The Apple Watch isn’t even out yet, and already it’s picking up some fairly high profile cheerleaders.
Not long after T-Mobile CEO John Legere jumped on the Apple Watch bandwagon by predicting the device will “mark the tipping point when wearables go from niche to mainstream,” MailOnline North American CEO Jon Steinberg has announced his Apple fandom, too — by viciously trashing the competition.
Check out his comments after the jump:
“The amount of tracking devices and wrist devices is almost mind-boggling to me. I’ve seen five or six that have been launched right now and Apple, in my opinion, is going to basically destroy all of these guys,” Steinberg said during an appearance on CNBC’s technology and media show Squawk Alley. ” None of them are really priced that much cheaper, they’re all at about $150 or $250. If you’re going to buy a wearable, and it’s early debated how big that market is, I don’t know why you possibly buy one of these. All these basically do, most of them, are accelerometers, all they do really is track how much you move, the functionality is very limited, so I think if you’re going to buy one of these it’s going to be Apple. It’s coming out in March. I don’t see people buying these other devices we’re seeing at CES.”
For those that don’t know, Steinberg’s a pretty smart and influential guy. Not only was he previously President and COO over at BuzzFeed, but he’s also now steering the ship at the MailOnline — a website that just happens to be the world’s biggest English language news site.
To put that in context, it’s the equivalent of what it would have been like to have Rupert Murdoch proclaim himself a Mac user for life back in 1984 — or for William Randolph Hearst to say he’d only be driven around in a Ford Model T in 1908.
Via: Patently Apple
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
22 responses to “CEO of most-visited news site says Apple Watch will flatten competition”
I’ve already decided that I want the 42mm space black stainless steel with the link bracelet strap (for formal) and a black sport strap (for casual / workout).
Really? Isn’t he some well known Apple fan? Good to see Apple jumping on the bandwagon of wearables.
The Apple Watch has been in R&D for like three years. It was the rumors of Apple making one that sparked other manufacturers like Samsung to rush shitty ones out to market.
While I agree on your view on Samsung’s strategy, I’d rather give the credit to Pebble on starting the smart watch trend than to Apple. I also heard about those Apple watch rumours yet I was very unimpressed when it came out, though I’m sure they will sell millions.
So which smartwatch looks impressive to you? Moto360? Lol…that one looks like a $20 watch in convenient stores. Samsung Gears (how many? 6?) are like a brick on the wrist.
None really. Maybe a combination of the Nike fuel band and the Microsoft band would do but at the moment they are all not very attractive. If I actually needed to buy one, I’d buy a Garmin running watch for sports or a Pebble watch.
The issue is that I really do not want to be charging another device, specially one I carry on my wrist. Most current smart watches (Android and Apple watch) have one or 2 days battery life max. However, I’m not saying that this is a deal breaker and for many people it will be fine charging one more device as part of their daily routine, just not for me.
I like the idea, but I just couldn’t get passed feeling like such a dork wearing a shrunken iPhone on my wrist and talking into it in public. Especially in that you need an iPhone to make the thing work and not being a standalone device. Not to mention I am a financial professional that owns a decent sized formal watch collection- I feel like wearable tech is a bit unbecoming..
It depends on how conservative your clients are where an $18k watch is the price of admission. I am waiting for v.2 when it’s waterproof and I can wear it on the boat without fear.
My normal watch isn’t waterproof as most watches are just water resistant. The problem with smart watches is they have plugs for headphones, holes for speakers/microphones, etc. and it’s really hard to make those openings waterproof unless they put a removable cap on them, which makes it less convenient. Traditional watches don’t have headphone jacks, speakers, microphones, which makes them easier to make water proof.
Well…. We will see.
It works without an iPhone for many of it’s functions, you just need an iPhone for taking/making calls, and things like that, but it will tell time w/o iPhone, it will gather health/fitness data w/o iPhone, I’m sure there is a list of functions it will do w/o iPhone, but obviously certain things that require it. Just like Samsung Gear products require a Samsung product. I think at this point, it’s not really necessary to put an actual phone inside since the battery in these things is tiny, and I don’t think it’ll be a great phone. Maybe future products when/if they can get longer battery life with an actual phone inside, but I highly doubt people that buy watches with a phone are not going to also have a regular smartphone, which means multiple cellular accounts. And, no, Apple isn’t going to make this device work with other mfg phones as Apple doesn’t want to have to become an Android App developer, which they would have to do. Every platform has their own Health, Fitness, etc. core technology which is unique to each platform. I think when they tie the product to a phone, it adds functionality and that’s all. So, if you want an AppleWatch, get and iPhone. I don’t think the AppleWatch would be as good of a product if it didn’t require an iPhone.
I already know that I want one, the urge to get one is growing stronger each day. However, I really know that I need to wait for the second iteration. I am not going to buy a new one of these every two years, that is for sure.
I will buy the sport edition and all the future versions like I did for the iPhone and iPad.
+1, I’ll buy them as they’re released. One thing about Apple, they make superior hardware designs.
Exactly. I’m hearing some of the same ramblings, from geeks that I heard before the iPhone came out. I got a feeling this Apple Watch, and every iteration after it will be a huge success.
Hahaha. Mailonline the biggest british news website. Credibility gone
I don’t mean to hammer on the author but the tittle for this post was very “provocative”…
I actually might sit out the first revision. I hate saying this, but it usually takes Apple (like most companies) several revs of a new product to the point where I feel comfortable buying it. I’ve seen some of the latest patent filings and if any of that technology gets into their watch, it’ll be cool and I just simply don’t have an absolute need to have one in the first year. But I think it’s a great first stab, certainly better than what else is out there.
it took Samsung 6 generations to make Gears but they’re still not right. I guess 10 health/fitness sensors on Apple watch + tons of features and Apps are enough reasons to buy it. I usually don’t wear a watch, but I would buy Apple Watch if the battery lasts at least 3 days.
This
This has the old feel of an Apple release…betting that the wait will be well worth it, maybe Apple is headed towards it’s old shine?