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What to watch for in the Apple Watch

Its been a month since the announcement of the new Apple Watch. The buzz has died down a bit but prognosticators have been trying to forecast what to expect when sales start at the beginning of 2015. Will the device live up to all the hype? Will it be another iPhone?

Smart watches have notably been a difficult market. Many have complained that the devices lack compelling usage; the benefits are relatively minor and they seem merely like smartphones strapped to the wrist. But if anyone can make smartwatches a hit, it’s Apple.

 

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The smartwatch is a potentially epic device. Based on Moore’s Law we know that the PC has been steadily shrinking over the past 30+years. Now with release of the Apple Watch we may just be seeing another iteration of this trend, bringing us back full circle to where it all started in 1977. Imagine that possibility. From a computer in every home to a computer on every wrist!

Let’s take a short review of some of the rich features contained in the Apple Watch, and why we have good reason to see the smartwatch revolution take off in the next 6 months.

Let’s take a short review of some of the rich features contained in the Apple Watch, and why we have good reason to see the smartwatch revolution take off in the next 6 months.

* Apple has innovated the way that users interact with the device through what it calls the “digital crown.” This is a catchy term for the knob on the side which gives us the 21st equivalent of winding your watch. The digital crown dial will allow users to scroll through the watch’s apps and features without blocking the screen with touch input. Again, the genius of Apple is in making the user experience pre-eminent.

* Apple Watch offers a feature rich set for the health and fitness crowd by using advanced sensors on the underside of the device to gather biometric feedback such as heartrate, calorie burn, and movement. Now there are plenty of devices out there that do these same things. What Apple has going for it is the ability to take existing technology and make it seamless and user friendly.

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* Apple’s biggest iOS release yet is number 8, which offers a new Health app to help users manage their health and fitness data. And for developers, Apple has added HealthKit, which will enable them to create great health and fitness apps to work seamlessly together. Through these channels, Apple is building a consumer oriented health and fitness ecosystem which may well spawn a larger health revolution.

* Apple Watch has garnered a lot of accolades for the way it redefines the user experience of smartwatches. It looks to single-handedly redefine the whole tech fitness market as well. As if that’s not enough, AW is looking to establish an epic new framework for the Internet of Things. One writer has captured this thought by calling the Apple Watch “the Internet of things’ new frontier.” He spells this out: “With the Apple Watch, Apple rejuvenates the watch as both a watch and a new kind of personal computing device. It’s a whole new dimension for the Internet of Things.”

 

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Much more can be said, but from all the signs we’ve seen so far, Apple Watch’s release in a few months may well signal an epic technological shift as the PC continues its downsized trajectory from our desktops to our pockets . . . and now to our wrists.

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About Jeffrey Walker

Jeff is a business development consultant who specializes in helping businesses grow through technology innovations and solutions. He holds multiple master’s degrees from institutions such as Andrews University and Columbia University, and leverages this background towards empowering people in today’s digital world. He currently works as a research specialist for a Fortune 100 firm in Boston. When not writing on the latest technology trends, Jeff runs a robotics startup called virtupresence.com, along with oversight and leadership of startuplabs.co - an emerging market assistance company that helps businesses grow through innovation.