Expanding Apple Watch Beyond The Current Collections
Understanding why people stop wearing Apple Watches should be critical for Apple. I can say that several things interrupted the bond that was developing between me and my Watch: a lack of Sport Band comfort (remedied by replacing it with a Milanese Loop), buggy/laggy watchOS software, and too few things to actually do with the Watch. Although those were all contributors, %(emphasis-hover)daily recharges and a lack of guaranteed waterproofing% have been bigger issues for me. I would like to wear the Watch when I shower and sleep, but as it is, I don’t feel comfortable doing either of those things.
I do not agree with Horwitz that the Sport band is uncomfortable, I use this band every day. I do want the Watch to be more waterproof. A big part of the Watch is fitness. Most fitness activities include water, whether that be showering or full-on swimming, so having the Watch be guaranteed to sustain these conditions would be fantastic. However, it’s difficult to do this across the board as the tolerances of waterproof products require different priorities in the design process.
Here’s what I think Apple should do. In future Apple Watch revisions, Apple should make even clearer distinctions between the Sport, Watch and Edition collections. As it stands today, they are basically the same product with different casing and default band choices. What I think they should do is give each collection distinguished identities. %(emphasis-hover)Give the Apple Watch Sport truly sporty features (like real waterproofing or using materials that are super-durable)% that would otherwise upset the beauty of the standard ‘Apple Watch’ model. Make the Apple Watch Sport the primary choice for fitness, even if that means sacrificing some of the fashion appeal of this collection. The other models can look the best.
I don’t think the Sport collection should be thought of as the cheap option. Obviously, it is for 2015 but adding such identity-defining features may make it more expensive. That’s fine as long as Apple keeps the $349 price point somehow, may be by making a cheaper Watch collection or adding a new collection entirely to fill that pricing gap.