Gilster: Watch is inevitable next step for Apple

I’ve seen have been all over the map, ranging from 8 million to 41 million for 2015. That alone tells you how uncertain this market is. Remember that since the Pebble watch appeared in 2013, we’ve seen smartwatch entries from LG, Huawei and Samsung, while Google has tweaked Android to work with watchlike devices. None of these products has overwhelmed the market, which puts Apple in the position it’s usually in when it comes to the next big thing.

Built-in audience

Was it really all the way back in 2010 that Apple launched the iPad, vaulting a directionless tablet market into a focused buying trend that resulted in 250 million units sold? Whether the Cupertino colossus can repeat that feat will depend upon how compelling the Apple Watch proves to be, and how many people are willing to spend $350 (for the smaller sports model) ranging up to a mid-tier $550 to $1,100, and topping out (for those of you with private jets) at over $10,000, which is what having your Apple Watch encased in gold will cost you.
Two factors are at work in Apple’s first new hardware product line in five years. This is a company that knows it has a built-in audience of early adopters who serve, for practical purposes, like an army of testers for the more developed software that will follow. So initial sales should be brisk. At the back end, the Apple Watch is, like a smartphone, a device that will doubtless see new product versions every two years or so. That suggests buying at the low end because before long you’re going to want yet another generation of features