We here on HN are mostly looking at Apple Watch as Android Wear vs. Apple Watch. This article is interesting since it shows that Apple is successful at completely ignoring these competitors and promoting Watch in a totally different market and environment, where all that matters is Brand, Design and Build. No matter if Android Wear is as good or even better, none of their manufacturers can compete in the luxury space as well as Apple may be able to.
I think this is a key point that's further backed up by Apple's recent hiring of people from the high-end fashion space.
It certainly seems to me that Apple aren't even trying to directly compete for the audience that Android Wear attracts.
Ben Thompson[1] has been talking for months about Apple moving properly into the luxury goods sector. The Watch seems like their first real push in that direction.
I agree. This is way less about anything technical and much more about fashion (a thing Apple is quite good at). I'm reminded of this article that was posted on HN not too long ago[0].
Also, based purely on style, the Apple watch looks quite luxurious, and the pictures really do make it seem "expensive". However, I also find other smart watches quite nice, such as the Moto360.
Funny that, I have been saying for years when people were comparing the iPhone to various Android devices based a tech laundry list that Apple essentially operates as a fashion business and a technical comparison is meaningless. That's not how or why people buy these things. I seriously want to see the guy who walks into a store asks for a phone with at least two ARMv7-A cores at 1.5GHz with a screen of at least 280ppi.
So, nothing new there except now they compete with existing fashion items.
All told, even though the article was gushing (almost to the point of shill) it still admits it's bulky, it's for nerds and it's a market category noone asked for. We will see how it goes.
