Iphone 6

iPhones are so overrated.

Nothing to do with analysis of Apple but funny nonetheless:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1572741/watch-first-person-to-buy-an-iphone-6-immediately-drops-it/

I wanted to stop in the Verizon Wireless store to check on something (not the iPhone 6) and was told I would have to wait because they were controlling how many people could enter the store. I walked away very fast.

I am curious about what the iPhone 6 actually looks and feels like in person, but I’m not willing to be told I have to wait in a line outside of the Verizon store.

I poked around with the iPhone 6 in the Apple store the other day. It is thinner than the iPhone 5 and the screen is much better. iPhone 5’s screen is long and awkward, and makes you feel like you are looking through a mail slot. iPhone 6’s screen is bigger and seems to have more squarish dimensions. iPhone 6 has tapered edges, unlike iPhone 5, which has boxy edges. This helps iPhone 6 feel more thin. iPhone 6+ feels more like a small iPad mini than a big iPhone; it seems more suited for women’s purses, rather than for pockets.

One downside of iPhone 6’s bigger screen is that it is now difficult to hold it in one hand and touch the screen with your thumb. You must now operate iPhone with two hands.

I did not have a chance to test things other than the basic touchy feely.

I really think the Apple Watch is going to make a huge splash. People spend $350 all the time on normal watches that simply tell time because watches are a piece of jewelry as well as serving a function. The Apple Watch seems like something a lot of people are going to want. If you, like many people, have a few watches for different purposes or occasions it seems to me that a watch that serves as a normal watch, stop watch, heart rate monitor, GPS sport watch, digital music player control, activity tracker, instant messaging device and phone would be something that is attractive to people.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktujsc4ZUTo]

Yeah, it’s guy jewelry, and you can play space invaders on it. You can probably have images of scantily clad women dancing on it. Or scantily clad men. I’m not ready to drop $350 on it myself, but I can easily imagine a lot of people doing it.

Keep in mind that it *starts* at $350 and there are three models (sport, women’s and men’s). The sport is probably $350. The women’s is probably a premium over that (because it will be larger and have a better band). And, as is the custom, the men’s will probably be more than that.

If I were to guess, based on Apple’s prior pricing tiers, I would bet $500-$600 to start for a men’s watch and $1,000-$2,000 for the higher end gold models. Plus, the bands aren’t standard for a reason: $$$.

I actually like the Moto 360 a lot. It looks really high quality in person, and $250 is a pretty good price, I think.

One of my colleagues got one on Friday morning because his prior iphone wifi was broken. He said the Verizon store only had 2 of the 6+'s and tons of regular size 6 phones. It’s pretty slick, and with verizon’s $200 trade in credit, was pretty cost effective for him.

Thing about the Apple Watch is that people must add the cost to their existing iPhone budget. Say you budget $400 for an iPhone. With the watch, you must now budget $750+. I figure that the watch probably has a 2 year life, like the phone. The average Apple customer probably will not spend the extra money. So, I wonder what is the target uptake for the watch. Is Apple just trying to lock in the high end consumer, or do they offer the watch just because other companies offer watches also?

I got my company phone today, iphone 6 but no one at the carrier or at my company knows how the hell to activate it. Pain in the ass. Just had to add that to this thread.

I still have an iPhone 4s, and verizon will give me $200 for it, making my net phone upgrade for an iPhone 6 come to $100 total. I have to admit that’s a pretty attractive incentive to upgrade. I don’t think I’ll get more money for my old phone any other way, and it’s time to upgrade to something…

I understand where you are coming from with this, but I think it will be surprising how many people elect to use the watch. When the iPad came out a lot of people felt that there would be little need for what is essentially a big iPhone. However, the iPad serves a purpose that is separate from the iPhone. While the iPhone can do most of the same things, it is not ideal for many applications. I think the same thing will happen with the watch. People will want it for many applications where it is easier to use than the iPhone.

I think you underestimate the average Apple customer.

I see it as both a reactive move because other companies are aggressively producing watches, and a proactive move to further develop barriers to exiting the iOS ecosystem.

Other companies are adding value to the Android ecosystem by producing watches. If Apple doesn’t also produce one, then their ecosystem loses relative value. At the same time, if someone drops $500 on an Apple watch, their barrier to exit suddenly goes up astronomically. If they switch to Android (or WP), their $500 watch is rendered useless.

It’s not a defensive move, smartwatches are a curiosity at best right now. Buying Beats, that was a defensive move as this was a popular high end consumer electronics brand that found gaps in Apple’s armor.

Of course it’s a defensive move. Apple is trying to protect the value of its ecosystem by developing products that are at least comparable to Android’s. Smartwatches may be a curiosity, but enough market research has gone into this segment that every major player seems to believe that they’re going to sell well. If they do, and Android dominates smartwatches, that hurts Apple pretty badly since people would have to move to Android to enjoy a smartwatch unless Apple produces one.

Defensive moves against products that haven’t taken off and competitors have totally failed in making? Cool story bro. Apple is doing this because they think this is a good emerging product class and they can do it really well.

What is more likely is Google releasing a huge slate of smartwatch clones of the Apple Watch as a defensive move, because unlike other swatches, this one may be a success.

Apple Watch clones? Is that what we’re going to call smartwatches, now, even though they have been on the market in various forms for nearly two years?

I hardly call the Moto 360 (which beat the Apple Watch to market by about six months, is equally functional, much better looking, and completely sold out) a “failure”. And they’ll be near releasing version 2 by the time Apple gets theirs out.

Smartphones were on the market too before the iPhone. That did not stop Google from totally revamping Android to mimic Apple and release a set of iPhone clones.

The Apple Watch is square just like the Android-bases Asus Zen. Ergo, Apple mimicked Asus.

I would argue that the Apple Watch is actually quite different from, for example, the Moto360 or the Asus product. The interface based on the crown as well as the touch with pressure sensors is different. The PITA with a watch is that it is so small it could be hard to work with. I don’t know if Apple’s interface solves this, but it is different and the company has a history of coming into a relatively new, evolving market and dominating (smartphone, tablet, mp3 player). I would not say launching any of those was a defensive or offensive move. It was just something that made sense. I view the watch as a bullish sign for AAPL. It is certainly better than if they only released the iPhone 6 and nothing else.