The Stupid, It Runs Deep

The Macalope takes a look at a Fortune piece headlined “Why Android Wear Will Give the Apple Watch a Run for Its Money”.

iPhone users won’t be able to download third-party apps either, though this should be less of a dealbreaker.

Sure, who likes downloading apps? Practically nobody. Most of those “billions of apps downloaded” numbers Apple likes to report come from one guy in Duluth, Minnesota.

This guy has it completely backwards. The tight integration required between today’s smartwatches and their tethered phones means that anything other than a first-party solution is going to be rough going. Apple Watch only works with iPhone, and iOS is tied down such that no other smartwatch is going to offer a competitive experience for iPhone users.

Like I wrote two weeks ago, this is why I think the stakes are higher for Apple with the new Apple TV this year than they were for Apple Watch last year. Set-top boxes aren’t integrated with your phone. An iPhone user can freely choose a Roku or Fire TV or Chromecast and have a great experience. Apple TV has to be excellent, on its own, for it to succeed.

★ Tuesday, 8 September 2015