So tomorrow more information about this subject. Will it be a step forward or a step backward?
When I was younger I used to wear a watch all the time. From the simple digital one with calculation function to the analog one with just the time and date display. The most expensive one that I got was one from “Kinetic” with the special function that it charges itself with my body movements. Which was really cool at the time.
But then came the mobile phone. The nineties. A lot of different phones then from Ericsson to Motorola flip phone. The main reason I stopped wearing a watch was because the mobile phone then. When I wanted the time I just pull out my phone to see the time.
Then came the iPhone. The smart phone era. Still no watch. Pull out my iPhone to see the time and also the added bonus to see other information. Like incoming mail, appointments, weather and other information. Or simply ask Siri when you have your headphones one.
So tomorrow… 2015. A step backward or forward? I’m wondering. The conservative me, is asking the question: what will the added bonus of a watch bring me? Additional body measurement sensors for heartbeat, step counter, blood pressure and some more. This seems interesting at a certain point. But do you really need it? Yeah. Do you? For health reasons, it’s nice to know. But I wonder. How save the info will be? As in at first it’s my info and I do believe that Apple will have safety measures in place for controlling access to it. What I wonder is when it get mainstream and every one have them. Then the big and scary picture. Government and healthcare access. Required access to your information for healthcare policies and billing. As in pay more when you have a high blood pressure, or something like it.
More accurate movement tracking. With just some clicks, you’ll know where you are. Where you have been. And where you are going to… that’s the scary part. The prediction of where you are going to based on time and your current location. I certainly don’t want location based ads or discount pop-ups.
Apple Pay with the watch. Hmm interesting…no need for a wallet anymore. The era of the digital currency. No more paper money or metal coins. My wallet is already getting smaller with my ATM card and credit card. Actually I have a BookBook case as my wallet. It just has room for my iPhone, a couple of plastic cards openings and that’s it. There is no room for coins. Which is not really a problem to be honest. Spare change, just goes into my pants pockets. Hmm how will the future look like? Oops you can’t pay for that item because your phone or watch is out of battery power. Please find a charging point before continuing or chose an alternate payment option. I can already see this happening to me in the future.
So do you need it?
The consumer part of me, is wondering if it’s another hype product. A must have thing with a certain logo of a fruit. With mass consumerism now a days, there is a blurry line between having something for the functionality and ease of life versus having something for status and the point of just owning it.
Like having a car and the freedom to drive to where ever you want. Or choosing not to own a car, because you can do the same thing with public transport and your bicycle. It’s healthier for your body and good for the nature.
It’s a choice. A life style choice. The choice of landline vs broadband. A simple LCD phone vs a smart phone. So smart watch? A thing? Or not a thing?
You know what? I’m now thinking about a pocket watch. Yeah that’s also a perfect choice…
