Samuel Gibbs, writing for The Guardian:
The chief executive of watchmaking corporation Swatch has dismissed the Apple Watch as an “interesting toy”, as he set out the company’s smartwatch plans.
Nick Hayek Jr said that later this year Swatch will sell smartwatches that last nine months per battery. The company launched its first smartwatch in 2003 in partnership with Microsoft, and have sold connected watches since 1996.
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Hayek Jr said: “The Apple watch is an interesting toy, but not a revolution.”
“These devices, which all eat so much power that they last no longer than 24 hours without needing to be plugged in. In addition, the user immediately loses control of their data. I personally don’t want my blood pressure and blood sugar values stored in the cloud, or on servers in Silicon Valley.”
This from a company so original, they lifted their new catchphrase directly from Steve Jobs.
I honestly have not considered Swatch as a viable brand in 20 years.
Swatch is still in business? I thought they went out in 1989. Talk of desperation…
Actually he said “not even 24 hours without plugging them in” (keine 24 Stunden ohne Steckdose). Which makes him look even more afraid.
“In addition, the user immediately loses control of their data. I personally don’t want my blood pressure and blood sugar values stored in the cloud, or on servers in Silicon Valley”
He obviously doesn’t understand how Apple’s HealthKit works.
I just be doing something wrong: I can’t get the Watch below 50% so far.
Where CEO trash-talk is concerned, past is prologue.
That was the most striking statement to me. He’s spreading the FUD on nice and thick.
The Swatch brand certainly lost most of its appeal since the 90s, but the Swatch group of companies owns some of the most lucrative luxury watch brands in existence.
But I agree on the desperation part. Quite obviously their brands in the below $1k segment do already feel the pain. And even worse, their chances of creating an even remotely comparable ecosystem are flat zero.
“I personally don’t want my blood pressure and blood sugar values stored in the cloud, or on servers in Silicon Valley.”
Because the hackers will know your blood pressure!
Assuming they could find your anonymized record and decrypt it.
Scary!!
I spent 8 days in Paris and London last week. I found the Apple watch to be an amazing tool for navigating both cities discreetly (without looking like a tourist; glued to my phone). In addition to a decent run, we walked an average of 7 miles each day exploring. There was not one moment where I was concerned about the battery life of my watch. I actually think I ended each day with my battery being greater then 40%. Definitely worked as a nice travel companion.