I don't need the Apple Watch. I want the Apple Watch. (In gold, if you please.) In my head, I know that there are probably more capable devices out there. I also know that I have been getting by just fine with my iPhone, my iPad, my MacBook Air, my HP Windows 7-based laptop (for hard-core editing and writing, when muscle memory is a must) and my Fitbit Flex.
Today we learned more about the device, how much it will cost (from $350 to, gulp, $17,000), the different sizes it will come in, its capabilities and the fact that Apple Stores will turn part boutique with associates helping customers find just the right fit and look. (And you thought branding was tough on SharePoint!)
I'm sure I am not the only person whose head is saying no but whose heart is saying, "Yes! A thousand times, yes!" There may even be some companies that think their employees would be more productive if an Apple Watch were added to employees' tech toolkits. That got me thinking about wearables in general, and the idea that enterprise applications like SharePoint might be better and more often used if employees were more closely connected (literally and figuratively).
Think about it: No matter where you are, you would be notified if some bit of business on SharePoint required your attention. You could respond more quickly to questions, whether via text or voice. Provide minute-by-minute updates on projects. You could check whether a particular project (or person) was increasing your heart rate (and potentially your health risks).
Pundits predict that the Apple Watch will wallow a bit at first, picking up steam after third-party developers get their heads (and code) around the device's capabilities and its potential. Apps, as with the iPhone and iPad, will be where it's at. And, considering the openness we've seen between Microsoft and Apple of late, companies could come up with a slew of Apple Watch-specific and cross-device apps that would more tightly integrate SharePoint, Office 365 and other platforms into, for example, email and text functions.
Of course, there are other smart watches out there, but the Apple Watch is arguably the one that will take the form factor mainstream. The potential for a users' personal and professionals lives to be united in a kind of human Gordian now seems well within reach. The question is, would those kinds of ties be a little too binding?
What do you think? Will the Apple Watch be around your wrist on the first day it is available for purchase, April 24? If so, is it a decision of the head or of the heart? Or maybe a little of both?
