{"id":2238,"date":"2020-03-21T21:07:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T21:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sm-dev.theme-sphere.com\/classic\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2020-03-21T21:07:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T21:07:59","slug":"a-treat-just-perfect-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sm-dev.theme-sphere.com\/classic\/a-treat-just-perfect-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"A Treat Just Perfect For You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Final details of Apple\u2019s new smartwatch have finally arrived at the firm\u2019s glitzy Spring Forward event. But while the hype machine steps up another notch, there are other issues regarding health and self-tracking and, possibly even more important, over wearable tech companies’ interest in our emotional lives.<\/p>\n

To understand the significance of Watch and other self-tracking wearables, we should look to Silicon Valley and the Quantified Self movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"girl-reading\"<\/a>Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long \u2013 let\u2019s not forget Tim Cook\u2019s \u201csitting is the new cancer<\/strong>\u201d line.<\/p>\n

It achieves this by means of an accelerometer, a heart rate sensor, WiFi and GPS. There are already many smartwatches on the market such as the Pebble and offerings from LG, Sony, Samsung and Motorola, among others.\u00a0This is notable because John Lewis is not aimed at the tech-savvy, and therefore concludes.<\/p>\n

Whether the Watch will be a flop or success, Apple\u2019s entry is a significant contribution to industry-wide attempts to get us using wearable devices. The market is predicted to grow from 9.7m units in 2013 to 135m in 2018, according to CCS Insight.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.<\/p>\n

Maya Angelou<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While a report from UK retailer John Lewis also records steady growth in wearables for health and well-being: sales were up 395% from 2013.\u00a0This is notable because John Lewis is not aimed at the tech-savvy, and therefore presents a reasonable indicator of mass-market take-up of wearables.<\/p>\n

Beginning of a New Era<\/h3>\n

Beyond health, Apple\u2019s interest in emotion is key to understanding the significance of its watch. Apple\u2019s website promises that we will reach out and connect in ways we never have.<\/p>\n

Watch will allow us to draw doodle pictures and observe others as they create theirs, give loved ones a \u201ctap\u201d on the wrist to show we are thinking of them, send real-time heartbeats to others, and so on.\u00a0This is notable because John Lewis is not aimed at the tech-savvy, and therefore presents a reasonable indicator of mass-market take-up of wearables.<\/p>\n

\"Ship\"<\/a>
A great ship that sailed the seven seas of contemporary times.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The message is to use connectivity to be intimate even at a distance, with the language<\/a>.\u00a0Apple uses an attempt to claim intimacy and sociability from afar, and to humanize and make palatable what are essentially tracking technologies.<\/p>\n