The endurance problem may be its biggest constraint, but the reason why its update is not positive is because it is living too well.
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “PingWest play” (ID: Wepingwest), author Jianguo.
The release of Apple’s next-generation products is always accompanied by surprises and disappointments.
Apple Watch is the global leader in wearables and has been updated to the fifth generation with the release of the iPhone 11 series.
The “Sleep Monitoring” feature that was previously expected did not appear on the Apple Watch S5. Apple stuffed it with a U1 chip, an Always-On display, and an 18-hour battery life.
▲Image from IDropNews
Users wearing Apple Watch S4 are constantly asking: “When will sleep monitoring come?” However, every user should be used to picking it up every night when Apple Watch is exhausted. Next, put it back on the charging stand.
This is not a contradiction, and the user’s appeal will not be reduced by other excellent features.
The rumors continue
The rumors that Apple Watch will support sleep monitoring have never stopped.
The climax appeared before the fifth generation release, and optimistic news came out that Apple is adding sleep tracking to the new generation of Apple Watch.
This feature is code-named “Burrito” in Apple and is called Time in Bed tracking. Equipped with this feature, Apple Watch can detect the user’s sleep, exercise, heart rate and other data, record and analyze the user’s sleep quality.
The exciting thing about the
message is that Burrito doesn’t require new hardware support, and uses the original sensors (such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, and microphones) to track user motion, heart rate, and noise. Means the first two generationsThe Apple Watch also has sleep monitoring via a system upgrade.
It’s a pity that the new Apple Watch didn’t make the rumors come true.
But there is also a conservative news that Apple headquarters and surrounding personnel are testing the sleep monitoring function, and achieved good results within a few months, but according to Apple’s product cycle, this feature is also the fastest to Apple Watch S6 Will meet the user.
These rumors are not groundless. As early as 2017, Apple acquired a Finnish company, Beddit Sleep Monitor, which specializes in sleep monitoring and management of apps and hardware. Apple can obtain and continuously collect user-related health data from the company’s products, and users can directly view relevant sleep data in Apple’s “healthy” app.
▲Beddit hardware products
Although Apple has not yet applied the function of sleep monitoring to Apple Watch, it is certain that Apple is preparing for sleep monitoring, but it is still unknown when it can be cashed.
Why don’t you worry?
The Apple Watch product line has been in development for five years, with some minor changes every year, and there are only a handful of big moves.
What caused Apple’s stride to be so small? In addition to being cautious about new technologies/functions, Apple Watch is still alive. It can be said that there are almost no opponents and the competitive pressure is small.
There is data showing that in 2018, Apple Watch accounted for more than half of the global smartwatch sales, more than double the second and third. At the first quarter earnings report in 2019, Tim Cook said that Apple’s wearable device revenue “close to the size of the Fortune 200 companies.”
You can appreciate the terrible share of Apple Watch. The huge lead gives Apple plenty of reasons and time to test new technologies and wait until it is mature enough to be commercially available. Sleep monitoring is just one of them.
For the market, Apple Watch’s performance is very good, its features and brand attributes can meet the vast majority of users’ needs; but if Steve Jobs’s demanding standards, Apple Watch has considerable room for improvement.
5 years 3 positioning changes
In September 2014, Apple’s fall conference, Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs as Apple’s CEO, first spoke the former’s classic line “One More Thing”, followed by the first generation Apple Watch. .
The Apple Watch at that time was defined by Apple executive Angela Ahrendts as a “fashion accessory”, and the 18K gold at the price of 126,800 yuan Apple Watch Edition can even be classified as “luxury”. Sleep monitoring is not worth mentioning in front of these high-end attributes.
Little known is that Apple’s goal in launching the first generation of Apple Watch is to create a device that can last for four or five days, and announced at the press conference that “let it always wear on your wrist”. Obviously Apple has not yet achieved this goal.
▲You can brush the Apple Watch of the bus
Coincidentally, two months ago, Xiaomi released the first generation of Xiaomi bracelet, which was equipped with sleep monitoring at the beginning. Since then, the smart bracelets/watches introduced by domestic manufacturers have supported this function, and the better the hardware and algorithms.
In 2016, Apple and Nike launched Apple Watch Nike+. Apple Watch, which no longer greets the “fashion accessories” positioning, has begun to promote sports and fitness, the main sports monitoring function. Major competitors have become wearable devices such as Fitbit.
In 2018, the Apple Watch S4 first joined the ECG ECG monitoring function and passed the US FDA certification. appleIf the official launch of the health field, Apple Watch’s positioning finally came to the “right track” of wearable devices: sports health monitoring tools.
▲Image from CNET
At the same time, other manufacturers have already entered the health field. Wal-Mart has launched a bracelet that supports ECG monitoring. Users can get a complete ECG. Huawei watches cooperate with 301 Hospital to launch heart health monitoring functions.
Unlike Apple, other vendors have attached wearables to the body for as long as possible, and can get more user health information to help users analyze and guide their movement adjustments.
To make the device bind to the user for a long time, the prerequisite is the battery life. After five generations of development, Apple Watch still does not solve the problem of battery life. It still seems to be at the stage of “fashion accessories”. Like traditional watches and earrings, it takes on the responsibility of beauty during the day and retreats at night.
At this stage Apple Watch S5 is not yet a versatile health monitoring device, it is good enough, but has obvious shortcomings. Apple’s emphasis on health has left it no reason to give up on this market. I am really looking forward to the Apple Watch S6 next year. If the sleep monitoring function is really supported, the improvement of battery life is the first bright spot.
(The title map is from MacWorld)