Apple sent out an email blast this week marketing the Apple Watch as a Mother’s Day gift recommendation:
Help her do it all and look great, too. Whether she’s working or playing, Apple Watch is
the perfect Mother’s Day gift to help her stay connected and active throughout the day.
The email was fine as far as marketing messages go. It featured the message above plus a nice photograph of a woman wearing an Apple Watch Sport with a band color-matched to her jacket. “Celebrate her with a gift she’ll love” and “Finally, something that can keep up with her” cleverly nudged you into making Apple Watch the fashionable fitness tracker gift for the May 8th holiday.
But it also reminded me of a recent experience I had in an Apple Store and a realization about Apple Watch right now. Agree or disagree, I believe the window on buying the first-gen Apple Watch has closed, and in almost every situation potential customers should wait for Apple Watch 2.
I’ll start with my recent shopping experience at an Apple Store. I had a Genius Bar appointment to replace a defective iPad display during an out-of-town visit with my mom. I moved to the iPhone SE and gave my mom my iPhone 6s Plus, and we’d been chatting about fitness and exercising over the weekend.
Her birthday is in May, just a few days after Mother’s Day, so I thought about maybe buying an Apple Watch Sport on the spot as an early gift. Then I considered the downsides to mine — speed and functionality — and I thought about how long Apple Watch has been out and how a refresh is due this fall. Even at $300, down from $350 before March, I couldn’t bring myself to hit go on the purchase even with the birthday/holiday excuse.
The fact is the Apple Watch was introduced 18 months ago, has been on sale for 12, and probably has another 5 months left before being upgraded. We’re at the tail end of its run before being refreshed by an overdue upgrade.
New color options, band varieties, and a price drop make it more compelling right now, but there’s a reward for those who wait. The hardware you buy today, even in rose gold Sport with a Nylon Woven band, is the same hardware introduced a year ago.
Just wait. The next Apple Watch will likely debut this fall alongside new iPhones, which typically launch in September. Whether or not Apple Watch 2 looks different, features a FaceTime camera or cellular connection, or has features we haven’t imagined yet, it will surely be faster and just better at doing what the current Apple Watch already does.
It’s not that there’s anything totally wrong with the Apple Watch. It’s easily criticized, but I generally really like mine. I wear it everyday and would honestly miss not having it, plus it’s way more motivational as a fitness tracker than dedicated bands I’ve tried in the past. It’s just that I expect Apple Watch 2 will be that much better at everything Apple Watch already does. Apple Watch has been on the market for 12 months now and the weak spots are hard to miss. Take it from me: wait 5 or 6 months and see what Apple Watch 2 has to offer.
Speed improvements, reduced glare and increased brightness, better microphones and louder speakers. Any of these changes would make waiting a few more months worth it if you plan on buying an Apple Watch and not replacing it soon after.
Consider past upgrades of first generation Apple hardware too. iPhone to iPhone 3G gained much faster cellular connectivity. iPad to iPad 2 added speed, cameras, reduced weight, thinness, and a new color option. If Apple Watch to Apple Watch 2 is anything like those changes, at this point it’s worth the wait.
There are a few exceptions to my recommendation. If you’re buying a used Apple Watch or find a deal (say, on 9to5Toys) that’s seriously below the $300, then buy now if you’re in the market and strongly consider upgrading in the fall. I’d say $150 is the most you should spend at this point (that’s about the price of a fitness tracker anyway). If you haven’t bought an Apple Watch yet and really want to collect the first generation product, then buy new now or wait until Apple Watch 2 and buy used for less in the fall. Or if you just really want an Apple Watch now and couldn’t care less about what Apple Watch 2 offers, go ahead … if you must.
Finally, a note on bands. We don’t know for sure that Apple Watch bands now will fit Apple Watch 2 when it debuts, but I’d bet money on it. Apple Watch can get a whole lot thinner before it needs to change the band connector unless it goes narrow instead. I believe that Apple continuing to introduce new bands throughout the year suggests we’ll see band compatibility for several generations.
Do consider color, however, as not all bands technically match. I have a stainless steel Apple Watch with Classic Buckle band (although I primarily use black Sport), but plan to buy a space gray Apple Watch Sport next time around which wouldn’t match.
So that’s my advice: Apple Watch is fine, but its flaws and time on the market mean you should probably wait until Apple Watch 2 if you haven’t bought one yet … even for Mother’s Day (sorry mom). Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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The S1 has 28 nm process and imagine the S2 will use a 16/14 nm. This will help with increased power and improved battery life. I think the S2 will make the apps feel much faster.
I think the S2 and cellular connectivity will be the best reasons to wait for the next generation Apple Watch.A standalone device with quicker apps and longer battery life will make waiting until this fall for a new model much worth the wait.
I wish the end generation would gain wireless charging, but that will probably wait for the 3rd generation model. The current inductive charging requires you to remove the watch to charge it. Wireless charging would allow you to constantly wear it and make battery life a non issue for the Watch.
Wireless charging is especially key when Apple releases and Apple Watch that does true health tracking. To best monitor your vital signs keeping the device always on your wrist is best.It can’t track your heart rate and rhythm and other vitals when its charging off your wrist.
Does wireless charging that isn’t inductive exist yet?
Yes
I would feel heat while anything electronic is charging next to my skin and that can be a health hazard. I wouldnt want that happening.
Please tell me more about this magical “wireless charging” which requires no contact between device and charging pad. I’m very curious!
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2016/01/apple-finally-getting-serious-about-wireless-charging-systems.html
That’s a patent. That’s not a product that exists.
the S2 chip is only speculated and not guaranteed to add that much speed… the efficiency will be improved to possibly add GPS and other functionality that will maintain the “all day battery life”.
Most apps feel slow at the moment because some of them run from the phone… other apps native on the watch are slow because of how they have been designed…but, the new chip will make more of an impact on some apps more than others…
Cellular isnt essential – but they may add an LTE watch with a higher price tag (just like ipad) but the idea is to sell it as a companion to the iphone (an aim to convince people to use iphone).
@taoprophet420 what wireless charging would work in a watch that is efficient and wont add weight and bulk???
Solar will affect the screen contrast… and other wireless forms are not efficient enough…
That ship sailed last September. I always considered the release date to be September 2014. Not when Apple released it early last year. Plus it’s a first gen product that would be tough to sell once the second gen comes out.
I want to see what the second gen has to offer. First gen is old news.
You should have considered April 24th, 2015 -when it was launched- as the release date, though, not september 2014. That doesn’t make sense. In september it was just the announcement. Release date means the date when a product will first become available for sale to the general public, not when the manufacturer first announces it.
In my book that’s 6 months old already. When Apple announces the iPhone that bad boy is released within 2 to 3 weeks…not months after the fact.
Apple should have announced it March 2015 and released it April.
@Cdm283813
The reason they couldn’t release it after a month of announcement is due to the apps. No one will buy One that only has a few apps. It is different then a new iPhone that already has over a million apps.
The 2-3 week mark is for later generations. They released the original iphone months after announcing it. The same happened with the first ipad. Besides, six months old? How can a product get old if it’snot even out in the market yet and people haven’t used it?
Just to ellaborate on my previous comment, the first iphone was announced at the WWDC in June 2007 and released in september of that year. The original ipad was announced in January 2010 and went on sale in march (wifi only, cellular until april). So for first-gen products they do wait longer between announcing and launching.
Some people don’t want to wait, since we don’t know when the Watch 2 is going to be announced. Some people aren’t as concerned about that. If the Watch 2 was being announced in a couple of months, that would be different, but we don’t know when it’s going to get released, it might be in Sept, or later until it’s announced.
That is true, especially considering that, for most people, buying an Apple Watch has been an option for less than a year. The availability of the watch was extremely limited between its release in April 2015 and July of that year and in many countries even until september (thanks Angela Ahrendt!)
Here’s a question: If I was to buy an Apple Watch today, I love the Milanese Loop, but I can only really justify getting the Sport watch. I’m happy to buy a Sport + Milanese loop, but I’m worried the stainless steel band will clash against aluminium Watch.
Obviously I’m waiting for the second-gen Watch, but it’s worth thinking about now, assuming the bands will be the same.
It will clash, I had a friend who did that and regretted it. The sport + Milanese loop will cost around $500, the Steel + Milanese Loop is only $200 more, but it looks much nicer.
I always like having the latest thing for as long as possible. I waited until August to buy a car so that I could get the next model year as soon as it came out. With Apple stuff, if I don’t get it in the first month, I wait. I got the iPhone 5s and iPad Air within a month, and the iPhone 6s and Apple TV 4 on launch day.
opinion: that window has never been open
A few issues with this — the Apple watch has only been on the market for a year, regardless of being announced 18 months. That means it doesn’t necessarily mean an apple watch 2 is coming in september — it could be announced around october and apple watch 2 come out next year (one year SE, the following year apple watch…this would seem like a better plan… rather than releasing a watch around the same time as their flagship iphone and leaving a gap in the market)… plus – buying a watch every year would seem like the product isnt very good — i would expect a smartwatch to last at least 2 years, preferably 3-4 years.
There is also the issue of the price — currently the watch is cheaper from the apple store…even cheaper elsewhere — when the new apple watch comes out it will go back up… the price has been one of the things that put me off as an early adopter.
My birthday is next week… i have the uncharted PS4 coming May 10th, and i will be putting birthday money towards a smartwatch… my fitness friend has tried to convince me to get a fitbit (not really for me… i put my running shoes away 2 years ago after an injury)…another friend recommended the pebble time (cheaper and good battery life…but it’s too basic for me)… so now that the apple watch is cheaper and i have money at hand, i don’t mind jumping on the bandwagon…
For those who don’t need to newest of tech, who are conscious about how much money they are spending, and are unsure how much they will use it — then now is a good time to buy… it’s got WatchOS3 coming out next month, it recently got some new bands, and it recently got a price drop — plus even though there are rumours a new one will come out in september, there are also rumours it will only be announced.
Plus…can you really hold off getting a watch 5-6 months, just for the sake of possibly being slightly faster with a few extra features that are only rumoured and make not even make it…lol
Sounds like Apple Watch 2 will be more akin to an ‘s’ upgrade than a truly new device. I’m waiting for Apple Watch 3.
The masses are not interested in the smartwatch category, no matter who makes them. Just look at the millions of people with all brands of smartphones, and practically no one is wearing a smartwatch. So no one will care about the Apple Watch 2, just like no one really cared about Apple Watch 1, except for a few hundred people that chat on tech forums. Don’t you think it is interesting that Apple refuses to release sales figures for the watch, but they have no problem touting the number of iPhone and Mac sales. The few that I have seen out in the wild, don’t get used often…the person is always reaching for their phone instead. The Fitbit does a way better job with fitness tracking, and lasts a week on a single charge. That is one Apple product I have no problem skipping. The Apple Watch is about as popular as the iPod Hi-Fi.
I have a smartwatch and I feel like for the price they’re an extremely poor value. An apple watch is a companion device and should be priced as an accessory. It should be $200 with the sport model being $170. They also need a round watch. It looks too nerdy in it’s current state.
One should absolutely wait. I bought the first generation Stainless Steel watch with a white sport band and have been itching to buy steel/leather bands but I’ve held off for now until I can see if the bands will work with the next generation. I really hope apple keeps the same band design. But tbh, I don’t really know what more I want from a watch, I don’t feel as if there is anything that will compel me to upgrade, battery life and functionality are really good and I don’t see a point in a thinner watch as I really like the way the current one sits on my wrist. But I guess apple always finds a way. The biggest problem with the apple watch, especially the stainless steel ones is the devaluation. With a second hand market literally non-existant, I may end up deciding it’s best to keep my watch than sell it for a third or less of the price I payed. I’m really curious to know your thoughts on this. Thank you, and keep up the good work Zac!
Your suggestion is the rule I always follow with all Apple products – always hold out for at least the second generation of a new product line. Historically they’re always a big improvement over the first generation :)
I totally agree with you Zac and thanks for your opinion! You confirmed my own thoughts about waiting for the next gen Apple Watch. IMHO it’s really better to wait. I remember feeling disappointed when IPhone did not originally come out with 3G and again when IPad 2 came out making my iPad practically obsolete! It could even handle the upgrade to iOS 5 without shutting down frequently due to so little ram. I will not make the same mistake by buying the first gen IPad Pro 9.7, am waiting for Watch 2 and waited for iPad Air 2 for all the reasons you mentioned about first gen Apple products. After owning a first gen IPod Touch then IPad I’ve learned my lesson. It’s so much better to enjoy the anticipation of waiting for a better experience and product.
I disagree and judging by my peers and folks I see, the watch is reaching new levels of market penetration. It was a hardly seen novelty item a few months ago. Now I notice it everywhere. It isn’t a huge investment especially in a sport model for under $300. But it somehow feels like a $150-200 item. I don’t see the point in waiting but also look forward to version 2. I suggest getting it now when Bestbuy discounts it every couple of weeks. It’s a useful fun item.