Apple Watch marks its first-year anniversary since launch. With one year in the history books, some users are incredibly happy and use the smartwatch every day, while other early adopters are left wondering why they purchased the Apple Watch at all.
In the aggregate, most users seem satisfied with their device. In a survey completed last week, Wristly found that 92 percent of users reported that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied."
Though official sales data have yet to be released, analysts estimate that the Apple Watch has sold more than 12 million watches in the first year. If true, this would mean the Apple Watch launch was more successful than the Apple iPhone, which only saw 6 million units sold in the first year. The only other Apple product that had a better freshman year was the iPad, which moved 19.5 million units.
Non-adopters and dissatisfied users are left scratching their head as to why they would need the device in the first place. The $500 accessory takes a form factor considered by many to be dying. With the ubiquity of smartphones, fewer people are purchasing high-end watches. Additionally, some of the most common complaints include lack of customizability, lack of features and interesting apps, or the fact that it's faster and easier to just pull out their phone. Despite these complaints, with 92 percent of users satisfied, demand is still very high for the Apple Watch.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the Apple Watch, though, is the lack of quality apps and developer support. Within only three months of its release, the Apple Watch had over 8,500 available apps. The vast majority of those apps, however, were simple ports of existing smartphone apps shrunk to the smaller form factor. Many users complained about difficulties experienced in trying to use those apps from their smartwatch, TechTimes reported. A year later and these complaints have not died down.
Apple is already planning on releasing a second generation Apple Watch. Rumored to be thinner, more powerful, and with a multi-day, battery the Apple Watch 2 could further cement Apple as the number one smartwatch company. Tim Cook has also been quoted saying they are investigating a medical appliance that could leverage the technology found in the Apple Watch 2. With the extended battery life and new medical sensors perhaps Apple is targeting a smart monitoring watch that could be worn to gauge the wearer's overall health.
Whatever the final specs and features of the Apple Watch 2, Apple fans wait eagerly for announcements from Apple and will line up to get their device on day 1.
