Wrong ’em Bono

Apple Watch

Well, Apple’s media event has come and gone, including a performance by U2 (yawn) and while there was a lot to like about it, my predictions were pretty far off. Here’s the follow-up to my wacky ideas:

  1. There will be a watch, but it won’t be called iWatch. There will be multiple sizes and prices. The entry level price point will be $299.
    Mostly true. The watch is called AppleWatch (Watch), and there are two sizes, and multiple price points. I was too aggressive in my call for a sub $300 price point, but $349 isn’t too far off. 
  2. There will be another, more affordable wearable of some kind, maybe like a FitBit, or Care Predict Tempo. This would not have all the features of the watch, but would be more of a health and/or fitness device.
    Nope. 
  3. The wearable(s) will be branded Beats instead of, or in addition to, Apple.
    Nope. 
  4. There will be at least one woman on stage during the event, which is notable because these things are usually sausage-fests. Maybe Angela Ahrendts?
    Nope. 
  5. Siri will be featured and a major highlight of the new watch/wearable(s). I think the “Wish We Could Say More” text on the media invitation alludes to this, though I haven’t seen anyone else pick up on it.
    Not really. You can use Siri with the watch, but it wasn’t a highlighted part of the keynote the way I expected. 
  6. Apple will announce a mobile payments system and it will allow payments from the watch without carrying your phone.
    Partial credit. Yes they announced a mobile payments system, but that was widely expected. And yes you can use it with your watch, but all signs point to requiring communication with your phone to complete a transaction. 
  7. In the wake of the celebrity picture hacking scandal, Tim Cook will discuss upcoming iCloud security measures.
    Nope. 
  8. CarPlay will not be discussed
    A qualified “true”. Tim did mention CarPlay in the context of all the cool stuff coming soon from Apple, but nothing more than that.

So, that was fun but ultimately I won’t quit my day job to become a professional Apple-prognosticator. Maybe I’ll try something similar for the expected-though-not-yet-confirmed iPad/Mac/Yosemite event in October. In the meantime I’m gong to spend some intimate time with this gif of a certain special wrist-based-phone-interface.

Clasp

 

1 thought on “Wrong ’em Bono

  1. james

    you did a damned sight better than the chronicle tech guesser (david einstein, ironically) who wrote this idiotic statement just yesterday:

    “If you’re hoping Apple will announce a groundbreaking device at its annual product launch Tuesday, forget it. The company hasn’t created a new market since the iPad in 2010, and Steve Jobs’ death the following year all but consigned Apple to the realm of “just another tech company.”

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *