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Comment by Bud | Hacker News Reader

The writer says a lot of things that are just silly. For instance:

It's hard enough to craft desire for a single identity. When asked to think of an Apple Watch, people don't know what to picture. Can you imagine if the original iPhone in 2007 came with sixty customizable skins?

Well, um, it did come with hundreds of customizable skins. They were called iPhone cases. They were, and still are, endemic.

Instead of a single, perfect product, we got a jumble of features and choices.

Actually, there is no functional difference between the various Apple Watch lines. It is a single product. It simply allows the user to customize the appearance of the product. This is necessitated by the fact that this device, unlike all Apple devices to date, is worn on your body.

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The important point is Apple did not sell those cases when the iPhone was first released. It didn't talk about the idea of customizing it. People will figure out how to own their phone and make it personal.

I think the author of this piece did a great job channeling a likely, and better, introduction.

Right, and what would be the analogy here? I suppose they could've let you replace straps without actually offering other straps? But that sounds like you're not offering more out of some silly superstition?

Apple as a company has more resources today and I think that's certainly part of it. They barely launched a single phone on time in 2007, let alone multiple models. Steve Jobs said that "nobody would buy a bigger phone?" He didn't see people using phones the way they do today. In 2007 "bigger phone" meant "I can't make this smaller because small is hard" and by being small -- but inline with the phones people were using at the time -- it was even more impressive. Hell they STILL get us with that one, every single year. Thinner! Lighter! Yes!

Yeah that's true but it's still silly. Phones sit in your pocket, they mostly look the same, it's not that big a deal.

Watches on the other hand have been fashion items for over a hundred years. There are countless variations. It would be arrogant - even for Jobs - to claim that a single design would satisfy everyone, would be perfect.

It did not. And what's more annoying is the way he puts it: I KNOW WHAT STEVE WOULD HAVE DONE. I, a big nobody compared to a CEO that's worked for Apple since 20 years, know why he got it wrong. Now I'm gonna tell you what I would have done. This is the worst bullshit. Critique is great, and you can pull it off brilliantly even you are a little dot compared to the big guys you're criticizing. This is clearly not the case.

About the customization: there's two version of the Watch, one big, one small. The rest is fashion. Apple knew, better than anybody else, that you need fashion to sell something that stays on your wrist and everybody will see all the time. Deem it superficial, if you want, but that's reality. Once again competitors couldn't do something similar, because they may have the tech. This time around even the ecosystem. Unfortunately the don't have the best team of designers (not merely industrial designer, designer in general) a company has ever employed.

Tim Cook knows what Steve would have done, but he just thinks his way is better. It's a human thing.

Does the author expect everyone to wear the same mock turtleneck, levis, and new balances too?

Not a single product - there are two different screen sizes to choose from.

Doesn't seem to hurt the iPods of various form factors, Macbook Airs and Pro Retinas of various form factors, iPads of various sizes, and nor will it hurt the iPhone, I suspect.

May be. Just that Apple Watch is launching with two size options, whereas in case of other products that you mention, options were introduced years after the first launch of the products.

endemic? I have no idea what you meant by that word. It's not the right word at all.

iPhones are pretty much "worn" these days, either in the hand or pocket. What about the iPods that are worn daily by runners and practically everyone in the gym.

Endemic in this situation is used as commonplace. He's just saying that cases are commonplace. It's not a perfect use of the word, but one I've definitely seen and used.

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