Revolutionary? The Day After

Apple kicked off their new hardware event yesterday with a bizarre live streaming snafu of epic proportions. It was so embarrassing that they’ve perpetually lost their rights to mock the Blue Screen of Death in any way, shape, or form.

After hyping the living daylights out of this event—including a countdown on their web site’s home page and an ABC teaser for a post-event exclusive interview on what was billed as an historic announcement—it was virtually impossible to actually live stream the live stream for the first half hour or so of the event.

And it wasn't just that you got that spinning circle of waiting while the content loaded. There was a bizarre collection of colored bars, error messages, and previously streamed video. And for the brief periods where you could get the live stream, it included a Chinese audio translation.

For a company that likes to meticulously orchestrate its media events, it was a fiasco.

Fortunately, there were no major surprises in what was announced: iPhones with larger screens, a payment system to replace credit and debit cards, and a smart watch. Many of the details had already been leaked, revealed, or rumored in the months and weeks leading up to the event.

Whether you view Apple Pay or Apple Watch as revolutionary depends upon whether you viewed the iPod, iPhone, or iPad as revolutionary. Apple was not first to market with any of these product categories, but arguably their entry into these markets redefined customer expectations. I happen to believe that creating a usable device—the innovation of how the parts are integrated and work together—trumps being first to market with a new technology embedded in a poorly designed piece of crap.

Predictably, there was the standard refrain for new Apple hardware. It's too expensive. It’s too big. Its battery life is too short. It’s already been done.

To be fair, a price starting at $350 is a lot of money to pay for what is essentially an iPhone accessory, and the battery life—never mentioned in the presentation—appears to be about a day. I think I’ll wait for the second or third generation before I consider buying one of these.

But that doesn’t mean we didn’t see the beginning of something big yesterday. If the design of the Apple Watch is significantly better than its competitors, then there will be no shortage of early adopters. Don’t forget that the cost of the first generation iPod started at $400 and the first generation iPhone at $499. If the first generation Apple Watch is successful we’ll see subsequent generations that are cheaper, smaller, more efficient, and more powerful.

I’ve never seen anyone making a purchase in a store by waving their phone or watch at a checkout device. Whether or not this becomes a common occurrence with Apple devices in the next few years will be the best indicator of whether we witnessed something groundbreaking yesterday.