Apple Watch: Responses + Reactions

I was asked to provide my reaction to the launch of the Apple Watch. This excerpt was originally published in The Drum. Here are my thoughts…

It will be interesting to see how brands think about extending their identity into the Apple Watch screen and more interesting to see how consumers adopt these new features. Today, we can use our phones or computers to check the time so watches have actually become statement pieces that say something about who we are as people. These new customizable watch faces represents an interesting opportunity for us to share a little bit more about who we are and what we like: i.e. if you can customize the watch face that is a) a great way for customers to personalize their watch and b) an opportunity for brands to extend their identity into the smart watch. For example, if I’m a huge surfer, I may want to set the watch face to the activity tracker and surf report, all powered by one of my favorite surf brands, letting others know it’s a personal passion.

Wearable technology is only as good as it’s original purpose – so if a smart watch doesn’t tell the time elegantly as it’s primary purpose, then no one is going to care that it also connects to their other ‘smart' devices, tracks their health or accesses popular social media apps because they are not native functions of a wristwatch.

The success of smart watches hinges on consumer adoption of the technology for the absolute simplicity of being a watch first. That the watch also happens to be smart and connected to the ecosystem of other connected devices comes second. Keeping true to what a watch is meant to be will be critical to the success of mass adoption of these new devices.