The Apple Watch can be said to be a brand new product for Apple in the post-Jobs era.
The fashion journey of “watch”
Before it was published, Jony Ive, who leads the Apple Watch, sent a number of fashion luminaries to ask for their opinions. During the release period of the first-generation Apple Watch, Jony Ive invited many people in the fashion industry to participate, and invested in a pure white building in the Flint Center to display the Apple Watch. Compared with Apple’s new product announcements, there is no such “labor and teachers”.
In many public appearances and interviews, Jony Ive hopes that the Apple Watch will have an impact on the traditional Swiss watch industry. Subsequent Apple Watch promotions are also more fashionable, frequently appearing in fashion magazines and co-branding with luxury goods. Even the Edition series, the case material is made of reinforced 18K gold, with a leather strap, the price soars to 10,000 US dollars, very luxurious (price part).
Not only that, but Apple also has a separate display for Apple Watch in the Apple Store, located in the center of the store, in the most prominent place. In order to create a boutique image, in addition to the Apple Store, Apple has also cooperated with high-end department stores in France and the United Kingdom to set up Apple Watch counters. Before, during and following the publication, Apple or Jony Ive planned that the Apple Watch was more like a “Watch” (watch), and hoped to be called Patek Philippe.
But aside from these “halos”, the first-generation Apple Watch is more like a “big bracelet”. The heart rate monitoring function and IPX7 waterproof specifications are not much different from other competing products, but the battery life is significantly behind the Android Wear products of the same period. The positioning is fashionable, and the functionality is not differentiated enough. Even if the pre-sale reaches 1 million pre-orders within 6 hours, it is far from enough for Apple, which focuses on the technology ecosystem, to continue multiple generations of updates with the “Watch” feature.
No more fashion, health first
A year later, Apple rarely “reboots” the Apple Watch.
In the fall of 2016, Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2. Apple Watch Series 2 is a regular update, and Series 1 is modified for the first-generation upgrade. To differentiate, the original Apple Watch was dubbed the special model Apple Series 0, but the Apple Watch Series 0 sounds more like a beta product.
After the “restart”, Apple Watch no longer takes “Watch” (watch) as its core selling point, but turns to health and sports, from the darling of the fashion industry to everyone’s health assistant. But fashion attributes are also reserved, such as the unique display of Apple Store, and joint customization with Hermes. But the Edition version is full of luxurious 18K gold material replaced by ceramics, titanium alloys and other expensive materials with “technical” attributes.
Overall, Apple Watch no longer faces consumers with a high profile, but cuts into life from the perspective of “smart devices” that are close to iPhone and Mac. Apple Watch Series 2 has built-in GPS to accurately record motion tracks; Apple Watch Series 3 adds eSIM function to receive messages independently; Series 4 adds ECG electronic heartbeat sensor, allowing users to check electrocardiograms at any time; Series 5 updates the screen to LTPO, enabling The screen is always on; Series 6 adds a blood oxygen concentration sensor.
In terms of appearance, to the latest Apple Watch Series 7, the Apple Watch has changed its size twice in total, and the screen has also been enlarged twice. Taking the Series 4 as the boundary, 40mm replaces 38mm, 44mm replaces 42mm, and the display area is also increased by more than 30%, completely “full screen”. Last year, the screen size of the Series 7 was expanded by 1mm, 41mm and 45mm respectively, and the display area is of course larger.
Apple not only introduced more health sensors for Apple Watch, and continued to make health and medical articles, Apple Watch also cooperated with medical institutions and gradually became an endorsed monitoring device. At the same time, in view of the exercise recording function of the Apple Watch, Apple also launched the Fitness+ fitness service to enter the sports content market.
It is to continuously invest in the fields of medical care and sports, so that Apple Watch occupies 30% of the market share, far ahead of its competitors.
▲ It is difficult to see who is the Apple Watch Series 7 without a direct comparison.
However, with the latest Series 7, Apple has not updated any functions (or sensors), and the battery life is almost the same. The changes are only in small places.
Apple Watch product line will be overhauled
Compared with the unique characteristics of each generation in previous years, the subsequent updates of Apple Watch are somewhat weak. Bloomberg is very concerned regarding Apple, and Mark Gurman, who has a high prediction accuracy, recently shared the next update strategy of the Apple Watch product line.
In fact, not only Apple, but if the functions of consumer electronics cannot be updated, the design or appearance will always be changed first. The same goes for the Apple Watch Series 8, like the Series 4, which has a new design, but still has a square face and rounded body (without ruling out an enlarged screen), rather than the right-angled sides that the Series 7 is rumored to be.
▲ The imaginary picture of Apple Watch Series 8.
In addition, a new product line Apple Watch Pro was introduced. Similar to the iPhone’s Pro series focusing on images, the Apple Watch Pro will focus on “sports.” The Apple Watch Pro series will challenge professional-grade sports watches like Garmin, with a larger face and a stronger shape than the current version, and a titanium case similar to the Edition.
These features coincide with rumors that Apple will push a larger (possibly 47mm) Apple Watch aimed at outdoor and extreme sports.
Compared with the normal version, the Pro has a breakthrough in battery life. Perhaps the body is larger and the battery is larger, but the sensor is the same as the Series 7 and Series 6. The rumored blood pressure and blood sugar sensors may not appear until 2025. And following a series of buffs, the Apple Watch Pro might cost as much as $1,000, almost similar to the iPhone Pro series. With the traditional 41mm and 45mm, the Apple Watch product line will have three new products for the first time. Similar to the iPhone, it has been upgraded from an early single machine to a dual machine, and eventually evolved into the current dual series of four models.
▲ Apple Watch size evolution history.
As for the upgrade point of the ordinary Apple Watch Series 8, it may also be the appearance, and the processor and sensor have not changed much. Combined with the watchOS 9 system released in the public beta phase, the Series 8 is very likely to be similar to the Series 7, and it is difficult for old users to switch. Compared to mobile phones, Apple Watch has a longer life cycle, even years ago, Series 4 can still implement watchOS 9 system and provide most healthy exercise functions.
The Pro series that may be launched this year is undoubtedly aimed at the professional niche and is still a market segment. For ordinary models, perhaps similar to the iPad Pro, the update cycle is extended to 18 to 24 months, which may lead to more obvious changes in the product. After Apple Watch’s positioning has shifted from fashion to health, popular demand has allowed it to gradually capture the market and consolidate Apple’s ecology. However, the update of Apple Watch is weak, and following starting to make a fuss regarding the appearance design, it has returned from the public demand to the niche (outdoor, extreme) group.
If Apple still wants to grow the Apple Watch, in addition to the change in appearance, it still needs to find a public demand similar to health monitoring and exercise recording, otherwise it is likely to return to the situation of the original Apple Watch.
(This article is written by Ai Faner Reprinted with permission; source of the first image:apple）
