Two years later, Apple has figured out what the Watch is good for

It’s been exactly two years since Apple took the wraps off the Apple Watch, the first entirely new product for the company under the direction of CEO Tim Cook. But unlike Steve Jobs’ legendary introduction of the first iPhone, which focused on three main feature categories, the Watch was all over the place. It’s a precise timepiece, with high-end fashion bonafides! It can track your activity and workouts! It has apps, notifications and glances! You can send your friends your heartbeat or ridiculous emoji or inappropriate sketches! But you need your iPhone to do basically all of this!

It was a dizzying introduction. When the Watch launched in April of 2015, most reviewers agreed that there were a lot of interesting features, but it didn’t all come together in a coherent fashion. And the slapdash combo of features didn’t quite justify the product’s relatively high price. But now, with the introduction of the Watch Series 2, Apple has made it clear: if you’re not interested in health tracking, don’t buy an Apple Watch.

Essentially all of the features that separate the Series 2 Watch from the original model are focused on making it a better health- and fitness-tracking device. Onboard GPS makes it far more useful for running or hiking, especially without your phone. True water resistance means swimmers can use the Watch to track their performance, and it can even differentiate between activities in a pool or out in open water. A significantly brighter display means it’s easier to read when working out under the sun. A host of software updates will make it a better tracker than it was before — and there’s a Nike-branded model for those who want to access the shoe-maker’s custom workout software and “run club.”

The only new feature that isn’t specifically geared towards improved fitness tracking is the faster processor, but that’s a no-brainer after 18 months on the market and something all buyers will benefit from. The brighter display is great for all buyers as well, but the original Watch screen wasn’t exactly lacking. It was sometimes tough to read outside in direct sunlight, but the display is pretty far down my list of complaints with the first-generation Watch.

Apple’s website and branding reflects this shift in focus: the Series 2 page has four sections detailing the new Watch’s features, and three of them are entirely focused on health and fitness. The Watch’s many other features like notifications, apps and watch faces are all grouped together. And Apple barely even mentions the fairly ridiculous specialized communication options it touted so heavily when the device was announced. Apple hasn’t removed any features, but it has totally changed the marketing and conversation around what the Watch does.

It says a lot that that there’s no more “Apple Watch Sport” collection — it’s just Apple Watch, Series 1 or 2. The more expensive stainless steel cases still exist, but they live alongside the cheaper aluminum models that have sold much better. And Apple all but exited the luxury market it aspired to when the Watch was introduced. The insanely expensive solid-gold “Edition” models have disappeared without a trace. You can still easily price a watch up to over $1,000, Apple’s partnership with French fashion designer Hermes is ongoing, and there’s that fancy new ceramic model that’ll set you back a cool $1,250. But that’s still a far cry from the $10,000 starting point for a solid gold Watch.

Instead, Apple is making the Watch more affordable than ever. The Series 1 is cheaper than before ($269 and $299 for the 38mm and 42mm models, respectively), and Apple upgraded its processor to match that in the Series 2. If you’re not a swimmer and don’t need rigorous, GPS-assisted fitness tracking, the earlier model is a perfectly viable option for many potential buyers — that upgraded processor means it should last as long as the brand new model.

The question now is whether targeting fitness and health will be enough for the Apple Watch to be a significant part of the company’s business. A lot of fitness tracker companies have struggled to find a foothold in the market, and there’s a common perception that they end up in a drawer, forgotten after a few months.

We still haven’t heard concrete Apple Watch sales numbers — but the company says it is already the number two watch retailer in the world (by revenue). The Watch may not become Apple’s next world-beating product, but this more focused strategy will likely help it expand the market of potential buyers. And Apple’s recent keynotes have made it clear that health is a company-wide priority for the company, which makes the Watch a key part of the company’s strategy going forward. At the very least, Apple has firmly decided why the Watch exists. It just took a couple of years to get there.

Apple has quietly hiked the price of key products in the UK

The price of admission for Apple’s gadget wonderland is slowly rising in the UK. The company announced a slew of new products yesterday, including the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2, with a flurry of slides and promotional videos. But behind all of the grandstanding were some notable price increases; the smaller iPad Pro, for instance, now starts at £549, rather than £499. The 128GB model has been bumped to £639 — up from £619 — and all of the 4G-ready models have been notched up too. Weirdly, however, the standard 256GB model has been dropped by £10.

It’s a similar story with the larger iPad Pro, which now starts at £729, rather than £679. The 128GB model with cellular costs £939 — a smidge higher than the £899 price-tag it was sporting before. These shifts are particularly notable because Apple has just dropped its iPad prices in the US.

Then there are the AirPods. They’re $159 in the US, £159 in the UK.

The situation with the new iPhone is a little more complex. Apple has effectively doubled the storage in the iPhone 7 — instead of 16GB, 64GB and 128GB, you can choose between 32GB, 128GB and 256GB. It is, however, still possible to compare the 128GB phones, where another slight price shift has occurred. The iPhone 6s and 7 both cost £699, but the iPhone 7 Plus is £819 — a tad higher than its equivalent 6s Plus (£789).

You could argue the two phones are completely different products, deserving of different price tag. Maybe that’s true, but traditionally the cost of the iPhone has stayed the same between generations (the iPhone 5c and 5se were notable exceptions, however). In the US, Apple has continued this trend, doubling the iPhone 7’s storage without increasing the price. “We’re really excited to tell you that iPhone 7 costs the same as the iPhone 6s that it replaces,” Apple’s Phil Schiller stressed on stage yesterday.

We’ve reached out to Apple for an explanation — a weaker Pound and the recent EU referendum result is probably to blame. OnePlus has already tweaked the price of its latest flagship phone; HTC has done the same with the Vive, no doubt in response to Brexit concerns. Apple, in all likelihood, is preparing itself for future currency fluctuations. If and when the British government triggers article 50, setting in motion its departure from the EU, there could well be wilder swings in the financial markets. What we’re seeing now could be Apple giving itself a cushion ahead of time.

Via: MacRumors