibrations that happen get counted as steps taken. It can literally be 50% off on counting your steps! The Apple Watch and iPhone combo makes a far more powerful fitness tracker than FitBit.
So yeah, the Apple Watch is definitely not a "need", but simply a "want". And many people may not want it at all. That's fine. But I think I'm forced to rethink my original opinion that this was generally going to be a bad idea for Apple. What it may do is re-kindle the interest in wearing a watch around, because it finally gives people some reasons why they should consider doing so, EVEN THOUGH they carry a smartphone already.
8. pour water in cup.
9. pour in the tiniest drop of milk
10. extract tea bag.
You're not an Englishman, you're an animal.
Those steps should read:
pour water in cup.
wait for 4 minutes.
extract tea bag.
add milk.
Only an animal lets the milk and the teabag meet. And an Englishman lets the tea brew. What you have there is slightly milky water with a bit of brown dye in it.