Masakazu Honda is a well-known journalist in the technology field. In this series, Honda writes about wearable devices. In this installment, he discusses the outlook for the Apple Watch, starting with watchOS 6, the operating system for the Apple Watch that was just announced at WWDC 2019.
Text by Masakazu Honda
Apple Watch takes a step towards becoming an independent device
This is hardly an appropriate sentence to start a series of articles on webChronos, but at Apple's developer conference, WWDC 2019, held on June 3, 2019, a preview of watchOS 6, the operating system for Apple Watch, was given.
Yes, of course, the Apple Watch is a personal computer in the form of a wristwatch.
Like PCs and smartphones, there are model changes almost every year, and there are also the "annoyances of computers" such as updating the operating system (OS), so users may feel that the Apple Watch cannot achieve "universal value." However, this is essentially what wearable products are like. But this is not all bad.
The Apple Watch is a personal computer, which is why it continues to evolve year after year. Even Macs and iPhones, which are reaching maturity in terms of hardware functionality, are offering new value and ease of use by linking them with software and services.
What's more, smartwatches are extremely small, which means that the ways in which they can be operated are limited and their computing capabilities are also severely restricted. It is obvious that they will continue to break new ground through a combination of hardware performance and functionality, software, and services.
In other words, I think Apple has realized that pushing its own limits and moving forward every year will make smartwatches better.
