Why is the Apple Watch the buyer's question of March 2016?

In this article I discuss the phenomenon of ‘when to buy’ and ‘the rational vs emotional buyer decision’ applied to the decision process of an Apple Watch purchaser.
I come to the conclusion that ‘rational buyers’ can be at rest until March 2016 and than evaluate and decide whether to buy or not to buy the second generation of Apple Watch. Anything else prior that date will be pure ‘emotional’ buying decision.

The journey from emotional to rational buyer

I was waiting for Apple Watch from January 2014. I wanted to buy it. I was eager to start using smart watches and do my running with them.

But something happened recently. I was writing an article about my experience with Apple products over the past years when I realized I was also unhappy with Apple products way more often then I would expect.
So, I looked at my past buying behavior and I must admit to myself that I behaved as a typical ‘emotional buyer’. I was buying Apple products based on emotion at least to the same degree as on rational reasons.

I made a pledge to myself - I will only buy something from Apple based on rational arguments.

Apple Watch rational buyer decision process

The process is about finding positive answers to the two questions:

Do I need to buy it?
When should I buy it?

Well the first question - do I really need a smart watch?

I deliberately leave the answer to this question up to every buyer.

I would like to simply point out the following:

It is a general question - why do you need smart watches when you have a smart phone? Generally presented benefits of use are minor effectiveness and ergonomic optimizations to the cost of the advantages of a traditional watch. Also there is the negative factor of financial cost and the time spent on maintaining and resolving inevitable issues related to a smart watch / wearable computer. It is a valid question, whether the tangible positive aspects of smart watches outweigh the rock solid costs of time&money related to them.
Do you really understand that there are other smart watches to Apple Watch, and they also have a lot to offer?
Do you understand fully that Apple Watches will be most likely locked to the Apple ecosystem, and the Apple ecosystem is US-centric - so for example, in Europe some features will have severe limitations, or will even be unusable?
Do you realize truly that ‘ordinary’ watches have advantages over smart watches, and that smart watches have severe limitations also for a lot of their use?

If a buyer investigates the above and still wants to buy Apple Watch, then they will come to the second part of the process/question - when to buy?

Let’s do a little bit of counting:

Let me assume, the answer to whether to buy Apple Watch is ‘yes’ and the answer is well-rationalized.
Actually, ‘well-rationalized decisions’ are a strong domain of ‘emotional buyers’ :-))

So, when to buy?

September 2014

Apple unveiled its Apple Watch stating that it will be ‘coming early 2015’. Well, assume it will be February 2015.

February 2015

Sales begin of the first generation of Apple Watch.
Is it a good time for purchase? Nope, because of the ‘rational buyer’ rule that I formulated in this article.
So, wait about six months.

August 2015

Apple Watch will have been in production for about six months. Based on reviews and user experience buyers will be able to decide whether it is good to purchase or not.
BUT IS IT A GOOD TIME FOR PURCHASE? Nope!
Hey, Apple Watch second generation will be about to be announced.
It will be a good time to WAIT FOR the announcement of APPLE WATCH SECOND GENeration.

September 2015

Apple Watch second generation will be announced and will start for sale. Is it a good time for purchase? Nope. Wait six months. Because of the ‘rational buyer’ rule that I formulated in this article.

March 2016

Apple watch second generation is in production for six months. Is it good time to purchase? Well, if the general user experience and reviews are positive then YES - DO PURCHASE :-)

Conclusion:

Set up calendar event for March 2016 now.
At March 2016 review what is available on smart watch market. Eventually choose Apple Watch second generation and buy it.