Apple today announced that Apple Watch, its most personal device yet and the newest innovative addition to Apple’s ecosystem, will be available on Friday, April 24 to customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. Apple Watch is an incredibly accurate timepiece, an intimate and immediate communication device and a groundbreaking health and fitness companion. Highly customizable for personal expression, Apple Watch also brings an entirely new way to receive information at a glance and interact with the world through third-party app experiences designed specifically for the wrist.
“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We can’t wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”
“Conceived, designed and developed as a singular product, Apple Watch merges hardware and software like never before,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design, in a statement. “In Apple Watch, we’ve created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that together enable unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”
Apple Watch introduces revolutionary technologies including the Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the display. The Retina® display with Force Touch on Apple Watch senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access relevant controls. The all-new Taptic Engine™ discreetly delivers a gentle tap on your wrist whenever you receive a notification or message.
Incredibly Accurate & Customizable Timepiece
An extremely precise timepiece, Apple Watch keeps time to within 50 milliseconds of UTC, the universal time standard. Apple Watch can be personalized with watch faces ranging from traditional analog such as the Chronograph face, to the information-rich Modular face, or beautifully animated butterflies and jellyfish on the Motion face. Apple Watch goes beyond telling time with specialized functions on the watch face—known in watchmaking as complications—such as the sunrise/sunset, upcoming calendar events or daily activity level. With multiple customizable watch faces and complications, Apple Watch enables millions of possible configurations. Swipe up from the watch face for Glances that quickly show you information you care about, such as the weather forecast, your current location on a map or the music you’re listening to.
Intimate & Immediate Communication Device
Apple Watch enables you to send messages, read email and answer calls to your iPhone® right from your wrist. The Taptic Engine alerts you with a gentle tap so you won’t miss important notifications. With Digital Touch, Apple Watch allows you to communicate in all-new ways by sending a sketch, a tap or even the rhythm of your own heartbeat. Interact quickly and conveniently with the world around you with Apple Watch by paying for coffee using Apple Pay, boarding a plane with a Passbook® boarding pass, or raising your wrist to ask Siri® for turn-by-turn directions in Maps.
Groundbreaking Health & Fitness Companion
Apple Watch encourages you to sit less, move more and get some exercise every day. The Activity app provides a simple visual snapshot of your daily activity with three rings that measure active calories burned, brisk activity and how often you’ve stood up to take a break from sitting during the day. Apple Watch provides the detailed metrics you need during dedicated workout sessions for the most popular activities, such as walking, running and cycling through the Workout app. With an accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from your iPhone, Apple Watch smartly uses the best sensors for different types of motion and provides a comprehensive picture of your all-day activity and workouts. The Activity app on iPhone collects your activity and workout data from Apple Watch so you can see your history in greater detail. Apple Watch uses this history to suggest personalized activity goals, reward fitness milestones and keep you motivated.
Apple Watch is available in two different sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, and in three distinct collections—Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. Apple Watch Sport features a lightweight anodized aluminum case in silver and space gray with a Retina display protected by strengthened Ion-X glass and matching high-performance fluoroelastomer Sport Band in five colors. The Apple Watch collection features highly polished stainless steel and space black stainless steel cases with a Retina display protected by sapphire crystal. The Apple Watch collection comes with a choice of three different leather straps, a stainless steel link bracelet and Milanese loop, and a black or white Sport Band. Apple Watch Edition features cases specially crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys developed to be twice as hard as standard gold, a Retina display protected by polished sapphire crystal and a choice of uniquely designed straps and bands with 18-karat gold clasps, buckles or pins.
The world’s most vibrant and innovative developer community has been creating all-new experiences specifically designed for Apple Watch. From requesting an Uber, checking in to your American Airlines flight, booking a bike for your Equinox class to remotely controlling your Honeywell Lyric thermostat while away, the possibilities for Apple Watch apps are endless. These experiences extend the functionality of your favorite iPhone apps, while delivering an innovative way to interact—right from your wrist. Popular apps such as Instagram, MLB.com At Bat, Nike+ Running, OpenTable, Shazam, Twitter, WeChat and more will also be available on Apple Watch. The new Apple Watch app that comes with iOS 8.2 on iPhone lets you browse, buy and download apps from the Apple Watch App Store™.
Designed to be worn throughout your day, Apple Watch delivers up to 18-hour all-day battery life and comes with a unique charging solution that combines Apple’s MagSafe® technology with inductive charging for a quick connection that simply snaps into place.
By design, the shopping experience for Apple Watch will be the most personalized Apple has ever offered. When Apple Watch becomes available for pre-order from the Apple Online Store on Friday, April 10, Apple retail stores and department store shop-in-shops will begin offering customers the chance to preview their choice of Apple Watch and try it on in-store.
Pricing & Availability
Beginning April 10 in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, and available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store. On April 24, Apple Watch will be available online or by reservation in Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers in China and Japan. Customers who purchase online or in-store from Apple will be offered Personal Setup to customize and pair Apple Watch with their iPhone.
Apple Watch is available in three collections, Apple Watch Sport, priced at $349 (US) and $399 (US); Apple Watch, available from $549 (US) to $1,099 (US); and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $10,000 (US).
Apple Watch Sport pricing:
• 38mm Silver Aluminum w/ Sport Band (White, Blue, Green, Pink, Black) – $349
• 42mm Silver Aluminum w/ Sport Band (White, Blue, Green, Pink, Black) – $399
Apple Watch pricing:
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ White Sport Band – $549
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ White Sport Band – $599
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Black Sport Band – $549
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Black Sport Band – $599
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Black Classic Buckle – $649
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Black Classic Buckle – $699
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Milanese Loop – $649
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Milanese Loop – $699
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Leather Loop (Black, Bright Blue, Stone, Brown) – $699
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Modern Buckle (Black, Midnight Blue, Soft Pink, Brown) – $749
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Link Bracelet – $949
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Link Bracelet – $949
• 38mm Stainless Steel w/ Link Bracelet – $949
• 42mm Stainless Steel w/ Link Bracelet – $949
• 38mm Space Black w/ Space Black Stainless Steel Link Bracelet – $1049
• 42mm Space Black w/ Space Black Stainless Steel Link Bracelet – $1099
Apple Watch Edition pricing:
• 38mm 18-Karat Rose Gold w/ White Sport Band – $10,000
• 42mm 18-Karat Rose Gold w/ White Sport Band – $12,000
• 38mm 18-Karat Yellow Gold w/ Black Sport Band – $10,000
• 42mm 18-Karat Yellow Gold w/ Black Sport Band – $12,000
• 42mm 18-Karat Yellow Gold w/ Midnight Blue Classic Buckle – $15,000
• 38mm 18-Karat Rose Gold w/ Rose Gray Modern Buckle – $17,000
Apple Watch will also be available to preview or try on at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Selfridges in London on April 10. Apple Watch will be for sale on April 24 at these select department store shop-in-shops, and at boutiques in major cities across the world including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin.
Starting today customers can explore and choose their favorite Apple Watch in the Apple Online Store or through the Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad.
Apple Watch requires iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.2. or later. iOS 8.2 will be available for download today.
More info here.
MacDailyNews Take: Brilliant pricing on Apple’s part, as expected. The pricing will move millions of high margin Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch models.
Starting at $10,000. Probably for the 38″.
Also it looks like they will with a band from their own family or below. So Sport only with rubber, Steel with rubber, link or leather, and Edition with specialty clasp or less. That’s how I heard it anyway.
Can I just say I found the whole presentation really boring. The stuff with the model was excruciating. Zero new details about the watch itself were told (there must not be any). And pricing/date could have been explained with a 15 word press release.
I guess I expect that if you’re inviting the whole world to San Francisco you actually have something to say. Reruns from 6 months ago don’t count. The MacBook? Cool. But overall, a pretty lame 90 minutes.
Okay low-voters, here’s your big chance: Explain what amazing new information you learned today about the WATCH. Go!
I was wondering, does the $10,000 and up version come with upgrade protection so that when Apple Watch II comes out you get a free new one or a heavily discounted one or something?
You have to be joking…Apple like to fleece the iSheep as much as possible.
Nope
I suppose if you can afford to spend such an outrageous amount in the first place, you won’t really care about having to upgrade to a new one in a year or two.
If you can afford to spent that money on a Apple Watch Edition then the price isn’t outrageous. Do you work for Citizen or Casio?
This was my concern about all of the watches. If I’m going to spend this much money on a watch, I will not be upgrading every 2-3 years. This hardware needs to last.
I agree with you about the WATCH. Other than pricing, they didn’t tell us anything new. Other than the metals and stuff. The stuff about the metals. That stuff. Was that new information? I kinda dozed off at that point.
Price!
@Nerd
just before you clicked “Post Comment”, didn’t you have just a little self-doubt that you parsed the potential for Apple Watch entirely incorrectly?
I am sorry you were bored. As a physician and medical researcher, I had goosebumps about the entire presentation, particularly ResearchKit. Imagine how Apple Watch data will supplement the datastream for, say, cardiovascular research.
The condensation of data nuggets into a glance-able event on my watch returns my eyes to other people faster. You can be sure that gaming will become much more physical.
Cheerio! Oh, you should stand up now, for a few minutes.
dan
I agree ResearchKit is awesome. The presentation started low, lifted with ResearchKit, lifted a bit more with the MacBook and then flatlined.
Which is a shame, because I think the Watch has tons of potential. But it wasn’t shown well. Not at all. The model thing? She didn’t explain anything or demonstrate anything. Tell me how the watch helps you train for a marathon. Show me how your training changed, what you did with the data.
You’re not sorry – so why bother being so patronising. If you disagree then just do it. Don’t go whining about being so sorry.
@seb
I too am sorry that I provoked your indignance. I am always struck by the amazing country that we live in, particularly with the empowerment of the Internet to magnify your voice to reach extraordinary distances. And by the power of anonymity to vent your spleen over imaginary slights. Neither of us have seen or touched an Apple Watch. I am a picky buyer of any rig, Apple or otherwise. But I am weighing its power to improve my life and others. I don’t sense that wonder and optimism in you.
And yes, I’m sorry you feel outraged and patronized. No belittling intended. I think Apple makes spendy but personally invaluable devices that other companies poorly copy.
dan
You are 100% correct! There are a “hole” bunch of Apple haters out today, many I gather from the watch industry.
Tech geeks and nerds I have known.. they hold their nose at a whiff of “fashion”. It used to be a troll insult—that Apple gear were mere fad, fluff, and fashion compared with REAL tech, the kind you can tinker with. That’s why Apple fans are sheep—they just follow the herd, & buy whatever’s fashionable today.
You “had goosebumps about the entire presentation.”
Nerd. 😉
Pharma Industrial Complex to Apple:
“Thank you Apple, now we’ll have free volunteers to
measure how people are doing with their diabetes, heart disease
Parkinson’s etc., our plan to medicate the entire dumbed
down American populace, in conjunction with cities
putting Fluoride in the water, is going forward Godspeed!!
MWWUUAAHAHA!!!! “
Hmm, so you already knew about the:
Open Source Research Kit & apps
New MacBook
Revised Air & MacBook Pro
HBO deal
Price reduction for the Apple TV
Apple Watch apps already done
18 hour battery life for the Watch
Where do you get your news? I need to subscribe (͡° ͜ʖ°)
Open Source Research Kit & apps
–This was cool.
New MacBook
–The price is good, I think. Phil spent a LOT of time on all the details then we watched a video that did the same details, in the same order, with better graphics. Made me wonder why we listened to Phil at all. Just play the video and say ta-da.
Revised Air & MacBook Pro
–Come on. Speed bumps.
HBO deal
–God, that was so lame. “Now the head of HBO is going to come on stage.” Seriously? I could have been spared the HBO commercial. Lots of channels have been added without fanfare. This, like the Phil Filler part above, felt like filler.
Price reduction for the Apple TV
–Press of the world: Come to SanFran. We have dropped the price of AppleTV $30. Lame filler.
Apple Watch apps already done
–Ooh, major headline. “Apple Watch Apps Done.” Obvious and lame.
18 hour battery life for the Watch
–That’s news? “Electronic device to be worn all day has enough battery for mostly all day.” Yes, press of the world, get on airplanes. We have some obvious stuff to tell you in person.
*This was a let-down presentation AND IT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN. The Watch is INSANE AMAZING. And this is what you do? You push it into the last 25 minutes of the presentation with some guy reading a flipchart and flipping a screen?
For God’s sake is it that hard? Give me 3 real life stories from around the world of people using the watch in ways that change their lives. The model thing should have been that. “I’ve run three marathons and I did X to train. Then I got the watch and found Y, Z, and W constantly there for me. I used that information to change P, Q, and R resulting in amazing gains in H, I, and J.” Then cut to the next person.
What they failed to do, and failed SPECTACULARLY to do, was make the watch seem compelling. Now the chance is gone. They’ll have to wait for the reviews to come out in 6 weeks for the next chance.
I hope, for Apple’s sake, those reviews are insane amazing.
chief,
there was nothing important to me and not much that wasn’t already at least rumored months ago. Everyone in the computing hardware business knows Intel’s processor roadmap. Everyone knows that the MBA would be flattened, because that’s all Apple seems to care about. Everyone knows that an old end-of-life product like an Apple TV needs to be discounted in order to keep it moving off of shelves. HBO and more iOS kits were previously announced.
All we saw today was pricing and colors for the newest MBA.
So now Apple makes three models of notebooks, a handful of laptops, and practically no professional-level Mac hardware or software at any price. What, am i supposed to produce video on a $10k watch !?!?!?
Longtime Mac users should be disappointed. Apple continues step by step to abandon us while attempting to become a fashion house.
Then why bother posting?
Yeah, no sale. The emperor is nekkid. If it was Dick Tracy’s watch with two way TV and no need for the iPhone in your pocket, then maybe. And three days charge time with heavy usage. All the health stuff looks like snake oil in software. Suddenly people will start convincing themselves they need to know this stuff because the watch is detecting it (an they bought the watch). Bunk.
the NSA and Google glasses ruined any chance for the fabled Dick Tracy watch to be acceptable.
You already said it was boring on another thread. If it’s so boring why are you repeating the same thought on another thread? Put the computer down and walk away.
This pricing is insane. It tells me that Cook lacks focus. This is confusing beyond. They’re trying to be a highend watch maker with Rolex prices and offer the EXACT SAME watch as a cheap consumer watch. It’s like Rolex saying you can have a $350 Rolex X that is aluminum or you can buy the X gold version for $17,000.
This is ridiculous and a marketing nightmare. I do not see the gold Apple watching selling hardly at all and I see this pricing and the watch product matrix as confusing for consumers. It can also create a bad feeling amongst buyers who can’t afford a $17,000 version.
So now we have crappy Beats headphones that are actually Apple products and a $17,000 gold watch.
I haven’t even got to the 12″ MacBook yet. Now we have a MacBook Air still using 20th Century screen resolutions, 13″ MacBook Pros that get the force touch, 15″ MacBook Pros that don’t get force touch, and a new 12″ MacBook. Why not just kill the MacBook Airs…
Apple is losing focus and getting more confused product matrixes.
There’s nothing that other smart watches can’t copy. Nothing is really especial so far except hi price. Wonder what they’re smoking @ Cupertino?
Pricing is ridiculous. $750 for a plain leather band watch? 1K for a stainless steel band?
What in the heck were they thinking?
Pricing is absurd. I’ll pass, mostly because, absurd.
You already know what they are thinking because they have seen people lining up to buy phones. The part that gives me a bit of a pause is the store staff applauding people as they come in to buy the stuff. That’s a bit too close to drinking the kool aid.
Back in the 70’s there were these things called ‘Mood Rings’..
(googles for a link) oh christ…they’re still making them..
So guess what Apple has the rabbits in the lab wearing now…
Good point.
This actually affects my view of Apple. If they’re willing to charge this much just because people will pay it, then maybe my MBP is overpriced. Not until today have I thought that.
Did you overpay? That all depends on who you are and what your motivation was for buying the MBP. Price is determined by what the target market is willing to pay. Within the target market there are some who depend on them for their livelihoods and others who would be adequately served by some other computer but buy the top-tier Apple to show off their affluence.
Maybe an Apple Watch Edition is a good thing for MBPs because it separates the luxury-buyers who bid up prices from the pro-buyers who actually just need the appropriate computing device.
Notice also that no one is being cheated here. The luxury buyer is being given a MacBook Pro shrunken down and made out of “solid” 18 karat gold (another honest trick play only Apple can come up with) that they can strap onto their wrist and take with them anywhere. See everybody wins, except maybe Starbucks.
10 or 17k is the worse one. Apple were known for quality products to the masses this smacks of trying to rinse the elite.
Total Fuck Up – the reason you buy anything apple was because you were buying the best and it might have been a little bit more then competition but it was better, it was well thought out and designed. It wasnt blingly and showy needlessly. You dont buy apple to buy a base model and that exactly where they’ve stuck apple watch sport and apple watch.
Also apple isn’t a luxury watch maker so its missed the point if i wanted to spend 17k on a watch i’d buy a rolex not an apple watch which will be out of date in 12 months.
Steve wouldn’t have stood for this.
Good points WHAT. All this does is confuse consumers. Apple is coming off as an elitist brand with prices totally out of reach of most people.
The real problem here is you NEED an iPhone for this watch to do anything! It’s an accessory at best.
It was nowhere near as lame as the galaxy gear intro. Several people were stretchered out paralysed by the sheer tediousness of that event and have yet to regain full control of their limbs.
As the owner of 3 Breitling’s, a Cartier gold tank, a LeCoultre Reverso and 3 other watches, I’ve picked out my Apple Watch.
Can’t wait to confirm my choice in person & Apply Pay for it!
Clearly you are now Apple’s target market. The rest of us who have to work for a living are not impressed.
I DID work for a living, hence my ability to enjoy fine things. Sorry of your life path didn’t afford you the ability to do the same.
All I can say is, aren’t people ashamed of spending $10,000 for a watch, or $100,000 for a car, etc…while there are people that are starving? Just don’t get it people. Spend $1000 less on your watch, your toy, and maybe help someone in need for once.
FUCK YOU, COMMIE.
Speaking of commie, the Edition should do quite well in China.
Okay, chief. Now we know that the Apple Car is really just a watch priced as a car, and you are proud to buy it to make you feel superior. If you think a solid 18k gold case makes you better than the rest of the world, then go hide in your gated community and enjoy your fine things. FU too.
Actually, the point Paul makes is quite interesting. The fact that an even higher revenue segment than usual will be the only one able to afford a product says a lot about how Apple is shifting target with the watch. I always thought the Apple premium was well worth it and I paid for it for decades and was happy with quality, design, etc. Until today. I don’t wear a watch anymore. Been this way for years. I do make a decent living. The milanese loop in Canada is over 1000$ with tax. I don’t need that kind of watch, nor can I afford it. But you, Superchief, obviously can afford it, even if you don’t need it! See, you’re the new target… So I’ll probably have to pass. And it make me really really sad. At 500-600$, I might have given in… 🙁
It never ceases to amaze me how many people assume all wealth is inherited rather than earned by the spender. These people, I have little doubt, also assume that all wealth is based on some crime as well. You have, me want, but I’d rather just resent you instead.
Multiple targets: What about the segment that cares about the $69 Apple TV and HBO streaming? Apple is flooding the market, so what’s up with that? That sucking sound is the ocean receding, way, way back …
😉
Most of us have to work for a living but a few of us got an education and perhaps worked harder. We can afford a few luxuries because of it.
I just now ordered two Casio MQ24’s from ebay. White faced, $10. When the battery wears out you throw ’em away.
I’m not really feeling a sense of urgency to have Apple Watch. And that’s vexing as Apple products don’t do well when R2 doesn’t want them.
Now that MacBook is a different t story. Instant intense lust. Can’t remember the last time a Mac was the star of a show featuring iDevices.
Agreed, no urgency whatsoever. That MacBook, on the other hand….
C3P0 will want one, no surprise.
The gold model, to match his metal covering.
Probably you two will be Apple’s next big thing.
“Well as you know we have a history with Disney, sort of. And Disney bought Lucas Films…see where we’re going with this?”
Tim looks at the audience over the rim of his glasses.
“We kept this project a secret, just like Ford and that new blue GT that no one saw coming. We asked Ford and they told us: ‘Just put the project in the basement and don’t tell anyone it’s there’.”
He pauses “It worked, none of the fan boys picked this one up”
Out roll you and C3P0, with Apple logos…
I know this will be unpopular, but I see the newest 12″ Macbook Air as an overpriced netbook. I do not measure the value in a computer by how thin it is.
As for the watch, it’s a luxury accessory, and no doubt there will be a surge of interest. Whether that interest wanes soon remains to be seen. I predict that Apple will have to recalculate how much of a premium people are willing to spend for watch bands in an Apple Store. Still can’t see buying a $xxxx watch without some guarantee of lifetime — that includes replaceable battery and software support.
Apple please wrap the only $17K watch you’ll sell for Tim’s husband. No one else, ever, will buy that thing. The $300-$500 variety will sell a bundle though.
A big letdown.
Apple markets a watch for the 1 percent. Fine, if customers want to spend the money, but this makes the Beats overpriced earphones seem like the bargain of the century.
Something has gone wrong at Apple, a subtle decline in good taste. You could see it in those Apple home page tweets. Tim Cook saying he’s getting psyched listening to music? Another exec cracks a lame joke about setting his watch wrong? An “insider’s view” of the first people entering the theater? Ah, the anticipation!
The first presentation I truly did not enjoy. Less is more, Apple.
I’m sure this will be profitable and they’ll outsell all other smartwatches, but personally I’m not sold on this first version.
With the iPhone people already had phones, people already had cameras, people had iPods, so the functionality was understood and combing those functions into one device had automatic value. Access to the internet was massive, and then there was everything else and that has been added since. I can clearly see the value of having one on me at the price they charge. With this, at the base price I can’t see it being that useful to me, although I admit my usage of my iPhone is not based on notifications, making lots of calls, i.e. things that I need to be constantly taking my phone in and out for. Once you start increasing the price you have to start viewing it as jewellery as much as anything else. It’s nice looking, but it’s not amazing, certainly I could find an expensive watch I’d rather wear. At those prices I think the technology becomes a week point. Unless you’re someone for which $1000 is nothing (a limited market) then you’re going to want such a device to last you a long time. In two, three years time the tech in this is going to look dated. How long will it receive software updates. You’re not going to be passing this down to anybody in your will. It really hasn’t sold itself in the wow factor way that the iPod, iPhone, and iPad did.
Stainless Steel or Sports watch for me and my wife! 😀
Same here.
I wonder how many millions of dollar worth of the edition watch they will sell just today. Wealthy Russians, Chinese, Mid Eastern’s, Celebrities, Hip Hop, Athletes. This was a smart move. There are so many people on earth with more money than they can spend. When the Bugatti was introduced 10 years ago, the $1,000,000 sports car was thought to be absurd , now there’s a Lamborghini priced at $4.5 million and they’re sold out
It’s also a well-known fact that companies like Bugatti and Ferrari and Lamborghini aren’t particularly profitable. Their history is littered with near-bankruptcies. Even during good years, they have no choice but to charge huge prices for the few dozen hand-crafted products they make, because their R&D and manufacturing costs are enormous. They go to insane measures to ensure that their products are at the pinnacle of performance, but unlike Apple, they cannot amortize their costs over millions of units.
Apple’s watch doesn’t convey the same message. Like all computers, support for it will evaporate in 5 years, maybe 10 at most. Apple doesn’t even bother to tell you about upgrades or changing out the battery when it inevitably reaches the end of its life. Early adopters may find it useful, but the consensus on the street is that this is a luxury item and is priced high not because it’s worth it, but because Apple would rather be seen as a fashion company than a hardcore engineering firm that delivers stuff that no one else can. Oh, wait — Cook did tell us that no one else could have possibly imagined a magnetic charger. Wow.
I’ll save up for the Ferrari, thanks.
I’m not saying that I would buy it, only that the market for the 10K+ is out there. Like real estate, the high end is booming, but the middle and low end market are flat and falling.
Bugatti was founded in 1909.
T-Minus 31 days and counting… Space Gray 42mm WATCH SPORT 😃 $399 is $100 LESS than I was expecting to pay.
Glad I missed it. Accessory costing more than the base (iPhone) idiotic. Say what you want it’s an accessory period.
Can’t wait!
With all due respect, that is a meaningless expression. Consider discontinuing its use. Why? Because whether you think you can or cannot, you WILL wait until April 10 before you order any Apple Watch. That’s the way it is.
It’s poetic dude. Words can be evocative as well as precise.
“With all due respect” is a meaningless expression. Especially when you commence to rim somebody.
Watch your meaningless blather.
The critics attacking the Apple Watch is nothing new. Remember that a lot of the attacks on the iPhone came out AFTER the launch after it’s basic features were shown ,Ballmer’s rants, RIM CEOs dismissing it etc. — they said other smartphones like Blackberries could do the same things and had a keyboard as well!. It sometimes takes a while for things to really pick up momentum — after the first adopters demonstrate the advantages to others.
More will start changing their minds about Apple Watches when they realize that those who have them have a clear tech advantage like not having to pull out their phones all the time (or use phone features while the phone is charging). This might seem like small or even silly advantages but…
.. think of the TV remote. You can do everything (or used to anyways) with a TV without a remote , change volume etc, you don’t absolutely NEED a TV remote, but just the ease of use made everybody want one .
I believe the real killer app for the Apple Watch is convenience.
Nothing new???
So where are all the smart watches that do everything the Apple Watch does?
…no where.
Apple pay is a killer app for the watch to me, plus anything that gets me interested in sport again so I can get fit is a good thing!
Roll on 10th April!
did you actually read my post?
where did i say anything that elicit that ” Nothing new???” sentence from you.
I was pointing out that naysayers often criticize apple products even after the announcement of features.
“Apple pay is a killer app for the watch to me, ”
I’m saying a lot of critics are saying you can do Apple pay etc already with an iPhone without realizing the Watch’s killer advantage is greater convenience.
The watch was the low point of the show for me. Much more interested in the updated Mac, standalone HBO, lowered price AppleTV, Apple research.
I am NOT like most people, I do not live or die buy my iPhone. In fact, half the time I forget it or my iPhone 6 Plus is not charged.
I just can’t help think how lazy can you be to need a device to interface another device that most people already have with them?
” am NOT like most people, I do not live or die buy my iPhone. In fact, half the time I forget it or my iPhone 6 Plus is not charged.”
maybe that’s why you’re not so interested in the watch. Maybe it’s not designed for people like you but heavy users.
one recent study showed many people pulled their phones out over two hundred times a day to check emails , Facebook, text messages etc.
so the Apple watch is designed for Facebook addicts? That forces me to reconsider a purchase.
not saying it can’t do other stuff but just answering “Tim”.
and yes many heavy phone users will buy it because it makes their life easier.
and if you change your decisions just because you think “Facebook addicts” find it an advantage you’re not much of a decision maker.
Karentan,
Thanks for the information.
“and yes many heavy phone users will buy it because it makes their life easier.”
Ha! Ha! Ha! We’re doomed to repeat the mistakes from the past. Thanks for the the memories.
Check out the Bloom County cartoon from the 80’s on this page:
http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=86348
iPhone = “Salad Shooter”
Apple Watch = “Salad Scooper”
So yes I have heard your justification before.
Karentan – just so you know I am NOT attacking you or laughing at you in any way, shape, or form. So please don’t take this thread personally. Actually as an AAPL, I am hoping the Apple Watch does quite well. Cheers!
Karentan,
Thanks for the reply. To use Steve Job’s vernacular – I am much more of a “truck” person. Give me a desktop any day. I prefer power to mobility.
“one recent study showed many people pulled their phones out over two hundred times a day to check emails , Facebook, text messages etc.”
That is just plan sad and pathetic. How is a watch suppose to help? They check their watch 200 times a day?!? I don’t understand that logic.
And truthfully, I believe, our narcissistic behavior (and there are no better examples than Facebook and Twitter) are helping to contribute to tthe collapse of moral values in America. No I am not a particularly religious or right winged person either. No I do not have a Facebook or Twitter account and loath – LOATH – the term “Selfie”.
what to say?
another poll points this:
84% said they couldn’t get through a single day without a cell phone.
50% sleep with a cell phone, this climbs to 80% for 18-24 year olds
20 percent check their phones every 10 minutes (I think this is not answering the phone but just checking if anybody twitted etc)
40% use their phones while sitting on the potty.
and that poll is a few YEARS ago….
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Anybody still think Apple Watch won’t sell?
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I’m a power not mobile user myself but I also invest in aapl. and I wanted to know who the target is.
Anyone notice the display of live video on WATCH via live wifi link with iPhone? This means we’ll likely be able to receive & see FaceTime calls although only transmit FaceTime Audio until we pull out our iPhones. 💥😃🚀😱 So the Dick Tracy metaphor will work from day one. 😃
For $399 you get a rubber band, aluminum face and glorified glass. Sales will be a let down for sure. Tim Cook’s first project will hopefully be his last. It’s up there with ditching Aperture
And a diamond ring with a gold band is a hunk of carbon stuck onto a weak inferior metal, worthless really. See I can change word meanings too.
The Apple Watch is jewelry (pretty much by definition expensive) as much as it is a piece of technology. It’s construction and presentation of the material goes towards the price as does the technological processes inside it.
Not spending that much on a watch if it’s not waterproof.
Didn’t realize that either. Not waterproof ! What kind of crap is that
It’s water resitant – read the specs.
Yes, I am aware. Waterproof or not happening for me.
Your waterproof watch is no longer waterproof once you change the battery.
There is no such thing as a waterproof watch. They are all water resistant. It is just to what degree of resistance. This is not a diving watch. It is a piece of jewelry with advanced technology inside it. If you need a diving watch, you should buy a diving watch.
Cant wait to pre-order my space grey sport with black strap!
it’s interesting to note the amount of troll posts , people who obviously don’t like Apple or it’s products posting here and all over the Apple fan sites on the topic.
The Apple Watch obviously hit a nerve.
If it wasn’t compelling trolls won’t bother.
Like I don’t bother trolling android smart watch sites, waste of time.
You know they are trolls…
People calling Tim Cook a failure and fire Tim Cook … you know the guy who made the largest quarterly profit in history (70+ billion) and propelled Apple to be the largest (non government) company in the world with the largest cash pile.
Don’t like a particular product makes a troll. Complain you can’t handle fanboy criticism your a prick!
” handle fanboy criticism your a prick!”
just strengthened my arguments about ‘trolls’.
nobody would call an apple fans that except trolls.
You got it right. I’ve never seen this many trolls out, even in samdung’s paying for posts heyday. This is fun to watch!
I love how MDN lauds Apple’s pricing strategy… yeah… Apple has never botched a pricing strategy before *cough* iPhone 5C *cough*. The reason why this product is so polarizing (other than the fact that we’ll see dozens of early adopting fanboys crying when they instinctively jump in the pool with these things) is because 90% of what it does can be accomplished by using a nice little device that’s already in your pocket… A device that you won’t stop using in the near future just because you can send someone your heartbeat or the doodle of a flower. Steve Jobs “Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV…” Tim Cook “Credit cards and a fabulizzz watch girlfriend!”
The 5C was one of the bestselling phones ever made.
It outsold almost all the top phones at the time.
Business Insider (the site run by Henry Blodget who was famous writing the article “IPhone dead in the water” so they can’t be biased towards Apple ) :
“What people might find surprising despite the negative reports is that Apple’s iPhone 5c beat out many Android flagships, and also bested Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 devices. On AT&T in September and October, the device even beat out Samsung’s Galaxy S4.”
as for “90% of what it does can be accomplished by using a nice little device that’s already in your pocket”
as I wrote earlier : think about the TV remote, you can actually do everything to your TV without it but people want them.
If you think the iPhone 5C (a product that will soon be joining Bing, iPod Hi-Fi, Maps, MobileMe, iOS 8.0.1 and other luminaries in Apple’s fiasco pantheon) you are out of your mind. Stick what you do best: Early adoption (please go out swimming with that spanking new Apple Watch you’ll have to charge every night right next to your iPhone which is REQUIRED for it to function properly), pretending you’re smart and making pointless comparisons like the one about the TV remote.
Before, Apple under Jobs made us wait for Christmas.
Then, Apple under Cook lets us know what to expect by Thanksgiving.
Now, like spoiled kids we throw tantrums because we didn’t get much more than what we were told?
Man, do I love surprises. And I got one today when I learned that I still have a few more weeks to save up my daily coffee funds, and collect enough birthday gift monies from the wife and kids for an Watch.
Unfortunately, its not the Edition. Lost that chance when the wife cut my allowance for trying to pass off my newly purchased iPhone 6 for a 5S.
My bad. I didn’t realize that she was techie enough to spot the difference.
I’m buying 4 sport models and 2 steel. Can’t wait.
Is it really worth it, It is not at least for me. But it will sell millions but how long they will keep the product alice will be the questions.
If I have to spend $17000 on a watch, It better be swiss made.
Enjoy the watch fellas.
17000 is for the high end, the low is only 300+
also “it better be swiss made” for SMART watches with computerized tech, Apple will be able to build way better than any Swiss company. See any Swiss company change the tech landscape?