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Comment by isitmadeofglass | Hacker News Reader

It’s not misleading, this is Apple releasing the news and it has obviously been developed in collaboration with Apple.

The term “Dive computer” is not something to be taken lightly. It’s hardware you literally depend on to keep you alive during a dive. The fact that Apple is supporting this externally developed app says they have a very higher level of trust in their hardware.

Typically a dive computer would cost more than an Apple Watch and be a single purpose device. The fact that Apple is entering the arena is quite a disruption as other brands will be forced to either compete on price or really raise the bar on innovation to justify their current levels.

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Dive computers don't keep you alive during the dive, they keep you alive afterwards :P But seriously, if a dive computer fails, you go off your buddy's computer or scrub the dive and go with a maximum surface interval. At worst, this watch failing means you have to end early. Dive computers have extra safety precautions around surfacing too quickly, but divers are trained to use things such as watching air bubbles to time their surfacing. I have never seen a setup that only uses digital gauges for air pressure.

This is all rec diving (<= 40m). I would never, ever use an Apple device for tech diving, even if some future version is rated for it.

“Apple introduces X” in a PR statement implies that Apple is the product owner. Which it’s not.

“Introducing Oceanic+ for Apple Watch Ultra” is a better title as it removes the conventional idea of product ownership.

Whether or not Apple is directly involved in development is different, as they often have many different partners to showcase new product functionality, and none of those would be suited to “Apple Introduces X” titles either.

"Jay Leno introduces ColdPlay" does not imply Jay Leno is the album producer.

> The fact that Apple is entering the arena is quite a disruption as other brands will be forced to either compete on price or really raise the bar on innovation to justify their current levels.

This is the part I don't really understand, unless this app was completely developed out-of-house. How large an arena is this really? Are there really that many potential customers who are both divers and haven't bought an Apple watch? Is there some angle from the business side I'm missing here?

I expect it’s the halo product strategy, same reason mass market car manufacturers produce cars like NSX or Corvette or Ford GT.

It helps the brand (if they can do that, my mundane daily life will be easy), it sells to wealthy enthusiasts and aspirational consumers, it brings people in to showrooms, and it challenges internal teams.

And in the Apple case, their ecosystem is strong. Recreational divers are Apple’s target market, and this should convert a bunch of them to Apple.

Imagining the pitch, it was probably something like limited incremental costs, supports long term ecosystem strategy, reduces revenue from cash cows for competing fitness watch companies.

     Is there some angle from the business side I'm missing here?

It sends the message that the Apple Watch Ultra is robust enough for diving, which is pretty cool and makes it a more attractive product even if you don't dive.

We see this in all kinds of products, right? Among watch collectors, 200M diver style watches (from the Casio MDV106 all the way up to Rolex Submariners and beyond) are probably the most popular single style.

We see it in autos, with people buying vehicles with rugged capabilities they don't need. Or in shoes, with people buying athletic shoes for activities they don't partake in. A laptop with more CPU and RAM than they probably need. Etc.

From a purely logical standpoint this is silly, of course. And for some kinds of products like autos this level of excess is deeply wasteful.

However, I think what people are really buying is peace of mind and we all engage in this to some extent! It's simply nice to have a bit of gear so robust you don't have to worry about it!

Most dive computers cost less (often less than half) than an Apple Watch Ultra and don't require any subscription to maintain functionality.

Also, since you are trusting your life to the waterproofing of the watch, a EDC watch that takes abuse all day that could compromise that waterproofing seems like a bit of a risk unless it is only being used as a secondary / backup dive computer.

Depends where you dive, I see a lot of shearwaters in US and I don’t think they make more than one that cheap.

All this “trusting your life” stuff is pretty overblown for rec diving. You have a buddy who has a computer and probably a dive guide, you’re not going that deep, worst case scenario if it fails on a dive just swim a bit shallower than the guide (after signaling them) and sit out the next one. Or dive tables. You can ascend without a computer, and you can make an overkill safety stop (or just buddy up) without a computer.

Yeah, but most people don't use Shearwaters, they use cheaper Mares pucks or other such devices.

Although, Apple Watch Ultra will be very competitive against devices like Garmin Descent or Suunto D5.

You must dive different places than I do, I never see pucks except as rentals. I was recently on a trip where people had to figure out whose tank sensor was whose because there were so many.

I guess - I've been diving in Bali, Thailand, Mexico (Cosumel), Europe (Malta, Adriatic sea, Greece) and some other places.

In general, divers there weren't a very wealthy bunch and didn't really run around with 800$+ tech gadgets (although some of us/them did have more expensive computers).

I use my Apple Watch Ultra for running, hiking, diving, health tracking etc.

So it's far more capable than just a dive computer.

And again it doesn't require an ongoing subscription you just turn on/off as you need it.

Do they have the same clout tho? I bet you can make some pretty sweet gram content with this. Edit: why the hate? Do you guys love Instagram or something?

I suspect you are being down-voted because your comment is perceived as sarcastic and/or joking and comments like that tend to get down-voted because they are seen as low-value comments.

I guess I'd be pretty upset if I bought hardware and then had to pay a subscription for planned functionality too. I suck at playing things off as funny when I feel like I'm being targeted by mockery by people I don't know very well

> Edit: why the hate?

Because this post is pure sarcasm with nothing of value to add except for mocking people you disagree with.

> Do you guys love Instagram or something?

Nope. Hate it - but I don't feel the need to go spewing that hate over a tangentially related thread which has actual interesting discussion.

They have the same “keep you alive” clout which is arguably much more important in diving.

There are also thousands of cooler things that would bring you more views than an AWU in any typical tropical dive.

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