I guess they will go through the stores initially but maybe Apple can do deals with watch retailers…

having space for notification comes a distant second to looks. The watch industry is almost pure fashion. Hence a round screen is better than a sqaure one even if its less practical for displaying stuff.

Actually, this is not unusual for launches when Apple introduces a new device in a new category where it does not have an existing offering. If you don’t have a watch in market, it is OK to pre-announce, as there are not sales of existing product to hurt. In fact, it is better and expected to pre-announce to try to freeze sales from its competitors. Your observations are correct when it comes to introducing new models of existing products (iPhone 6, for example). Apple can’t afford to pre-announce it and freeze its own iPhone 5 sales.

– What kind of risks and logistical challenges are presented by more than 30 SKUs, many with inevitably low volumes?

– Where do you sell them? There are very few Apple stores in juiciest markets of the world and this is not something one would sell at Best Buy. Is Apple going to partner with jewelry and specialty watch stores? Or high end clothing chains? Or high end department stores, such as Nordstrom? Sport edition versions may sell better at sporting goods stores, so should we expect a partnership with such a chain that is limited to those versions? In the US, there are chains such as REI that could pull that off, but do all the other countries have high end stores focusing on outdoors or on running?

– How do you market two watches, with one costing *merely* $350 and the other $1000(?), carrying the same brand name, without the *cheap* one sullying the reputation of the expensive version?

etc etc.

>”The limitations of this device are likely to keep its appeal limited to the die-hard Apple fan base.”
Which device that Apple has released in the last decade and a half were not met with this comment initially? 🙂

> “It is square and fat. 85% of wristwatches sold in the market are round”
85% of wristwatches sold in the market show only an analog watch face. With more information to show, such as maps, and the need for touch targets for interaction, such as during messaging, round would give up a lot of area without reducing the heft.

>”Third: It requires an iPhone to function making it very clear that this is an accessory rather than a new product category in its own right.”
iPhone and iPad used to require a PC. In any case, being limited to iPhone owners mean being limited to hundreds of millions of customers. This is a watch that starts at $350 and might hit $1000 with the gold body and other options. Is it really a concern that Apple is giving up on people who can only afford $200 phones or who are satisfied with them even if they could afford to trade up?

>”Consequently, I am sure it will outsell all of its competitors by miles but critically, I think it will fall short of bullish expectations.”
I guess I had low expectation to begin with. The difference in sales volume between watches and phones have been tremendous, so if the expectations are for 10 million units, I think Apple can pull it off. If expectations were for 100 million units, yeah, it will not get there. On the other hand, with 5.5” screen pulling out your iPhone may become “too impractical”, so we may all need a watch for notifications, payments, setting thermostats etc. 🙂

Personally think online there may be a case to supplant Paypal (to some extent) but the card infrastructure in the US still remains to basic for physical headway to be made anytime soon.