You’re overplaying the hundreds of years part. While the first wristwatch dates back almost 200 years (developed for the Queen of Naples), pocket watches were the rule until World War I, when they were mass produced and marketed at soldiers in the trenches. The mass market wristwatch industry developed from that point on.

I like my Apple Watch, but it’s an iPhone accessory. It doesn’t fulfill a specific need, but provides a suite of enhancements to my phone and can take over a few functions from it.

(This comment was written in response to an earlier version of your comment, but the main part still seems to be there but reformatted).

Nobody bought an Apple Watch because they wanted something on their wrist that told time and were underserved by that. I say this as someone who bought the first version and actually does like something on my wrist that tells time. People bought it for the digital enhancements, which started out kind of confused but got more clear with time (health, notifications).

I mean.. sure, but those are hardly "problems" that needed solving with an Apple Watch. Another digital watch, simpler / cheaper would do just fine. Same for the HomePod, solutions to those "problems" have been around for a while.

If you compare the solution/problem pairs you described and take into account how good of a solution those products are to those problems, I don't see how they "solve" the problems significantly better than an already existing, cheaper alternative, which is not the case for the iPhone, iPod, AirPod, mac book, etc where they (on their initial launch) addressed a particular market need significantly (very significantly) better than the alternatives.

And I'm speaking this as someone that owns 1 of every product category Apple currently ships, so I'm by no means dismissing the quality of the watch or homepod, etc.

[edit/addition]: Furthermore, the Vision Pro could just as well solve similar problems to similar results as the ones you described -- for example, the need for a incredibly high quality media consumption device, portable. Or an infinite canvas that seamlessly pairs with your other Apple devices, etc. If that's true, then I would say the Apple Vision Pro should has the same utility to its target audience as the other products Apple's released on the last decades years.

Sure. I would say that's fairly minor thing, although I admit that's subjective. But given the comment I grand-parent comment, I presume they were referring to more substantial problems / solutions.

[edit] Don't mind to downplay how useful that feature is to you, as it is also very useful to me. Just wanted to make it clear I was trying to find more substantial problems that the Watch/HomePod has solved.

"a phone you can carry with you anywhere (not tethered to a wall)" was a problem solved by the Motorola DynaTAC in 1983.

Cell phones existed before the iPhone came out. The iPhone didn't solve that problem any better than a regular Nokia phone at the time. It's not about the problem it's solving, it's how it solves it. Apple solves problems in ways that actually make using the product enjoyable.

Millions in NYC alone. Asia has tons of people in apartments too, although $3500 may be too steep for the vast majority.

Yes, especially in high-CoL areas, or with people who frequently travel, or with people who just don't want to have a huge TV and associated hardware in their space.

I thought a TV was already redundant when everyone has their own iPad to watch whatever they want.

I'm going to hold judgement until I can try it, though.

Do you not where you're Apple Sneakers everywhere?

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_Omega-Sports-Apple-Computer...

(It'd have been funny if Sotheby's had titled the size "Leopard.")

The first watch wasn't that -- I think Apple Watch 3 first really delivered on this.

While it did some fitness tracking (especially the heart rate stuff which couldn't be done with a phone), it certainly wasn't promoted as a fitness device.

There was all that stuff about "connecting" (where you could send doodles and heartbeats to your Apple Watch wearing friends) and they made a big deal about watch apps and notification management. And of course the "luxury watch" aspect (gold watches that go out of date in a couple of years - sheesh).

It's only after a couple of iterations that Apple doubled down on the fitness side of things.

The first couple AW gens didn’t really have much of a fitness angle, though. The hardware and software for health tracking was very lacking. It was only later on that they pivoted hard on fitness and did a big marketing push with the “three rings”.

Especially for women who typically don't have pockets in their clothes and their phone is in their purse - which causes them to miss calls/texts.

I beg to differ. People dicking around on their e-watch during in person meetings or social settings where they should be paying attention to who is speaking, is just as socially rude as those on their phone.