Are we about to experience a fashion revolution?

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@Guinastasia

Yeah, but this isn’t just technology, it’s also about fashion. I don’t just wear a watch to tell time, I want one that looks good. This thing…looks stupid. And ugly.

Fashion is what the fashionistas make it. And I guess they’ve had enough of 4mm Piagets.

And as I said in another thread and caught hell for… it will be just effin’ amazing how much the rev 2 version will be improved… which begs the question of why design jeenyuss Apple ever releases its clunky rev 1 stuff. One more prototype and another month’s development is too much to invest? Oh, right, the market will buy both versions anyway and have complete amnesia about the second-rate first version…

Another thing is, the screens are so teeny-tiny, I can imagine a lot of people would have a hard time reading them, if you have really poor eyesight.

“If it’s too tiny, you’re just too old(-fashioned).”

[Mr.Nylock]

@Amateur_Barbarian

Such as?

It looks like an old first-gen digital watch to me, or maybe those huge plastic watches of the 1960s - a real clunker, and I haven’t read anything that stands out as being particularly innovative or game-changing - not against any small PDAs, much less existing smart watches. Small refinements, yes.

Unless putting a bitten-apple logo on it counts.

(That first question’s serious, though.)

Product design is a very subtle thing, and is hard to define and quantify. A lot of good watch design today centers around understated elegance. The way the lines and curves go together etc.

Before I saw this watch, I had been looking for a digital watch that had the right look; I could not find one anywhere, so I abandoned that idea and got a mechanical watch. then one day, I saw the apple (I didn’t even know it was apple at first) watch and it just popped, it is something I would wear. They make it in a 38 which is important to me; a lot of people prefer the bulky 42 mm case(which is way too bulky IMHO), but a 38mm case would look appropriate on my wrist. Among other things, it also has a sapphire crystal on many models; which is totally different than what you would see on a first gen digital watch.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@Mr.Nylock

Product design is a very subtle thing, and is hard to define and quantify. A lot of good watch design today centers around understated elegance. The way the lines and curves go together etc.

So my collection would seem to say, yes.

Before I saw this watch, I had been looking for a digital watch that had the right look; I could not find one anywhere, so I abandoned that idea and got a mechanical watch. then one day, I saw the apple (I didn’t even know it was apple at first) watch and it just popped, it is something I would wear. They make it in a 38 which is important to me; a lot of people prefer the bulky 42 mm case(which is way too bulky IMHO), but a 38mm case would look appropriate on my wrist. Among other things, it also has a sapphire crystal on many models; which is totally different than what you would see on a first gen digital watch.

So you’re saying Apple invented the 38mm case size and sapphire crystal? - the latter of which is literally invisible from a design standpoint, anyway.

Each maker so far has traded off necessary elements of the esthetics for necessary functionality. If the Apple tradeoff appeals to you, it’s de gustibus… but as with the vast majority of Apple products, it’s very much common ingredients in a selected recipe. Applauding them for “innovation” seems… chauvinist.

[Mr.Nylock]

@Amateur_Barbarian

So my collection would seem to say, yes.
So you’re saying Apple invented the 38mm case size and sapphire crystal? - the latter of which is literally invisible from a design standpoint, anyway.

Each maker so far has traded off necessary elements of the esthetics for necessary functionality. If the Apple tradeoff appeals to you, it’s de gustibus… but as with the vast majority of Apple products, it’s very much common ingredients in a selected recipe. Applauding them for “innovation” seems… chauvinist.

I’m no apple fan. I worked in the watch industry for about a year for a very small mechanical watch company. The owner actually spent time with me every now and then talking about his design decisions, and showing me different watches that used different things. So, basically, for someone who has the eye for it, the sapphire chrystal does have significance. I feel that apple has blended old and new technology in a tasteful way I have never seen before. Of course Apple did not invent any of these things, but I have never seen a digital watch with high grade sapphire chrystal.

I also like how apple gives the two choices of size. A few years ago, a lot of brands were offering many more options in 40mm and above, especially in dive and field watches. The last year or two has seen a return to sanity in watch sizes, so Apple is definitely on the right side of that trend.

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

The reason I started this thread is that I was at an NCAA 1st Day viewing party with numerous folks in the investment and insurance field. A group of about a dozen men were discussing the watch and six of them said that they were planning on buying one immediately after its release. Now midtown Manhattan isn’t exactly representative of all of society, but sometimes is sometimes a pretty good predictor.

[amaguri]

I’m really interested to see how this pans out, for some reason. I don’t get the appeal of the Apple Watch at all. It’s still bigger (thicker) than I think a watch should be, but more importantly the functionality is tied too specifically to your iPhone. I don’t see any features that are all that interesting or revolutionary. It’s pretty darn expensive for a gimmick.

But it has decent buzz so I don’t know, maybe it’s just me who is out of step with the average consumer.