Apple’s iWatch: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, And Why It Really Doesn’t Matter

The big Apple news to start the week is the so-called iWatch. Websites from The Wall Street Journal to Business Insider are hawking ‘news‘ about an Apple watch as if it was ready to be released to the masses (obviously starving for new products because the iPad is three years old already). As with most rumors about Apple there isn’t much to know except this isn’t news.

Old News Redux

From the WSJ comes an article by Jessica Lessin that Apple Is Testing Watch-Like Device. Sure they are. Uh huh. And Apple is likely testing many new products that won’t see the light of day.

Other news sites, particularly the Apple blogosphere, even have mockups of what a supposed Apple iWatch would look like.

The idea is compelling but it certainly isn’t new news. Even yours truly got in on the act in the summer of 2012 with Apple’s Next Insanely Great Thing Is Not A TV. It’s A Watch.

As much as I appreciate it that you visit my personal ramblings on Apple, I’ll save you a click. What are my sources? A fertile imagination and a glass of wine.

Without further adieu, here’s what a little late night alcohol and a MacBook on your lap can do.

“Everyone knows Apple plans to bring the company’s famed panache and chic design to a television, and integrate our viewing habits into the world’s most profitable technology and content ecosystem.

Everyone knows an Apple television is coming. Apple won’t deny it. These are the only issues:

• What will an Apple TV do that’s different?
• What will it cost?
• When will it be available?

As much as I’d like to see an Apple television, there are problems. Apple likes to charge a premium, and very good, smart, high quality HD screens these days cost less than an iPhone or iPad.

How can Apple justify a higher price tag to maintain the company’s notoriously outrageous profit margins? Apple’s products are multibillion dollar players in the tech gadget industry.

How many televisions can Apple sell to a world already overpopulated with dozens and dozes of manufacturers?

It doesn’t matter. Apple’s next insanely great thing won’t be an Apple television. It’ll be a watch.

Yes. A watch. The kind you wear on your wrist. This is an idea whose time has come, and an Apple watch fits in perfectly to the iOS ecosystem of Reminders, Notifications, music, movies, email, Twitter, and AirPlay.

The inspiration comes from comic book hero Dick Tracy, the police detective with the famed 2-way Wrist Radio.

Already there are watch wristbands for Apple’s iPod nano, which turn the iPod into a stylish, clever mood watch with functionality, so the idea isn’t far fetched at all.

I think of an Apple watch as not much more than a dumb screen on your wrist that receives signals via Bluetooth from your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or even your Mac.

Think about the possibilities. Phone calls could be originated from and sent to the Apple wrist watch. Music, TV shows, movies are a natural, of course, but I’m also thinking about Notification Center.

What better notification center could there be than your watch? It’s more ubiquitous than an iPhone and it’s not stuffed out of sight in your pocket or purse. It’s right there, on your hand, ready to use, always visible. Email, text messages, alarms and alerts could easily be routed from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac direct to your Apple watch.

Add Siri to the mix, and let the Apple watch act as your built-in microphone and speaker to communicate with Siri and your iPhone without touching the iPhone.

Use the Apple watch to dial out using Siri’s voice recognition. All you need is your iPhone or iPad or Mac within Bluetooth distance to make it all work.

An Apple watch would also be perfect for news flash alerts, sports scores, and VIP messages (which bypass voice mail). Siri would be useful to select music, TV shows, video clips, or movies, all of which could play on the watch screen.

The same holds true for your daily Calendar schedule. Tell Siri to give you a list of appointments, or reminders, or whatever, and an Apple wrist watch version shows up on the watches screen.

Who would buy an Apple watch? Anyone with an iPhone, iPad, PC, or Mac. We’d use the watch as an interface to the iPhone or iPad while on the go.

An Apple watch would need to last a few days before being recharged. And it wouldn’t take long for a wrist watch band industry to proliferate. How about putting the battery within the watchband (keep extra watchbands recharged and in different designs).

As much as an Apple designed television might be a monster (it’s usually one per household), there are more people in the world who would use an Apple watch attached to the Apple ecosystem.

Anybody up for watch apps?”

So, there you have it. Old news.

I do not have a doubt that the specifics of the news reports on Apple’s iWatch are true. To a point. Apple is busy thinking about the next great thing. Wearable iPhones? Why not? Projection keyboards? Sure. Siri-based Mac interface? Uh huh.

A watch? Why not?

From Appletown

Kate has A Few Words About An Easier, Faster, Better Way To Use Calendar On Your iPhone Or iPad. Ron asks the question everyone is asking. How Do You Find And Dispose Of iTunes Dupes? Duh. Dupe Away, My Friend. Dupe Away!

On a lighter note, and one that's certainly more fun, Tera shows us How To Use Your iPhone To Scare Store Employees When You Shop. The folks at Boomer show us How Shopping For Bargains Starts With What’s In Your Hand (plus Want, Need, Love). And, just in case you forgot, here's How To Use Your Mac And Scapple To Learn To Think Visually, Take Freeform Notes, And Mind Map.

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