Well, Apple’s media event has come and gone, including a performance by U2 (yawn) and while there was a lot to like about it, my predictions were pretty far off. Here’s the follow-up to my wacky ideas:
- There will be a watch, but it won’t be called iWatch. There will be multiple sizes and prices. The entry level price point will be $299.
Mostly true. The watch is called AppleWatch (Watch), and there are two sizes, and multiple price points. I was too aggressive in my call for a sub $300 price point, but $349 isn’t too far off. - There will be another, more affordable wearable of some kind, maybe like a FitBit, or Care Predict Tempo. This would not have all the features of the watch, but would be more of a health and/or fitness device.
Nope. - The wearable(s) will be branded Beats instead of, or in addition to, Apple.
Nope. - There will be at least one woman on stage during the event, which is notable because these things are usually sausage-fests. Maybe Angela Ahrendts?
Nope. - Siri will be featured and a major highlight of the new watch/wearable(s). I think the “Wish We Could Say More” text on the media invitation alludes to this, though I haven’t seen anyone else pick up on it.
Not really. You can use Siri with the watch, but it wasn’t a highlighted part of the keynote the way I expected. - Apple will announce a mobile payments system and it will allow payments from the watch without carrying your phone.
Partial credit. Yes they announced a mobile payments system, but that was widely expected. And yes you can use it with your watch, but all signs point to requiring communication with your phone to complete a transaction. - In the wake of the celebrity picture hacking scandal, Tim Cook will discuss upcoming iCloud security measures.
Nope. - CarPlay will not be discussed
A qualified “true”. Tim did mention CarPlay in the context of all the cool stuff coming soon from Apple, but nothing more than that.
So, that was fun but ultimately I won’t quit my day job to become a professional Apple-prognosticator. Maybe I’ll try something similar for the expected-though-not-yet-confirmed iPad/Mac/Yosemite event in October. In the meantime I’m gong to spend some intimate time with this gif of a certain special wrist-based-phone-interface.