Some thoughts on the iWatch

Very little is certain, but it seems to me that one of those few certainties include the announcement of some sort of Apple wearable device tomorrow. I’ve taken to calling this the “iWatch” - partly because thats what so many people have come to know it as, and also partly because I think its function as a fashion statement will be similar to that of a watch.

Despite tomorrow being the culmination of years and years of speculation, attention seems to mostly and firmly be on the also inevitable announcements of Apple’s new iPhone 6 lineup. Whether this is because that’s the product we’ll actually get to buy before the calendar strikes October or because that’s the more interesting of the two major product announcements is yet to really be seen.

It could also just be, of course, the simple fact that the smartwatch product category has yet to really prove itself. When Apple announced the iPhone in 2007, waves were made because everyone could inherently see the value of an always on, portable computer in a phone. With smartwatches, that’s not really the case. The vast majority of people remain unconvinced that a smartwatch - any smartwatch - can revolutionize the world like the smartphone has. That’s the reason the Pebble and the Galaxy Gear and the Moto 360 all haven’t really taken the world by storm - they have all failed to justify their existence by not making life meaningfully better for anyone.

Whatever Apple announces tomorrow, that needs to be the goal. Apple needs to show the world that a smartwatch can be more than just a cool accessory for your smartphone; Apple needs to prove that people will be truly better off owning a smartwatch than not owning one.

Apple did it once with the Mac, it did it again with the iPod, and it truly changed the course of the world forever with the iPhone. All eyes are on the company for doing it again tomorrow, and while the iWatch may be the announcement that people are talking least about, it is undoubtably the announcement that will be best remembered a decade from now.

The iPhone 6? It’s just a bigger iPhone.