5 Ways Apple Watch Changes Everything...for Apple

While Apple's Watch has been met with everything from cautionary pessimism to silver trumpets declaring it to be the signpost in a wearable electronics revolution, I think the safest conclusion at this point is that it marks a major turning point for Apple. Here are the five ways I think Watch changes everything for Apple.

 1. Watch is the first Apple product line that was marketed as revolutionary and not perceived as such by the marketplace. Certainly there are brand loyalists and early adopters that will ensure early successes, but it has not been met with the critical acclaim of its forebears by the technology press. I think this is owing in large part to the fact that there's no getting away from the painful truth that the Watch really doesn't do anything the iPhone doesn't already do...and you still need the iPhone or you can't use the Watch. Apple's breakout successes with the iPod and iPhone were predicated on the development of a product which solved a problem people didn't know they had until they began using the devices. But people who have been using and reviewing the Watch are still struggling to figure out the problem the Watch solves. And that's a problem for the Watch.

2. Tim Cook has become Ultron. This is the first major new Apple product release since Tim Cook has taken the reins, and the Watch is his pet project. It's the board room equivalent of announcing "there are no strings on me." Watch is not as much a signpost for a new generation of innovative wearable technology devices as it is a graffiti tag that says "Tim was here."

 

3. Watch changes the way people shop for new Apple products...and could change the Apple store concept. For years, releases of new Apple devices could be easily identified by the lines of people gathered outside the doors of their stores with lines stretching around the block. Watch represents a dramatic shift in this model, as people are lining up on the computer to arrive at the stores with specific appointment times for "personalized" demonstrations. Given the clear intention to push Apple further upmarket, as demonstrated with the $17,000 version of the product, could this mark a change in the Apple store concept to create more of a "boutique" atmosphere? People dropping that kind of coin on a watch are probably cross-shopping it with Hublot or Patek Phillipe, and if Apple thinks that wearable devices are moving in that direction, then I would not be surprised to see a shift in the Apple Store concept, or even a separate Apple Boutique concept that strictly deals in their high-end accessory lines.

 4. Watch is the first Apple device to drop the "i" prefix. Does this portend a change in their product naming conventions? Not necessarily, as "iWatch" sounds a bit voyeuristic anyhow. But sweet lord, I hope Watch is the beginning of the end. I cannot stand to see another non-Apple brand stick a lower-case "i" in front of their product names thinking it makes them sound trendier. Maybe it works on some people; for me...well, it makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. I'm putting you on notice now, BMW.

5. Watch marks a shift from product-watching to stock-price watching. There is really no way around this. Unless and until the Watch takes off to even half the extent that other truly "new" products like the iPhone and iPad did, the focus over the coming months will be more on the performance of the stock price than on waiting with bated breath for the next big announcement. Of course, they still have their in-car integration product or whatever that is in the pipeline (it's not a car...get over it). Or is that just posturing so that a "leak" of this new concept can slip out on the heels of potentially under-whelming sales figures on the Watch next quarter?So is the Watch truly a revolution? I think so, but it's not a revolution in technology - it's a revolution in Apple's corporate identity and direction. If that translates to continued market domination remains to be seen.

And certainly there could be more than five ways that Watch changes things for Apple, but "the 8 or so ways, give or take, that Watch might change things" just doesn't work very well as a title. So what are some other changes you can see coming to the tech giant with the release of this new product? Or do you just think I'm completely off base? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.