Apple Watch succeeds, where it does succeed, by providing seamless and frictionless integration to a sensor-driven 'invisible' device optimized for a particular set of functions. Watch isn't perfect but, as Alan Kay said of the original Macintosh, it was the first product of its kind worthy of criticism.
Watch applications introduce 24/7 awareness of action or inaction, need not be turned on or off, and ultimately provide a greater amount of relevant information quickly that drives behavior change, from personal health to communication, and interaction. These are things that were not possible with other personal devices, even the venerable smartphone with the best apps.
Watch also helped users learn to adopt new features over time, driven by short-term task-driven functions. The purchase driver for watch might have been initially related to a single function but more capabilities, driven through apps, created value through added function over time
Watch is powerful because it's invisible. It's the device that users don't need to think about they need information at a glance. As iPhone transformed the cell phone from a device that could do two things well, voice calls, and text messages into a multi featured device driven by apps, so too Watch transformed the watch from a device for telling time, and date to a data driven, sensor controlled and, app powered device.
One that also comes in rose gold or with a Hermès band.
