Enlarge / The Apple Watch Series 2 running watchOS 3. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

One of my favorite pieces of Apple writing from the last couple years is Ben Thompson’s discussion of the Apple Watch’s introduction and how it compared to past Apple product introductions. I’m not just referring to standard Apple product events, but the events at which Apple introduces an entirely new product line to the press and its customers for the first time.

The iPod, iPhone, and iPad introductions, Thompson writes, all went to great lengths to communicate Apple’s goals for the product. And often, that part of the presentation would go on for as long as 10 or 15 minutes before the product itself was even announced or shown. Even if you didn’t necessarily agree with Apple’s stated vision, you came away with clear knowledge of what that vision was.

Contrast that with the introduction for the Apple Watch, which began with a general statement about Apple’s product philosophy and moved on to a pre-recorded video (relatively rare during Jobs’ era, but a frustrating hallmark of Cook-era presentations). That was followed by a rundown of the watch’s UI and multiple app demos, some of which landed better than others. It was sort of a phone substitute sometimes, it sort of did some fitness things, it sort of ran limited versions of apps, it was sort of a wrist-bound communicator and personal assistant, and it was sort of a status symbol aimed at the luxury watch market. Plenty of possibilities, but no clearly communicated vision.