Apple Watch: How the web reacted

Mar 11, 2015 | Mobile

The Apple Watch launched yesterday to much fanfare, but how did the digital community and social media at large react? We gather together some key comments and stats from the last 24 hours to forecast if Apple’s next big thing will fly or flop. Using the in-house insights and analytics tool, Hotwire analysed the social […]

The Apple Watch launched yesterday to much fanfare, but how did the digital community and social media at large react? We gather together some key comments and stats from the last 24 hours to forecast if Apple’s next big thing will fly or flop.


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Using the in-house insights and analytics tool, Hotwire analysed the social media buzz around the launch of the Apple Watch and found that 981,021 ntions were made over the 24 hour period from 9th March 09:00 GMT 10th March 09:00 GMT.
Hotwire monitored the terms “Apple Watch” “#AppleWatch” & “#AppleWatchEvent” and found the following insights around the conversation:
• Twitter Buzz: 981,021 tweets
#applewatch: 297,660
#applewatchevent: 42,078
• Sentiment:
Positive: 58%
Negative 42%
• What Twitter Loved:
Health: the health app was well received
Range of apps: there was a lot of discussion around the range of apps available
• What Twitter hated:
Cost: There were a lot of complaints over the price
Battery Life: Twitter users weren’t a fan of the limited battery life
High price and low battery life
With the watch receiving so much hype over the past year as consumers awaited the move from Apple into the wearables space, Mark Ellerington, Creative Director at Hotwire’s sister agency, branding & digital firm, CorporateEdge, commented on how it will fare this year and how it will impact brand and digital communications.
“Make no bones about this, this is an enormous gamble for Apple; one that they can definitely afford, but a gamble that might turn around to bite them in a years’ time,” Ellerington said. “Why is it a gamble? Well, never mind the price points, the battery life or the fact that you need to be part of the Apple ecosystem to use one, but most importantly, it has to win a lot of people over as a physical product – as an actual watch.
“It’s worth noting that the social negativity seems to be centred on the product itself (expense and battery life) and Apple will need to win consumers over through a focus on wider connected experience that the Watch can bring. Certainly, Apple has delivered a visually attractive product which will no doubt deliver the quality we all expect from the company, but it will have to answer to the demands of an increasingly tech-savvy user base who want more from gadgets these days.
“Apple is answering to these demands with the focus on digital health and a broad range of apps offered on the Watch, but it will be interesting to see how the watch fares over the course of the year and whether it can live up to the hype. It will have to blend seamlessly with daily life to draw people away from their iPhones and part with their cash.”
No sleep tracking leaves door open for fitness bands
From Ian Fogg, Director of Mobile Analysis, IHS Technology, said: “Apple’s pricing demonstrates the confidence it has in the new Apple Watch’s functionality, design and consumer appeal.”
“Unlike the original iPhone’s three main marketing messages, Tim Cook is pitching the Apple Watch as a versatile many-function device.”
“With 18 hours of battery life, the Apple Watch won’t deliver sleep tracking. This leaves room for other health bands.”
“The Apple Watch threatens to replace iPhone usage by aiming to deliver more convenient access to many similar functions. The Apple Watch can handle phone calls, leverage the iPhone via WiFi or Bluetooth, and doesn’t need a cellular radio built-in. This is unlike the approach of competitor smart watches from LG and Samsung which include a full mobile phone radio.”
Impact of a smart watch on consumer behaviour
Joey Moore, strategy director, Peerius, leading online personalisation company, comments: “There is no denying that Apple’s products have revolutionised the way that we work, live and socialise. But the challenge will be creating a market for the Apple Watch – appetite for a novelty will not be enough.
“Apple Watch will need to alter consumer behaviour as the iPhone did in 2007. However, consumers use their smartphones for everything – telling the time, booking a cab, browsing the latest shoes, posting photos of their lunch and making calls. With the Apple Watch relying on the iPhone to work, the real test will be if consumers want accessories for their trusted device companion.”
If Apple fails they all fail
Antonios Maroulis, Analyst, IHS Technology added: “Apple needs to prove why consumers need a smartwatch to confirm this is a mass market and to meet the expectations Apple has raised about the smartwatch category. If Apple succeeds, other smartwatch makers will benefit from the increased addressable market. If Apple fails to make a case, then the smartwatch category will remain a niche and all smartwatch makers will suffer.”
“The smartwatch market is still undefined. We are at a time similar to the point when Apple launched the iPhone into the smartphone market. All kinds of companies, smartphone OEMs, start-ups, wristwatch makers, are trying to catch the eye of consumers. Apple must ensure the Apple Watch’s signature features are not easy for competitors to implement on their smartwatch designs to maintain differentiation.”
“By offering 12 variants of its smartwatch, Apple is hoping to cater to every fashion. But with two watch sizes, two watch colours and three versions, Apple must be careful to maintain the right mix of inventory to meet consumer demand.”
Lacking a ‘killer app’
John Newbold, Creative Director at 383, commented on the launch: “The Apple Watch keynote showed Tim Cook’s vision of customers expressing themselves in fun and playful ways with emojis and heartbeats. However, after the novelty of a new wrist device has worn off, it’s the usefulness of the Apple Watch that will make or break it. Today’s event provided glimpses of what those useful experiences might look like – from making a payment, to storing flight information or hailing an Uber.
“But, as much as these examples provide hints at why customers will buy the Apple Watch, examples of whether it will remain on wrists in the long term were certainly a little thin on the ground. The keynote lacked that ‘killer’ app demo that many customers would have been waiting for, instead showing logical evolutions of Apple’s payment and passbook technologies. For brands looking to build apps then, the next few months will be about delivering useful customer experiences that make pulling a phone out of a pocket redundant,” Newbold warned.
Health and ResearchKit- a boost to healthcare industry
Shane Walker, Director, IHS Technology, said: “With 700 million iPhone users, ResearchKit has the potential to significantly increase participation in medical research while reducing costs in data collection. This is a significant addition to the medical researcher’s tool kit, and a potential enabler of heightened patient engagement.”

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