Why the Apple Watch is not the next iPod

Obviously the Apple Watch is the talk of the town today. Wired went as far as comparing it to the launch of the iPod. It’s a nice idea - very nostalgic and all - but I disagree.

As much as I want one, and probably will get one, I just can’t see that it will get anywhere near the traction that the iPod did, in its current form at least. And the one big reason for that is that it requires an iPhone. Much the same way as the original iPod required a Mac. And they didn’t sell very many.

It wasn’t until the release of iTunes for Windows in 2003 that it really started gathering momentum. I can’t see Apple releasing an Android-compatible version of the Watch, so I fail to see how they can sell many of them. I’m sure it will be at the top of its category, but I can’t see it coming close to being the next iPod, unless Apple can find it in their hearts to make an OS-independent version, or a standalone version.

Clearly, this won’t be news to anyone at Apple, so I’m interested to see how they close the loop on this.

Tom Hicks

Tom Hicks

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