Apple Watch: Wait a minute! This puny wrist-puter costs 17 GRAND?!

Apple boss Tim Cook appeared at an art center in San Francisco on Monday to confirm when the much-hyped and super-expensive Apple Watch will go on sale. In short, you can order one from April 10, and it'll hit store shelves on April 24. Cook also revealed other bits and pieces, such as a new slim MacBook going on sale soon. …

[werdsmith]

There are enough people in the world to consume countless Bentleys, Astons, Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, Range Rovers, etc who own yachts and travel in private jets. These people can splash £10k on a watch and leave it in a draw for 99% of its life because they have many other expensive watches. Apple will sell enough of these and make a shed load more cash. What you and I think about that doesn't matter in the least. We are not the target market and common sense notions about obsolescence are totally irrelevant.

[JLV]

cheapo's cable TV?

June 2015, sign up 1 month HBO

Watch all GoT Season 5 & sundry others

July - back to Netflix only till next year

[returnmyjedi]

Re: cheapo's cable TV?

That's pretty much what I do with Now TV in the UK whenever a new series of GoT starts.

[tony]

Re: cheapo's cable TV?

Is GoT5 going to be dumped Netflix binge style?

[JLV]

Re: cheapo's cable TV?

My understanding is that you get access to the entire HBO content library. So just wait till S5 is done broadcasting, which is why I put this in June rather than April. Not quite same as a Netflix bulk dump from day 1, but close enough. Otherwise you could bug their faithful subscribers with your spoilers :)

Oh, and reality has since bit me on the butt too - not available in Canada, only US. I knew it sounded too good to be true. One hopes we'll eventually follow suit (but not holding my breath yet).

[SteveCarr]

Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

... and that is only if you don;t do anything more with the watch than look at the time! Ree-dick-u-louse!

[Truffle]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

Apple are always leading the pack, i'm sure there will be an announcement soon enough with how they are speeding up earth's rotation ready for the watch launch.

In other news, all other apple products now have an extended battery life, last 1/4 more days.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

They're going to have to do some serious engineering - at the moment we have to stick leap seconds in every now and then.

Still, the easiest way is probably just to move the moon nearer. Conservation of momentum will do the rest. The eclipses will be impressive.

(And since '10 hours' is all day, does that mean the watch lasts nearly two days?)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

Tim Cook obviously won't be using one, he gets up a 3.30am.

[jai]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

most people on this planet sleep for 6 or more hours a day and don't have much call to check the time while unconcious in bed

[Truffle]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

So their 'medical' features don't even include a sleep tracker then?

[Sir Sham Cad]

Re: check the time while unconcious in bed

Well, my Moto360 (when I remember to take it off my wrist and charge it) acts like a bedside clock when in the charging dock which is nice. I've no idea if Apple Watch has a similar function or not.

However, my Moto360 lasts 36 hours on a full charge so if I leave the dock at work (which I've done on occasion because I'm a moron) on Monday, for instance, it'll last me until Tuesday lunchtime. If it only lasted 18 hours then quite often I'd find it completely flat and useless. For essentially twice what I paid for the 360 I'd expect better from Apple. 18 hours really is a big miss in my opinion.

[MrXavia]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

Just never travel, you must return home every night to charge your iPhone, iPad and iWatch.. so either three chargers or a single charger and a bunch of cables and rotate, still knowing at least one of your devices will not be at 100% in the morning

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

"and that is only if you don;t do anything more with the watch than look at the time"

Apple quotes up to 72 hours as the battery life if the watch is in power reserve mode so all you can do is look at the time.

[Mage]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

I have an LCD watch with same battery, running nearly 10 years. It works without ANY phone.

[JeffyPoooh]

Re: Wonders what planet has 18 hour days....

"...one charge lasts up to 18 hours..."

Translation of "up to" follows.

"...one charge lasts about 10 hours..."

Garbage.

[amanfromMars 1]

Caveat Emptor ....... Buyer Beware

"...one charge lasts up to 18 hours..."

Translation of "up to" follows.

"...one charge lasts about 10 hours..."

Garbage. …. JeffyPoooh

It appears that senior executive office management know that it is garbage in very probable, normal every day, real world use, JeffyPoooh. ……. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-10/apple-watch-may-be-doa-cook-admits-battery-life-low-3-hours

Does that reality amount to a blatant fraud being perpetrated by Apple upon fanbois and the markets? Is that tantamount to mis-selling and a cause for exemplary punitive compensation claims?

[Anonymous Coward]

One off the wrist...

Fool the medical research teams by enjoying your own company whilst wearing the iWatch

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like an inflection point with AAPL left flogging this gimmic and MSFT resurgent with Windows 10, Azure, Office 2016, open sourcing .Net, etc. etc.

[Mage]

Windows 10, Azure, Office 2016, open sourcing .Net,

No, they lost the plot around 2003 or 2004, about two years after Nokia went mad internally.

Windows 10, : Will disappoint, At best no worst than win7

Azure: Pointless to most people

Office 2016, :rent a cloud Office. Stick to Office 2003 or use Libre Office

open sourcing .Net, : Born of desperation!

MS and Apple are now mature companies thrashing around wondering how to to maintain momentum.

[Afernie]

Re: Windows 10, Azure, Office 2016, open sourcing .Net,

"MS and Apple are now mature companies thrashing around wondering how to to maintain momentum."

And yet with 90% ownership of the desktop market the MSFT stock price just keeps on going up, and Apple is the largest publicly traded company by market capitalisation on earth, so I suspect their opinion of what works holds a tad more weight than yours.

[EssEll]

What's that sound?

You can almost feel the panic coming from Apple...

"OK, OK...we reinvented the mobile phone and blazed a trail with the tablet. What next? Guys?...GUYS?!"

...

"....uhhh...an iWatch?"

"BRILLIANT!"

Can I hear the sound of barrels being scraped?

[The Crow From Below]

Re: What's that sound?

"Can I hear the sound of barrels being scraped?"

It's probably just the sound from your IOT toaster.

[Hellcat]

Re: What's that sound?

Would anyone like any toast?

How about a muffin?

[trance gemini]

Re: What's that sound?

nah - i reckon it's the sound of an upturned glass being dragged desperately around a ouija board

steve? steve? are you there? it's all going to shit and jony's magic crayons ain't working no more!

steve? steeeeeeve!

[Sir Sham Cad]

Re: What's that sound?

+1 purely for the "Andromeda" reference in your handle. I thought I was the only one who remembered that series.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What's that sound?

No Andromeda is back on Freeview like it or not

[Metrognome]

Re: What's that sound?

I hatez as much as the next person but where exactly did you spot the desperation when the company is breaking one record after the other in earnings, turnover and profits?

Maybe it's the moment they run out of ideas, but desperation?

[AOD]

Re: What's that sound?

> How about a muffin?

Nuthin!

Have a +1 from me for the Dwarfer's reference.

For anybody who doesn't have a smeg what we're dribbling on about, have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRq_SAuQDec

[JDX]

$349 for an aluminum Sport watch with rubber band

Is the rubber band so you can wind it up?

Seriously though, these things are SO expensive. I don't mean the bling versions - that actually makes sense since there are some very rich people looking to differentiate themselves - but several hundred dollars when you have to have an iPhone as well?!

[Moonshine]

Waterproof?

I cannot work this out. IPX7 says one metre is OK. Would have expected more. My £20 Casio is good for 50M and it's been swimming with me >20 times. Yes I know Casio != iWatch but if a £20 watch can be usefully waterproof IMO then why can't a $300 smart watch? Would have been a good selling point I think.

[jai]

Re: Waterproof?

it's a better selling point for version 2, to push people to upgrade

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Waterproof?

"it's a better selling point for version 2, to push people to upgrade"

This is what I don't get about the $17k version. It's not like it's a timeless classic that you'll want to pass on to your kids, like a Patek Philippe or Jaeger-LeCoultre, it's a mark 1, underpowered toy computer for your wrist, that is guaranteed to be comprehensively superseded at the next upgrade cycle.

Less than one day's battery life anyone?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Waterproof?

For $17k they should have had free upgrades for life.

Take your gold watch in, get the new model back.

[JEDIDIAH]

Re: Waterproof?

> For $17k they should have had free upgrades for life.

>

> Take your gold watch in, get the new model back.

They could even use the Rolex model and charge for that kind of service. In this case "service" would mean getting the old innards upgraded to the new ones and having all of your data (if any) migrated.

[BobRocket]

Re: Waterproof?

It might only be a 'a mark 1, underpowered toy computer for your wrist, that is guaranteed to be comprehensively superseded at the next upgrade cycle.'.

The Sinclair Black Watch (which was a watch and not some kind of Scottish regiment) retailed new for £24.95, you can get one on ebay (new in box) for around a grand which is an appreciation of > 5 times inflation (nice hedge if you can get it).

A 1st gen iWatch (new in box) costing $500 today could be worth $20000 in 40 years.

[JDX]

Re: Waterproof?

All the 'stuff' in a regular £20 watch takes up space equivalent to a pea (or less). An iWatch is probably chock-full of stuff, does that make it harder to find space for better water-proofing perhaps?

[h4rm0ny]

Re: Waterproof?

>>"All the 'stuff' in a regular £20 watch takes up space equivalent to a pea (or less). An iWatch is probably chock-full of stuff, does that make it harder to find space for better water-proofing perhaps?"

I could be wrong, but I think the waterproofing goes on the outside.

[Dave 126]

Re: Waterproof?

It is a surface area / volume thing. Also, the iWatch has a speaker and microphone, which have to be waterproofed in a different way if they are still to function well.

I've used a few cheap 50M Water Resistant Casio whist swimming without any trouble. I even operated the buttons under water, which the manual said wasn't a good idea.

I think the last non-waterproof watch I had was a Casio Calculator watch - I was nine years old. I then got the Casio Thermometer watch, and I really wanted the Casio IR Remote Control watch - apparently just the thing for upsetting teachers when they showed videos in class.

[DropBear]

Re: Waterproof?

"Casio IR Remote Control watch - apparently just the thing for upsetting teachers when they showed videos in class."

...the proper use of that being of course driving the poor chap at the bar into further and darker depths of insanity while he's unsuccessfully trying to figure out why the pub's CD player under the counter (but facing the mirror-clad back wall) keeps getting stuck repeating your favourite song...

[werdsmith]

Re: Waterproof?

"I could be wrong, but I think the waterproofing goes on the outside."

Yes, you are wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple's obsession with minimalism on their laptops is getting stupid now.

Anyone that's plugged a thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter into a Mac laptop will tell you that, they look ugly and it seems like a bodge.

You have to either carry all these ugly short wire adapters around or a thunderbolt dock (with a wall wart).

[jai]

if you need to connect lots of stuff to your laptop, then this isn't the laptop for you. they stil sell macbook pros, with lots of ports on them for all sorts of connectivity

[Dave 126]

Just think of this new Macbook as a sort of iPad. If someone has got on well with an iPad without ever plugging it into ethernet, then this will serve them fine.

Also, it is a narrowly targeted product, almost a tech demonstration or proof of concept. It could be that Apple can't get enough of these 'Retina' 12" screens, so have fitted them to a niche product that they don't expect to sell in as large volumes as the MB Airs or Pros.

The original Macbook Air only had one USB port... all MB Airs since have had twoUSB ports, so it is possible that Apple might either backtrack again for MKII, or else be vindicated in their assumption that some people use USB less often these days.

[Anonymous Coward]

BBC thread

anybody seen the BBC thread about this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31798484

The amount of "This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain." is quite incredible. The beeb has had a huge slating for its perceived Apple bias and has now started to censor the posts, then they started to censor the "why has my post been censored posts!" Total shit storm.

[h4rm0ny]

Re: BBC thread

You're right - I just had a look over there and about a third of the comments seem to be moderated out! I just put in my own comment just to see whether it would be censored or not. Even amongst the surviving posts though, this seems to be getting a largely negative reaction.

This is fascinating. Oddly enough, I pretty much NEVER criticize modern tech. I argue a fair bit on these forums but (and people can check if they don't believe me), it is almost always in defence of something rather than actively criticizing someone's hard work (which most technology is). About the only exception that comes to mind is systemd.

And yet this iWatch is a rare exception. Technologically, I guess it has its impressive aspects, but honestly, I find I just don't like it. I think it's badly misconceived and flawed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BBC thread

The story over at the Beeb is turning more to be about the censorship rather than the watch, its a story in itself. This isn't the first time either, there was quite a backlash a month or so ago when the beeb failed to lunch a windows phone version of its news reader. The you have the general fawning over anything Apple especially by Rory Cellan-Jones or iRory as he's being called (in many of the censored posts). The BBC is meant to be independent but it does seem to be increasingly an advertising avenue for Apple.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BBC thread

and still the removing of post goes on, getting quite silly. The moderators are going to be busy as normally they reply to the poster explaining what the issue with the post is!

wonder how long this one will last

I've now counted 4 BBC articles about this launch (the one above, this one http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31805655, this one http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31805649 and this one http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31794823)...what is going on?

Apple are an important tech company (despite (or thanks to) their tax-'avoiding'), but there are many, many others out there too!

[JDX]

Re: BBC thread

Apple is the biggest company in the world and accounts for 80%+ of the smartphone market (by value) so anything they launch IS news, by definition.

Is there a site where people are saying what their comments are, that were censored, so we can see if it's bias rather than lots of childish Apple-haters posting "Apple are ****"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BBC thread

if you're quick you can see the posts before they're pulled. There have been very few childish ones

some examples

384.55notout

27 Minutes ago

Apple have just brought out their competitor in the smart watch market.

It is acceptable for the BBC to carry out a critical analysis of this product, comparing it with others on the market, but RCJ's article reads more like a press release designed to stimulate interest and raise demand.

It raises serious issues about the BBC's editorial standards and it's impartiality.

12 Minutes ago

@385 123BillyB

"the blog host" is the BBC, surely. RCJ is just the writer, and is subject to BBC editorial processes and reviews in much the same way as HYS posters like you and I are subject to moderation.

Given the sustained criticism here it would be reassuring to read a response from RCJ and the BBC that addresses the concerns raised. Removing our comments only makes it worse.