tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/iwatch-4794/articlesiWatch – The Conversation2019-01-04T14:56:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1093772019-01-04T14:56:09Z2019-01-04T14:56:09ZWhat is really eating Apple – and why Steve Jobs would not be doing a lot better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252483/original/file-20190104-32148-il9aoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jobs worth?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/christmas-island-australia-may-20-2017-643756204?src=ZjPYK8kUoRO8W7XPDOZuoA-1-39">franz12</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple has started the new year by disappointing investors with <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/letter-from-tim-cook-to-apple-investors/">its first</a> profit warning in 17 years. The company said that poor sales of its <a href="https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/iphone/new-iphone-xs-2018-3646340/">latest range</a> of iPhones has helped to weaken its first financial quarter (September to December 2018). Apple now expects revenues of US$84 billion (£66 billion) with a gross profit margin of 38%, having <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-02/apple-cut-first-quarter-sales-forecast-on-weak-iphone-sales">initially expected</a> between US$89 billion and US$93 billion. In the same quarter last year, Apple brought in US$88.3 billion on a gross margin of 42%. </p>
<p>This revision <a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/chart/AAPL#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">caused</a> the company’s stock to drop 10% to its lowest level in 21 months. It is time to find culprits, and I will not be surprised to see headlines like, “Tim Cook is not up to the Job(s)” or: “Seven years after Jobs’ death, Apple is starting to rot.” We mustn’t believe them, however. </p>
<p>The reason why is explained in <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Halo-Effect/Phil-Rosenzweig/9781476784038">The Halo Effect</a>, which was published by my colleague Phil Rosenzweig in 2007 – in my opinion one of the most important books in the history of management. Phil argues that perceptions of performance contaminate the assessments that we make about managers and leaders. He uses several examples, from Lego to Cisco to ABB, to show that a leader’s skills do not affect a company’s performance in a significant way. </p>
<p>When a company performs well, we tend to evaluate its leader in way that is too positive. This induces us to attribute stellar performance to certain leadership skills. So, in the case of Steve Jobs, many will eulogise his visionary perfectionism, and the great risks he took in reinventing consumer electronics categories. Yet the evidence doesn’t back this up. </p>
<h2>The dirty truth</h2>
<p>The one academic paper that has done a decent (econometric) job of identifying and quantifying the effect of individual leadership in corporate performance is <a href="http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/marianne.bertrand/research/papers/managing_style_qje.pdf">this one</a> from 2003. The two professors, Marianne Bertrand and Antoinette Schoar, from University of Chicago and MIT respectively, calculated that individual chief executives only contribute to between 2% and 4% of a company’s total performance. </p>
<p>In other words, if Apple’s profit margin is 38%, Tim Cook would be able to add or detract 1.5% at most. The same is true in reverse of Steve Jobs’ achievements during his two periods at the helm (1976-85 and 1997-2011). We can’t attribute Apple’s once skyrocketing stock to his tenure because we don’t know what the alternative best-case scenario would have been. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252492/original/file-20190104-32139-1tzx65o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cook who’s talking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tim-cook-chief-executive-officer-apple-1069919423?src=BdA7WdkbRoQW8G906FtfJA-1-18">John Gress Media Inc</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In my view, Apple’s problems are primarily caused by external events. Cook explains in his recent letter that, with the exception of the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/apple-earnings-software-and-services-revenue.html">services business</a> – which includes the App Store and iTunes and accounted for 14% of revenues in financial 2018 – all the other Apple businesses will be “constrained”. This means Macs, iPads, iWatches but most importantly iPhones, which <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/396847794/files/doc_financials/quarterly/2018/Q4/10-K-2018-(As-Filed).pdf">accounted for</a> 62.7% of total Apple revenues in 2018, compared to 63.4% in 2016. </p>
<p>What is causing this constraint? The increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and Xiaomi – but also from Google, LG and Samsung – has eroded the once dominant position of Apple in the smartphone market. Competition has been particularly damaging in emerging markets, which Cook is blaming on a strong dollar and weaker macroeconomic conditions – as opposed to any faulty Apple strategy in this part of the world. </p>
<p>With respect to markets where the iPhone has enjoyed a more dominant position – especially the US – Apple recognises that customers don’t replace their devices as often as they used to. A <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/silver-lining-apples-very-bad-iphone-news/">recent report</a> by BayStreet Research estimated that, while the average user upgraded her iPhone every 24 months as recently as 2015, by the last quarter of 2018 this holding period had jumped to 36 months. </p>
<p>This is due to fewer carrier subsidies, according to Apple – but also, in my opinion, to the fact that the new devices do not have much more to offer. I use an iPhone 7, which I bought in 2016, and I am honestly not inclined to spend US$1,000 for I-am-not-sure-which new features on a newer version. I already get much more from my current device than I need. </p>
<h2>Apple’s problem</h2>
<p>It worries me that Apple is a single-product company. Among its other revenues, iPad sales are one-tenth of iPhone sales eight years after tablets were launched. By comparison, Samsung mobile phone sales <a href="https://images.samsung.com/is/content/samsung/p5/global/ir/docs/2018_3Q_conference_eng.pdf">only represent</a> 36.6% of its total revenues. Wearables by Apple are not taking off either – and the company <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/04/03/why-microsoft-and-apple-dont-need-to-sell-your-data/">is not</a> monetising its platform business by selling customer data to the same extent as digital rivals such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.</p>
<p>As I argued in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-apple-is-no-longer-a-byword-for-innovation-just-ask-the-markets-107529">an article</a> in The Conversation a few weeks ago, the decline in Apple stock in recent months, down 37% since August 2018, reflects a change in market perception about the company’s ability to grow. Apple is no longer seen as a growth stock, but rather a dividend-paying, profitable company whose value is less based on a bright future than what is currently being delivered to its shareholders. The new financials confirm this view. </p>
<p><strong>Apple share price, 2010-19</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252491/original/file-20190104-32154-1ibwei8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/chart/AAPL#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">Yahoo Finance</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Phil Rosenzweig explains in his book, Apple’s story is not a new one. Today we blame the current Apple management’s over-dependence on a single product for the problems with investors. Cook and his team will respond by diversifying through acquisitions, or betting more heavily on new territories, or even staying put with its current product offerings. </p>
<p>Whether this works or fails, the management’s style of leadership will probably be disproportionately praised or criticised. It is always easy for analysts to be wise in hindsight. But the reality is that even the world’s biggest businesses are more vulnerable to external forces than we like to think. However the leadership reacts and, whoever is at the helm, the effect is actually quite limited.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arturo Bris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some will point to Apple’s lost talisman as the reason for the company’s current woes. They needn’t bother.Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1017942018-08-19T14:35:31Z2018-08-19T14:35:31ZHealthcare: what makes some connected objects a success and others a flop?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232566/original/file-20180819-165940-kr9owl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1200%2C765&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The connected watch: practical but not essential.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/cvw2Zx86IaQ">Crew/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wearing the <a href="https://ouraring.com/">Oura connected ring</a> on your finger day and night can help you find out how well you sleep. <a href="https://www.freestylelibre.com.au/">A connected patch</a> diabetics wear on their arms enables them to monitor their blood sugar levels without pricking their fingers. On February 9, these two objects received one of the mobile healthcare trophies presented at Paris-Diderot IUT, awarded by a panel of experts, attesting to their significant added value for users.</p>
<p>In recent years manufacturers of watches, bracelets, glasses and other connected objects have made many promises. Too many, judging by the gap between the proliferation of these objects and the modest role these devices play in our daily lives. For the most part they are seen as gadgets, bought on a whim then quickly forgotten in the back of a drawer. The time has not yet come where these devices are as familiar and vital to us as our smartphones.</p>
<p>While connected objects for well-being struggle to prove their usefulness, certain connected medical devices have become indispensable for patients. They are primarily used for diagnostic or preventative purposes or to help treat a disease, such as blood glucose monitors for diabetes. This leads us to explore the process through which users make these objects their own.</p>
<h2>More connected objects than humans on our planet</h2>
<p>In 2017, for the first time, the number of connected objects surpassed the number of humans on our planet. There are now 8.4 billion of these devices that collect, store, process and transmit data, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917">according to the Gartner technological consulting firm</a>. And it expects this number to exceed 20 billion by the end of 2020.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206004/original/file-20180212-58331-6iftwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Connected blood glucose monitor by Freestyle Libre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BGM_twopart.JPG">Wikimedia/Sjo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Health and well-being devices are expected to grow just as dramatically. The number of these devices is set to increase from 73 million worldwide in 2016 to 161 million in 2020, according to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/the-global-market-for-iot-healthcare-tech-will-top-400-billion-in-2022-2016-5/">Grand View Research consulting firm</a>.</p>
<p>But what do users think? They remain… doubtful. Though 73% of French people believe that connected objects may useful for their health, according to a survey carried out by Opinion Way in March 2017, only 35% say that they see the benefit of such products for monitoring their health. And just 11% report owning a connected watch.</p>
<h2>High prices, risk of dependence and lack of reliability measurements</h2>
<p>So how can this lack of enthusiasm among users be explained? In 2017, the two associations that group together the major manufacturers of connected objects, Acsel and the Carrefour de l’Internet des objets, published an “Observatory of Connected Life”. Their study revealed several obstacles for these devices: excessively high prices, the fear of having personal data used without informed consent, the risk of becoming dependent, problems with reliability and measuring security.</p>
<p>Even beyond these concerns, it would seem that manufacturers were a bit too quick to believe that these revolutionary objects would win over their fellow citizens. As a result, though some consumers have <em>adopted</em> them, very few have actually <em>taken ownership</em> of these objects.</p>
<p>These are two entirely different concepts, as manufactures are only starting to find out. A product or service is “adopted” by consumers when they decide to try it out or buy it. “Taking ownership,” of these objects, however, involves a longer process and is only achieved when the technology has become a part of an individual’s daily life.</p>
<h2>A physical object, coupled with a service for the individual</h2>
<p>Taking ownership of a connected object means taking ownership of each of its four specific aspects.</p>
<p>First, users must take ownership of the product itself, in its physical aspects. A connected watch, for example is first and foremost a watch, meaning it is an object worn on the wrist to tell the time.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206000/original/file-20180212-58322-1qs5azo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ring Oura records information about sleep quality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://meltwater.pressify.io/publications/59ddc06f17da7a0e00af5cfe?oura-ring-pressroom">Ouraring.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then, users must take ownership of the service provided by the object, its intangible dimension – often through a mobile application. This service involves presenting data collected in the form of graphs or charts and usually offers a coaching function or program designed to improve the user’s health. For example, connected scales transmit weight and body fat percentage measurements to an app. The app then provides recommendations to help us stabilize them.</p>
<p>The object itself is connected to one or several other objects. It transmits data to a smartphone, to other connected objects or to a data platform. This dimension goes beyond the object itself, and must also become part of the individual’s everyday life.</p>
<p>Lastly, the object makes it possible to communicate with others, by sharing the number of steps taken during the day with a group of friends participating in a challenge, for instance. Users may only get used to this human-to-human social connectedness through a process in which they take full ownership of the device.</p>
<h2>Four steps for taking ownership of connected objects</h2>
<p>Before making a connected object part of our daily lives, we must go through four different steps without realizing we are doing so. Studies carried out in recent years in our team at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Cnam), with individuals who own these devices, has allowed us to describe each of these steps.</p>
<p>The first stage is taking ownership of the object on a symbolic level. This either happens in the store before purchasing the object, or the first time the individual sees the connected object if it is a gift. The interactions are primarily sensory-based: seeing, touching, hearing. For some people a so-called “wow” factor can be observed: this user reaction expresses astonishment or even fascination for an object seen as “smart.” At this stage, the user projects an imagined value onto the object and service.</p>
<p>Then the user enters the second stage, called “exploration.” This stage involves physically handling the object to learn about the device and its application, interactions that give rise to a cognitive process for the user to understand how it works; object-to-object interactions where the object interacts with the mobile phone to transfer data collected and to enable the application to provide the service. During this stage, use of the object leads to real value creation for the user.</p>
<h2>Measuring heart rate to strengthen the heart</h2>
<p>The third phase of taking ownership of an object is determining the object’s function for its user. Individuals may use an object for one of many specific functions available, such as measuring physical activity, heart rate or weight. This phase is accompanied by joint value production between the object and the user–the user determines and sets his/her desired function. For example, someone who wants to strengthen his heart decides to monitor his heart rate on a daily basis.</p>
<p>In the final phase known as “stabilization” the user makes the object a part of in his/her daily life. The user’s interactions with the device become passive. For example, the user wears a connected bracelet but forgets that it is there, while the object continuously collects data and automatically sends it to the mobile application on the user’s smartphone. This stage also gives rise to emotional responses, forging a relationship between individual and object.</p>
<p>During this stage, the perceived value of the object is “transformative,” meaning that the object has transformed the individual’s habits. For example, he/she may have made a habit of getting off the subway two stops early to walk more during his/her commute, or automatically choose the stairs over the elevator.</p>
<h2>Different uses than those intended by manufacturers</h2>
<p>If manufacturers of connected objects were to carry out a closer study of how individuals take ownership of devices and focus their strategies on users, they could better anticipate uses and increase objects’ value. In the hyperconnected world of today, it is paradoxical to observe such a great “disconnect” between manufacturers and users. This distance contributes to individuals’ limited use of connected objects and their tendency to abandon them in time.</p>
<p>And yet, most companies do incorporate use cases in the development of objects. But these strategies are based on imagining how users <em>may</em> behave, while it has been shown that in real life, individuals do not use <a href="https://theconversation.com/fr/topics/smart-homes-8606">connected household objects</a> as manufacturers imagined they would! This was <a href="https://postsocialgwu.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/hoffman-and-novak-2015-emergent-experience-in-the-iot.pdf">observed</a> in 2015 by American researchers Donna Hoffman and Thomas Novak.</p>
<p>For individuals to really use their connected objects, manufacturers must develop responsible technologies: secure, reliable devices that respect privacy, both in terms of data collected and algorithms for processing the data. Most importantly, these devices must gain real value in the eyes of users. For this to happen, companies must learn how to study users’ behavior in real-life situations and how they come to take ownership of these objects.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The original French version of this article was <a href="https://blogrecherche.wp.imt.fr/en/2018/05/30/health-connected-objects-success/">translated to English</a> by the Institut Mines-Télécom.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Balagué received funding from the Mines Telecom Foundation. </span></em></p>The watch that counts the steps, the ring that records the quality of sleep: devices analysing data to improve well-being make you dream. But many still serve as gadgets.Christine Balagué, Professeur, titulaire de la chaire objets connectés et réseaux sociaux, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/385612015-03-09T18:10:36Z2015-03-09T18:10:36ZApple Watch: phantom menace of smartwatches could make us even more self-obsessed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74190/original/image-20150309-13550-lrm2k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C0%2C1992%2C1404&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wrist reward. Apple arms itself against rivals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hetstyle/15222624538/in/photolist-xBaE4-j1EjW3-81wyYZ-j1CuxE-97LJ3K-81zJk3-mYoJSM-mYqyoN-mYoKaR-81wz7H-81wz4D-81zJiJ-99Vnvt-99VnwX-8qiWNk-bLHrwi-eawgCF-oGkZXC-mYqyjE-81wz6g-oGkobZ-8GSHFq-oRKnKf-pcaVVL-oGm1pj-n8HKB1-zNutn-d2yvbj-d2yutd-d2ytP1-d2yt6S-d2yso9-d2yrGE-d2yqU9-d2yq93-d2ypqb-d2yoF1-d2ynRE-d2ymZj-d2ymbm-d2ykH1-d2yhYJ-pafBcu-kh6XMi-d2yxdY-d2ywqu-d2yvyb-d2yjZj-d2yjnf-d2yiEq">Houang Stephane</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple CEO Tim Cook has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/watch/11458389/Apple-Watch-event-live.html">released the much anticipated Apple watch</a> – his company’s first new product since the iPad. Cook said the new watch, in addition to telling the time, was a “comprehensive health and fitness companion”. But we’re unlikely to hear much about how people will actually use this new product for some time. </p>
<p>Our research has found that smartwatches certainly do have some benefits for users. But they also have a hidden, darker side which the companies selling them are unlikely to talk about. </p>
<p>As part of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10949941/Smartwatch-wearers-have-you-experienced-the-phantom-device-effect.html">a research project</a> with Alberto Rizzoli, we have tried to understand what drives people to invest in smartwatches. One participant, a judge, hoped he could keep track of the deluge of emails during long hours in the courtroom when he had to pay attention – and be seen to pay attention.</p>
<p>The dilemma is familiar to many of us. We spend our days engaged in social interaction. Huge proportions of our time are taken up with meetings or impromptu encounters with colleagues. However when we are in these meetings, our smartphone is buzzing away reminding us that our inbox is filling up. We may want to check these incoming messages, but <a href="http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/is-your-smartphone-helping-you-be-rude/">know it would be rude</a> to glace at our phone. When one of the first smartwatches came to market, the judge thought he had found the solution to this problem.</p>
<h2>Compulsive checking</h2>
<p>We found that heavy smartwatch users valued how the devices helped them track information as it arrived while still appearing socially attentive. It also saved users the hassle of having to dig through their pockets or handbags to find a buzzing phone. Surprisingly only about half the people we spoke with actually used all the health tracking technology built in to the watches. They were more interested in keeping abreast of their inbox than their calorie count. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74195/original/image-20150309-13585-189vtpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ghostly devices, delicious variety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cozinhandofantasias/12915868633/in/photolist-5yNeiu-guR3gG-7baL9Y-7chAZ1-3Pm9HV-933Yd1-bsNrfZ-b6fPuK-b6fPCi-giXGrA-5LKHUk-vfZ49-9TPmKs-7ccQQ2-8Ytz5o-3PqjBJ-zucWf-h91QGh-dE4hpy-r2cBS-zucSw-5LFGaC-8KFVgG-aB8Jsa-kFkcLe-4PWEeX-utWqd-oWyMno-uvmZt-6y9Z1L-3KQMTM-2jHeMU-7CjxE9-dppV5S-6vMVD1-edwKHw-edr6EH-4kFQD1-7qbgLF-8PvLX2-qeoz8h-akEUSa-8G7Rvo-7zDEEF-7eMc9b-9wcuwg-9kaZgk-PkFMF-aA4wPo-68tBrd">Cozinhando Fantasias</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also noticed a worrying side to these new devices as heavy users of the watches incorporate them into their daily routines – we call it the “phantom device effect”. They would compulsive check their watch not just for the time, but for a wide range of information. In some cases their new gizmo would become such an instinctive part of their life that even when not wearing one they would check their bare wrist. Some would feel a phantom buzz, notifying them of an imaginary incoming email. </p>
<p>The phantom device effect leads us to ask about just how ingrained in our daily habits these devices might become. Recent research has suggested that average smartphone users <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/05/cellphone-users-check-phones-150xday-and-other-internet-fun-facts/">check their phone 150 times a day</a>, starting just minutes after waking up.</p>
<p>We also know this has the effect of extending work into all areas of our lives – monitoring work emails late into the night or during social or family events. We used to worry that the average American watched television for six hours a day. Now we accept as a matter of course the fact that we tied to our devices for most of the time we’re awake. Indeed many of us go to bed with our smart devices quietly monitoring our rhythms as we sleep. </p>
<h2>Keeping track</h2>
<p>This raises the question of what impact it will have on our lives. In the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/22/the-wellness-syndrome-carl-cederstrom-andre-spicer-persuasive-diagnosis">work</a> Carl Cederström and I have done on the hidden dangers of wearables, a big big concern is privacy. </p>
<p>The Apple Watch, like most wearables, is essentially a tracking device, recording heart rate, sleep patterns, movement, whereabouts, and much more depending on the apps installed. All this is packaged and transmitted to datacentres for analysis. The result? A database of personal information of which <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/563751/Stasi">the Stasi</a> could only have dreamed. </p>
<p>As well as sucking up personal information, wearables could fuel an unhealthy obsession with personal wellness. By pumping health and wellbeing information at us non-stop, we start to become a little too focused on our bio-rhythms. Data which would have been generated only in the most unusual situations now becomes commonplace, making people not just health conscious, but also self-obsessed. </p>
<p>Instead of checking in with social networks, we spend more time checking in with our own bodily rhythms. As a result other people start to become more interested in what is going on inside themselves rather than what is happening in the world. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74194/original/image-20150309-13543-cizhrf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Have a heart. Get the data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/18909153@N08/7194920984/in/photolist-bXMRkN-xHf9W-7NH13K-rm3dUQ-mNyhJ-99JhHa-76rGmU-knMSG-6BxdTP-35CjDr-zVg3F-7wsS22-a6BqJy-eLcUmA-9Ek24V-kiwhvX-sEfXu-oxZwis-tXNTP-9AVSAU-eL1uzD-eL1uNz-kpa49b-kpa1yw-9jj2Lo-6Gzaik-9hYnCu-9hVgvZ-9hYmDQ-9hVfv8-9hVg9B-pksjai-p4eA67-p4fp2D-62nNgQ-6ebygT-7E4sXh-arzymY-47Zxyz-47Zxpg-4J82op-d9Cz7j-5BT3G-kp8qdi-4JsTCi-4Jcf45-7V4mqD-9Lp9rC-6tWRLe-kpaaaE">Cross Duck</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Information obsession</h2>
<p>As we pay more attention to our feed of personal biodata we’re likely to become more anxious about things that we may never have given a second thought to in the past. Not walking your <a href="http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=2877769">allotted steps in a day</a> or finding you had a poor sleeping pattern at night can become a source of significant personal guilt or worry. As a result, we pour more attention into monitoring and controlling ourselves, giving us less time to do the things which actually make us happy. </p>
<p>If Apple’s projections are indeed correct and <a href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2015/02/jp-morgan-forecasts-26-million-units-of-apple-watch-will-be-sold-in-2015-vs-720000-android-units-sold-in-2014.html">tens of millions of people</a> purchase smartwatches, it’s likely to create a step change in our lives. We already see people routinely posting on social media information they would have only shared with their doctor a few years ago. </p>
<p>Widespread use of smartwatches could mean that instead of relieving our boredom by answering emails, people will spend their time sifting through their biodata stream, planning ways to maximise their personal wellness ratings. Rather than talking about what was on television last night, people will start comparing charts of their sleeping patterns. When this happens we will know that <a href="https://theconversation.com/youve-heard-of-the-internet-of-things-now-behold-the-internet-of-me-36379">the internet of me has arrived</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andre Spicer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Smartwatches will bombard us with data about our internal lives. We risk letting sleep patterns, calorie counts and bio-rhythms dominate our days.Andre Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Cass Business School, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/173902013-08-25T20:23:28Z2013-08-25T20:23:28ZSamsung’s Galaxy Gear: time to move from phablets to wriblets?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29806/original/f538xwkj-1377235802.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do we want yet another device – and do we want to wear it on our wrists?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gizmag/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the phablet (smartphone tablet) market getting <a href="http://bgr.com/2013/08/21/nokia-phablet-september-launch/">very full</a>, a new geeky gadget could unleash a rush of enthusiastic buying - and the latest hot topic is smart digital watches.</p>
<p>Samsung’s Galaxy Gear watch will be <a href="http://www.itproportal.com/2013/08/16/launch-date-for-samsung-galaxy-gear-smartwatch-confirmed/">launched on September 4</a> and Apple is <a href="http://www.itproportal.com/2013/08/21/apples-iwatch-you-cant-ignore-the-rumours-any-longer/">heavily rumoured</a> to be about to give birth to a similar product. </p>
<p>Apple and Samsung, goes the mantra, can’t afford not to be trying to lead the new market. In addition, buying a smart wristwatch will lock the users into either the Samsung or the Apple platform. </p>
<p>News website Bloomberg says the global watch market is worth an annual <a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/apple-s-iwatch-rumored-for-2013/">US$60 billion</a>. Much hangs on the right wrist. Or the left one, depending on your preference.</p>
<p>But the industry sources leak not about what the new wrist appurtenances might be like and what they will do, nor what they will be called.</p>
<p>Well, let’s get in first, and they can pay me for the rights. A wrist tablet is a wriblet.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29805/original/s675f29s-1377235524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Voucher Codes Pro</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to expect in a wriblet</h2>
<p>Web connectivity and phone functions are top of the list. But will the wriblet be a self-standing device, or will it need to tether wirelessly to a phone or other host? Presumably it will be tough enough for everyday mishaps, water resistant if not childproof. It might have <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/9/3855638/samsung-shows-off-curved-oled-phone-prototype">bendy glass</a> – the manufacturers are being very coy about that.</p>
<p>But I confess to being a deep wriblet sceptic. There is already a gradient from smartphone to phablet to minitablet to tablet to laptop. Do we want or need to add yet another device, and then cast around for functions to justify it?</p>
<p>More seriously, there is a major issue of size. To be visible, with say four to six icons, the watch will have to be reasonably wide. If it has control buttons, like an ordinary digital watch, it will be bulky and knobbly, and you will probably have to take it off to use it: there will be a lot of button pushing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29778/original/wscbf5m7-1377220643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of the Apple iWatch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yrving Torrealba</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And if the controls are all on-screen, how will we manipulate its tiny icons? With a pointer? That’s another device which can easily get lost. My fingers are too large and square for many on-screen keyboards. I do not plan to waste futile time poking at wriblet icons that won’t respond.</p>
<p>Will the wriblet screen be unusable in bright sunlight, like the screen of your digital camera? Or perhaps it will have a quaint little retractable shade?</p>
<p>And there is a problem of anatomy. Wrists hang from arms. Arms dangle and crash against things, scratching and - on bad days - bending your heritage timepiece. I can conceive of a resilient wriblet, shock and scratch resistant. </p>
<p>But do we really want to carry things on our wrists any more? Fewer and people are wearing watches. The fob watch has gone, and the ring watch, as has the medical one worn on the outer upper chest elevation of staff taking your temperature in hospital. I often forget to put my watch on in the morning. </p>
<p>If you want to know the time, buy a digital watch at the local $2 store, or consult any of the timekeeping devices in your environment: the microwave, the car radio, the digital radio, or the watch thoughtfully encased in the latest freebie pen.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29776/original/gw67btb7-1377220113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Or a ring.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Macskafaraok</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Focus elsewhere</h2>
<p>All right, I digress. Time will be a marginal concern of the wriblet. But seriously, if you want to do web and email, a wriblet will drive you to sedatives.</p>
<p>For me the wriblet’s day is not yet even close. I am a self-confessed wriblet doubter. </p>
<p>I have a better idea. I’ve been ruminating for some time on how the smartphone and <a href="https://theconversation.com/finger-flicking-good-have-digital-tablets-become-essential-9649">the tablet</a> might find a really workable marriage.</p>
<p>What do almost all of us have about our persons? Spectacles: vision-correcting or sunnies or both. Google has a <a href="https://theconversation.com/smile-face-recognition-for-google-glass-is-here-thanks-to-hackers-16262">prototype</a> out already, and there’s a cheaper <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/glassup-augmented-reality-glasses-that-display-messages-from-your-smartphone">Italian version</a> trying to find venture capital. Add an earbud and a light boom microphone, and you have an interactive multifunction wearable device, phone and web and vision and sound all neatly packaged.</p>
<p>With one significant limitation, though: text input. Until voice recognition rises above Apple’s personal assistant <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-siri-ever-dream-of-electric-sheep-7645">Siri</a>, which it will certainly do, no combination of buttons on a wriblet will do anything but a slow, fiddly and frustrating job.</p>
<p>The ultimate wriblet, of course, or rather spekky-web-phone, will be a surgical implant. When that happens I plan to dig out my 20-year-old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MessagePad">Newton MessagePad</a> – a precursor that looked like a brick, felt like a brick, and was substantial enough to hold a door open in a gale.</p>
<p>I wrest my case. (The Newton had one of those, too.)</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/17390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roland Sussex does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the phablet (smartphone tablet) market getting very full, a new geeky gadget could unleash a rush of enthusiastic buying - and the latest hot topic is smart digital watches. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear…Roland Sussex, Professor Emeritus, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/121862013-02-13T03:23:54Z2013-02-13T03:23:54ZThe iWatch, Dick Tracy and the kitchen sink<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20217/original/93n2t4bx-1360727827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No-one knows what the iWatch will look like … or if it even exists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yrving Torrealba</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/disruptions-apple-is-said-to-be-developing-a-curved-glass-smart-watch/">rumours are true</a> about its forthcoming product release - the iWatch - Apple is inadvertently paying homage to the comic strip legend Dick Tracy. </p>
<p>The fictional 1940s police detective with the ridiculously chiselled jaw was famous for his wristwatch radio, which he used for two-way communications to headquarters.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20202/original/xj6kdhb5-1360717181.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">1940s comic strip character Dick Tracy was famous for his use of a ‘smartwatch’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Falcon Writing</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While it’s unknown if and when the iWatch will be released - and Apple, of course, refuses to comment on speculation on yet-to-be announced products - the company has the technology to create such a device following the <a href="http://ces.cnet.com/8301-34447_1-57563367/hands-on-with-cornings-bendable-willow-glass-exclusive/">announcement</a> last year that the manufacturers of the glass used in iPhones, Corning, had perfected the creation of bendable glass.</p>
<p>So, no-one really know what’s going on – which is serving only to fuel the fire. Earlier this week, The Guardian ran a series of interpretations by designers of what the watch <em>might</em> look like – all of which <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gallery/2013/feb/12/apple-iwatch-designs-in-pictures#/?picture=403912542&index=1">can be seen here</a>. </p>
<h2>So what do we think we know?</h2>
<p>Apple’s rumoured iWatch might not have phone-capability as yet but the company’s initial foray into wrist-worn gadgetry is <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/smartphones/apple-reportedly-working-on-talking-iwatch/story-fn6vihic-1226575505172">predicted to have</a> a navigation system, health and fitness monitoring features and a <a href="http://www.apple.com/au/ios/siri/">Siri</a>-like natural language interface - so you’ll still be able to talk to your device (a la Tick-Tock Tracy?).</p>
<p>Oh, and you’ll also be able to use it to tell what time it is.</p>
<p>The big question for me is whether the iWatch will have an analogue or digital dial, or both? If the hour and minute hands make a welcome virtual return, clockwise may soon be back in vogue with this retro technology – but only if users can wean themselves off using their smartphones as a time-piece.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20201/original/22vrfx2p-1360716830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Seiko series of digital watches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">spike55151</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This perhaps is another reason why the iWatch should evolve in later iterations to act like a phone. Whether Swatch-like or not in its maiden implementation, other hints suggest that the clock face will be made of <a href="http://www.corning.com/displaytechnologies/en/products/flexible.aspx">Willow Glass</a>, which is used for making thin, pliable displays, similar to the <a href="http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/">Gorilla Glass</a> used on more than <a href="http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/products-with-gorilla/full-products-list">one billion devices worldwide</a>.</p>
<p>Who knows, but the robust nature of this novel glass might make accidentally cracked Apple screens a thing of the past.</p>
<p>The iWatch as digital Switch Army knife in terms of multiple functionalities is a nostalgic throwback to the 1980s. </p>
<p>In that last golden era of digital watch technology, companies such as Seiko <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/296609/the-digital-watch-a-brief-history/8">produced a wristwatch</a> with a tiny built-in television screen while Casio <a href="http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/nerdwatch/">marketed watches</a> with a plethora of extra embedded features, including a thermometer, calculator, altimeter, barometer, compass and even a rudimentary language translator. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20200/original/qzzswrkd-1360716712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the Timex Datalink series of watches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">krunkwerke</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/296609/the-digital-watch-a-brief-history/9">Timex Datalink</a> line of smartwatches from the mid-1990s was designed in partnership with Microsoft to be the vanguard of wearable personal digital assistants with their key selling point being wireless data transfer from watch to computer. </p>
<p>Some critics may have accused these as being mere geek toys – and none of these ever lasted: chiefly because the smartphone eventually arrived on the scene and became the one-stop device of convenience for the masses due to technological convergence. </p>
<p>From a fashion perspective, the advent of the smartphone, with its <a href="http://worldcrunch.com/tech-science/built-in-obsolescence-are-we-being-scammed-by-electronics-manufacturers-/iphone-smartphone-electronics-appliances/c4s9796/#.URri6VpNt90">planned obsolescence</a> as a contributing factor, may have also supplanted the wristwatch as a unisex item of personal jewellery.</p>
<h2>You wear it well</h2>
<p>One enduring hassle with the growth of smartphones is that, as their screens become subtly larger, so too does the whole package. The conundrum is then where to pocket the damn thing, if it can even fit neatly into one. </p>
<p>Users can end up doing the twitchy smartphone hand-to-hand dance or they can dangle it from their necks or belts or keep it in their handbags and so forth. </p>
<p>This is a major usability issue, in my opinion, and one that can possibly be addressed through well-designed wearable technology. </p>
<p>Form shouldn’t follow function for tech that you wear; these qualities should run in parallel. In this regard, I do hope that future versions of the iWatch morph into something more phone-like – the type of thing Dick Tracy would indeed be proud to wear, as well as having everything else built-in except for the kitchen sink.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Lenarcic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If rumours are true about its forthcoming product release - the iWatch - Apple is inadvertently paying homage to the comic strip legend Dick Tracy. The fictional 1940s police detective with the ridiculously…John Lenarcic, Lecturer in Business IT & Logistics, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.