An Untethered Apple Watch Would Be a Smart Move

In a Forbes piece by Chuck Jones, the current performance of the Apple Watch is discussed and the potential for a refresh is also mentioned. Jones, himself an Apple investor, discusses some of the recent analysis bouncing around the Web, and suggests that sales of the Apple Watch might be higher than anticipated “if an untethered Watch is available later this year.” The idea of offering an untethered Watch is an interesting one, not the least because it would require significant hardware enhancements (and software developments). At present, the first-generation Apple Watch can perform some tasks independently of a connected iPhone, but none of its more advanced features are available (like messaging, calls, or notifications from cross-platform apps).

The same piece also highlighted a survey from Fluent, and this outlines how folks are using their Apple Watches presently.

“Shopping” is the 2nd choice behind “fitness tracking” when we asked what Apple Watch owners primarily use their devices for (other than telling time). With 61% saying they have made a purchase using their watches, there is room for improvement, but that’s a healthy number of users right out of the gate and should only grow with future releases.

Slightly less than half the Americans surveyed agreed that “the Apple Watch is a successful product,” and 75 percent of current Apple Watch owners believe that most people will own a smart watch (of some kind) 10 years from now.

For now, we can expect to hear more this June, during Apple’s WWDC conference keynote. An updated Apple Watch, “Apple Watch 2,” is estimated to launch in September, with a release following soon after. Of course, we’ll keep you updated with further information as we receive it.