Apple debuts $17,000 watch, some waiting for killer app

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc launched its long-awaited watch on Monday, including yellow or rose gold models with sapphire faces costing up to $17,000, but some investors questioned whether Chief Executive Tim Cook’s first product would be a breakaway hit.

Apple’s first new device since Cook became CEO will be available for order on April 10 and in stores on April 24, including chic boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo.

In a nod to both fashion and technology, Cook shared the stage with model Christy Turlington Burns, who used it to train for a marathon, and Apple engineers who showed how to send drawings, pictures and even heartbeats with the watch.

Apple shares barely budged, however. Investors and analysts agreed that Apple would sell millions to fans but questioned whether it had a “killer app” that would engage a broader audience. Apple in September gave a sneak peek of the watch which included many features shown on Monday.

“I think there’s a niche market for these kind of Apple tech people who love Apple and will buy anything they come out with. But I just don’t know if it’s going to be the power product that everyone’s looking for,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta, Georgia, who described Wall Street as “scratching its head”.

Members of the style establishment, in Paris for shows from the glittering likes of Chanel, Givenchy and Hermes mostly said they saw the watch as a gadget, not this season’s must-have accessory.

The Edition price tag which is inexpensive compared with a Patek Philippe Nautilus at just over $42,000 on 11main.com, inspired plenty of jibes on social media, including many who questioned whether it would become outdated and compared the price to a car’s. “Wonder what kind of gas mileage it gets,” asked Twitter user Christopher Caruso.

Nevertheless many made clear they wanted it. “My birthday is gonna rock this year… :-) #applewatch,” wrote Jay Runquist.

The Apple Watch sport will start at $349 for the smaller, 38-mm model. The standard version of the watch will start at $549 and the high-end “Edition” watch will be priced from $10,000, said Cook, who loved the Dick Tracy ability to hold phone calls by watch.

“I have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” said Cook.

The different models reflect different materials. A $17,000 Edition in the smaller, 38-mm size, has a case made from a customised version of 18-karat rose gold, which is especially hard, along with a sapphire display. It comes with a magnetic charging case.

A $349 Sport model the same size has an aluminium case, a ‘sport band’ and a magnetic charging cable, and no case.

All the watches share digital faces that can look like traditional time pieces, show the heart beat of a friend, and display photos and interfaces for apps.

“Apple’s been very good at personalizing its products,” said Angelo Zino, an analyst at S&P Capital IQ, who said the “intimacy” of the watch was appealing. He saw 10 million in sales this year.

In the presentation, Cook described the watch handling many functions currently associated with the iPhone, which tethers wirelessly to the watch and connects it to the Internet.

The watch will track exercise and remind wearers of events with a tap on the wrist.

Cook also laid out other product successes and launched a new MacBook notebook computer that starts at $1,299 and weighs as little as 2 pounds.

Every major car brand had committed to delivering Apple’s CarPlay entertainment system, and the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have 99 percent customer satisfaction rates, he said. The Apple Pay payment system is now accepted at 700,000 locations, and Time Warner Inc’s HBO in April will debut its streaming HBO NOW service on Apple TV.

Apple also is offering researchers new development tools, called ResearchKit, to help medical researchers design apps for clinical trials, the company said.

No “wow” factor?

source: interaksyon.com

Apple eyes future course with new devices

SAN FRANCISCO — Tech trend-setter Apple charts its future course Tuesday amid expectations for new big-screen iPhones and possibly an “iWatch” which could shake up the world of wearable computing.

Apple has maintained its customary arch silence, but a frenzy of speculation suggests a push into a new segment as it seeks to broaden the appeal of its iconic iPhone.

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said a widely predicted iWatch launch would “be one of its most important and brand-reinforcing launches in years.”

According to new Forrester data, 25 percent of US adults online anticipate purchasing a wearable device in the next year, and 42 percent are specifically interested in a wrist device.

“Apple will show again how computing platforms are won or lost on the one-two punch of eager consumers and hungry ecosystem partners,” McQuivey said.

Regaining its old magic

Apple is seeking to show that it hasn’t lost its magic and to shift attention from a recent celebrity photo theft scandal.

Tuesday’s event is at a performing arts center where late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 30 years ago, fueling talk that a new “big thing” is on the way.

“I’m expecting a few surprises, despite all the pre-event reports,” said Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe in a tweet.

Work on a wrist-worn computing device with a heath theme is believed to have begun years ago at Apple, inspired by Jobs and his battle with an illness that took his life in 2011.

Apple is fine-tuning a new mobile operating system that could allow for mobile payments and includes a health platform, which could mesh nicely with an “iWatch” for tracking activity, sleep, pulse and more and connecting to an iPhone or iPad.

Observers say the timing is right for Apple to introduce a generation of iPhone 6 models with screen sizes stretched to tap into love for “phablets” combining the features of smartphones and tablets.

An Adobe Digital Index report found that people prefer screens larger than five inches when browsing the Internet on mobile devices.

Browsing the Internet on smartphones with four-inch screens, like those on iPhones, dropped 11 percent during the past year, according to the report.

Apple has seen sales growth for iPhones, but slower than its rivals like Samsung, which sells an array of big-screen smartphones.

Dave Hoch at the research firm Localytics predicts a wave of upgrades because roughly one-fourth of the Apple devices in use are the iPhone 5 — which was released two years ago preceding the 5S and 5C — and are likely to be replaced.

“This is likely because most iPhones come with a cheaper price if the consumer locks into a two-year contract, putting the average consumer on a two-year upgrade cycle,” Hoch said in a blog post.

‘Blockbuster’ demand

Greg Sterling at Opus Research said this data suggests potential sales of 50 million units of the iPhone 6 for the US alone.

“These numbers argue it has the potential to be a blockbuster for Apple,” he said in a post on the Marketing Land blog.

The iPhone has a leading share in the US market of some 40 percent, but its worldwide share of the smartphone market is less than 12 percent, according to surveys.

Gartner analyst Van Baker predicts Apple will unveil an iPhone 6 with a screen increased to 4.7 inches, and that odds are strong for a 5.5-inch version.

“There is gigantic pent-up demand for a larger iPhone,” Creative Strategies president Tim Bajarin told AFP.

“Apple will likely have a monster fourth quarter.”

New iPhones are expected to feature near-field communication chips that will let them be used as mobile wallets, challenging services such as Square or Google Wallet.

Apple would be asking people to trust it with health and financial data after taking a bruising over the release of nude photos of celebrities including Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence from its cloud.

Apple says there was no breach of its iCloud and that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple.

source: interaksyon.com

Apple to unveil ‘iWatch’ on September 9: report

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple will unveil an “iWatch” in September with the maker of the iPhone finally embarking on its much-rumored foray into wearable computing, technology news website Re/code said Wednesday.

The California tech giant is expected to merge style and innovation, along with sensors and computing power, in a wrist-worn device that links wirelessly to iPhones or iPads.

Apple is believed to be planning a September 9 event at which it will introduce the iWatch, along with new-generation iPhone 6 smartphones with increased screen sizes.

The company has not sent out invitations to such an event, nor — as is standard Apple practice — has it commented on reports it will even take place.

Apple’s next-generation iPhones are rumored to have screen sizes stretched to 4.7 and 5.5 inches and have faster processors.

Apple typically updates its product cycle in the second half of the year, getting a lift from holiday sales.

Last year it unveiled the iPhone 5S and the lower-priced iPhone 5C in September, getting record sales at the launch.

Apple is tuning a new operating system which allows for mobile payments and includes a health platform, which could mesh nicely with an “iWatch” for tracking activity, sleep, pulse and more.

The system iOS8 is expected to be in the new iPhones.

source: interaksyon.com