25 March 2014

The Next Web: “Apple understands the difference between a pocket watch and a wrist watch”

I think you will want an iPhone on your arm, and in the beginning it will feel just as awkward as those soldiers must have felt when they first strapped their pocket watches to their wrists. To them, it felt unnecessary and maybe even made them feel a bit self-conscious. But after discovering how much easier it is work time into everything they do, the wrist watch became more than a convenience. It changed the outcome of wars. Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten

Interesting analogy, but like most analogies it can only go so far: a watch does a single thing, show the time, and very rarely two-three others like date or timer; a smartphone on the other hand performs dozens of separate functions and only grows more complex over time as you add new apps for new needs. Even ‘dumb phones’ could do much-much more than the single task watch. Fitting even a fraction of them on a watch-like device will require much more than just strapping an extra display to your wrist.

iWatch Mock-Up by Thomas Bogner

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