Can the Apple Watch Start a Trend?

While visiting with my cousins over winter break we talked briefly about Apple's new smart watch product. I was wondering whether they thought it would sell well. After a quick consensus, we found that none of us wear watches to school on a regular basis and that we were unsure of how useful this new device will be to younger generations. According to its presentation, Apple says one can check the time, read email, use apps on your phone along with fitness tracking capabilities, and a strange heartbeat-messaging feature. After reading, none of these new features really sounded appealing to me. With the exception of being able to check the time two seconds quicker it did not seem like I would ever need or want this new watch. 

Despite this, Apple's revolutionary iPhone received similar criticism before its release in 2007. Many vowed to be content with Motorola flip phones and were apprehensive about the new device. We have seen how that worked out with almost one half billion iPhones sold. Watches have been decreasing in popularity as of recent years, and especially in younger generations. With Apple's following of millennials, will it bring watches back to a norm? Apple is not the first company to roll out a new smart watch, brands like Pebble and Samsung already have their rendition on the market, but Apple is in a unique position to once again be a catalyst in technology and also in style.

Apple’s position of power gives them the ability to start a major reinvention of the watch industry. Younger generations have been purchasing watches less frequently but sales numbers have held according to BBC. They just have to have a product that people will stand behind. Do you think customer’s brand loyalty to Apple will be a deciding factor deciding whether or not to purchase the watch? The watch is projected to release this March at $349.