In this week’s episode we follow-up on Episode 15’s console discussion, and then dive into the Apple Watch introduction. We cover why we were disappointed in the presentation, and discuss the luxury market in Asia and why the Edition will cost thousands of dollars. And then we go back for seconds. And thirds.
(Note: This is an updated version that removes a gap present in the previous version)
Links
- Ben Thompson: Gaming and New Market Disruption – Stratechery
- Ben Thompson: Friction – Stratechery
- Ben Thompson: Apple Watch: Asking Why and Saying No – Stratechery
- Ben Thompson: Whither Liberal Arts? – Stratechery
- Benjamin Clymer: A Watch Guy’s Thoughts On The Apple Watch After Seeing It In The Metal – Hodinkee
Hosts
- Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery
- James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
Podcast Information
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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What if Tim Cook’s Apple isn’t about making the best-designed products with a purpose but rather the best-designed platforms for people to decide what they want? I think their purpose for the wearable is laid out in their home, health, and wallet platforms, and they are leaving the rest to developers…
I’m surprise you guys dismissed the HealthKit aspect of Apple Watch. I’m even more surprise no one mentioned HomeKit’s potential to extend the functionality of Apple Watch.
Great podcast as usual guys.
Spot on regarding the decoupling of price and function in the Chinese luxury good market.
Quick story from a few years ago during a trip in Hong Kong visiting relatives:
I was window shopping electronics in Time Square in Causeway Bay, which is one of the more expensive shopping malls in HK. The plan (as is the case for many Hong Kong natives) was to try out a bunch of electronics then go buy it at another shopping mall in a suburb with lower rental costs. I was talking to the clerk about technical specs of a new camera when a tourist from the mainland pushed in front of me and spoke in heavily accented Cantonese the following sentence: “I would like to buy 10 of your most expensive cameras. Come on, be quick with it!”. I was a bit stunned but from the clerk’s facial expression, I could tell that this kind of thing isn’t very far outside the norm…
This actually happened, I kid you not!
That last 20 minutes of this episode that y’all sort of accidentally recorded was excellent. I hadn’t thought of the Apple event in such critical terms so I very much appreciate you bringing that perspective and bucket of insights to it. Now I think of the event, and the Watch very differently.