Yeah, it's for the sligltly LESS serious runners, of which there are millions...
How many leave their phone on the house and go out jogging?
Me for one. I run 2x a week for about a half-hour each time in the park near my apartment building. That's about as casual as it gets?
I used to run with my phone, but I recently bought a tiny mp3 player and a Casio wristwatch for running. I don't care about GPS since I know my park, and if someone needs me I'll talk to them in a half hour.
Needing to bring a phone with me makes this watch absolutely a no deal.
These are nylon belts with a buckle and a small expandable pouch. They also have 2 toggles to attach your race bib too.
They are just big enough to hold your phone, keys and some cash or cards.
You'll see people doing fun runs wear them to avoid carrying a pack for their stuff. To prevent water damage, put your item in a ziplock bag.
It's very inconvenient to run with a phone and almost impossible to play other sports with one.
ME!! I don't want something bulky weighing me down.
Judging by the answers you got, ones who have oversized phones and think that shaving a little weight is worth not being able to call emergencies (who cares, they can use a strangers phone if that happens, just like the guys who cycle and skip tools, patches and pumps and then end up asking people passing them by, and anyway emergencies happen to other people).
OTOH, I don't know why anyone would ever wear a watch after 1993.
But yeah, almost purely fashion.
1) I like being able to know time and date at a quick glance -- the ease of this is light years ahead of any smartphone. 2) It never runs out of juice since it doesn't have a battery. 3) It looks good (IMO). 4) I irrationally like the fact that my moving about gives life to a tiny beating mechanism. For that reason my watch has a power reserve meter.
Have zero interest in smartwatches though. I have enough crap to keep charged as is.
But then again, consider that people buy $300+ headphones (Dre's) because of how they look, fashion etc. And they are not even the best headphones out there, whereas this is probably the best smartwatch.
Or that people bought iPods for $300 or more just 6 years ago. Without video or phone or camera. Heck, I bought my first iPod for ~$800 10 years ago (complete with a black and white LCD display).
And that's the 1st gen. In a year, it will be like $200 or $100 for the same thing or the new model.
So, yeah, it might flop or it might sell, but it won't be due to its price.
Fair enough, but i have to say, I feel like i'm taking crazy pills here. So apple releases it and suddenly it's a fashion item to have a clunky, square watch. Just a few short months ago, i was reading nytimes articles about the current crop of smartwatches saying "'They’re just not that attractive,' said Mr. Dawson, 'they are all clunky and square'"
But now suddenly it's a fashion item to have a clunky, square watch?
(I understand fashion is fickle, but this is really really fickle :P)
That said, I've since been reminded about the Moto360 which _did_ have a round screen, so my point is moot anyway.
But I have a feeling Porsche has just used an ordinary square panel here, with its edges concealed by the gauge bezel. A watch designer doesn't have room to pull off a visual trick like that.