Financial Challenges

Beyond the initial supply constraints for its new Apple Watch, Apple’s big hurdle with consumers will be changing the mindset that wearable devices are, well, nerdy.That said, the Apple Watch’s new app store is already populated with more than 3,000 apps. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges for new users may be how to deal with the distractions and alerts that pop up on their wrists.The Apple Watch hasn't been shipping for two months and the available evidence -- combined with Apple's reluctance to talk about sales -- points to it being a rather unsuccessful launch.

I chose the word ""unsuccessful"" deliberately, avoiding more hyperbolic words such as ""flop"" or failure"" because Apple has, based on even the most conservative estimates, sold a few million units.

Technical Challenges

Apple didn't build the best possible smartwatch it could. It engineered and built a device that had to be compromised because of the form factor.A smartwatch is, by virtue of its name, something that is supposed to fit on a wrist, and a regular wrist at that, not the wrist of a 500lb gorilla (like some of us have). That means that when it comes to things like screen size and battery volume, there's not an awful lot of wriggle room.There's no doubt that the Apple Watch is a beautiful device and a marvel of engineering. But it seems from the way that Apple markets the Apple Watch that the whole premise for it is to act as a tool that sits between you and your iPhone so you can use your iPhone less and there is too much reliance on siri, For all the computing power that lies behind Siri, the technology is still as dumb as a sack of bricks.As much as I want to be able to interact with my iPhone using Siri as opposed to jabbing at the screen with my gorilla fingers, it's just too frustrating to use. Yeah, it's great for the odd joke (go on, if you have an iPhone or iPad, ask Siri when the world will end or what's zero divided by zero), but beyond that Siri is the joke.

Cultural Challenges

When dealing with a difficult counterpart, it helps to take a conciliatory approach to the bargaining table. While apologies necessarily involve moments of vulnerability, they can also open doors to value creation and strengthen the relationship you have with your bargaining counterpart. Let’s look back at Apple’s apology in China for its maligned warranty policies as it provides an excellent example of how to overcome cultural barriers in communication. In April 2013, Apple CEO Timothy D. Cook made the unusual move of apologizing to Chinese customers for his company’s warranty policy and promised to make amends, The New York Times reports.

On International Consumers’ Day in China, the nation’s largest state-run television network criticized Apple for giving iPhone customers in China a one-year warranty, less than the two years required under Chinese law, and for charging consumers about $90 to replace faulty back covers on iPhones."

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