I'll start out my post by saying, yes, I am an Android user. I used to own an iPhone during the 3GS days, then got a Galaxy S3, and now I use an LG G3 and I own a Nexus 10. That being said, I respect that Apple makes a solid, reliable product with a good UI. I do not however, believe they are any where near being a market leader any more when it comes to UI or industrial design. Their hype is good, and they know how to sell their products as something special even when they're just above average compared to the industry. I'll just try to correct a few things I don't agree with here and not stoop to just bashing Apple.
But their implementation is interesting. Divorcing customer information from the transaction is good. Coupling biometrics with the process is great....and not done by any Samsung product of which I am aware.
Google Wallet already divorces the customer information from the transaction and has for a while. Granted, adding in the biometrics is new, but I'm not convinced that will be a game changer. What will push this is Apple's marketing, which is much better than Google's at selling new features.
In my experience Android is like WingX, whereas Apple is like ForeFlight.
One of them always gets there first, but the other has a much smoother delivery when they do get there.
Apple's 'delivery' is always good, as in they always sell their products well. The launch of their actual products and services is not always so smooth. The iPhone 4 antenna issue and Apple Maps comes to mind. Both iOS & Android have their missteps on product releases.
They don't need to be bleeding edge to succeed....they just need to be good. Spec wars don't often translate into real world advantages. Integration is far more important. That said, the optical image stabilization is good, and unique for phone-class cameras. And actually doing something with NFC coupled with biometrics is a win. The McDonalds/Subway connection alone will make that a winner.
The Watch also is the first digital watch that actually looks interesting. And the ergonomics of it really highlights their design brilliance. Nothing close in the Android watch offerings.
The free U2 album was a slick touch! Already have it on multiple devices and love it! Some of U2's best work.
My LG G3 has optical image stabilization, not really a unique feature, and the optical stabilization is only on the 6+, the 6 uses digital stabilization (if I remember reading correctly).
The watch doesn't look interesting to me, but I'm not fan of any of the square smartwatches, and certainly not for Apple's price ($350). Then again I'm not sold on smartwatches at all yet. Nobody has presented a valid use case yet, but I'm hopeful someone can come up with something that interests me.
1. I don't know why some have what appears to be a pathological need to diss Apple.
It's the same pathological need that some Apple fans have to bash Android. They want to justify their own choice of platform, and the best way they can show themselves to be superior is to prove that the other guy sucks.
