“It has a date — sort of. And it has a price — mostly,” Jeremy Horwitz writes for 9to5Mac. “But less than three months before its release, the Apple Watch is still enigmatic in ways that the similarly pre-announced iPhone and iPad were not.”
“Apple still hasn’t said more than one thing (‘starting at $349’) about how the 34 different Watch models will be priced, and despite hiring a new team of sales executives from the fashion and watch worlds, no major changes are obvious at the Apple Stores where the watches will be sold,” Horwitz writes. “All that’s known for certain is that Apple Watch pricing will start at $349. It is assumed — and very likely true — that the aluminum and plastic Apple Watch Sport will be offered at that price, while the standard Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition collections will sell for more.”
Horwitz writes, “We expect that every version of the Apple Watch will technically be available to pick up at any brick-and-mortar Apple Store, though it would not be surprising for the gold Edition to have some distinctive sales process — a brief ship-to-store delay before in-store pickup, a special customization/fitting/personal tutorial session, or perhaps an in-store gift-wrapping/fancy bagging option — to make the Edition buying experience a little twee.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Which Apple Watch(es) and Apple Watch Band(s) do you have your eye on?
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
42mm Space Black Stainless Steel with Link Bracelet.
But I’ve been reconsidering perhaps the 42mm Space Black Aluminum Sports Watch with black band because it’s 30% lighter. Will have to see-feel them both before I can decide.
42mm Space Grey Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band they call the dark Apple Sport Watch. Main thing is it’s 30% lighter than the Steel model. That means a lot to me. Plus if it’s the lower priced model then that’s the clincher for me.
Been thinking about this a lot, huh?! I hope that you really enjoy both the anticipation and the actual user experience once April rolls around.
Will need to see them to know!
But fir time bring
42 Space Black with link for me ( watch )
38 Gold with bright red for wife ( edition)
Or good old Tim fave .. Silver Sport with white strap !
But to me the beauty of it is that one can buy all the different straps they like and have varied looks !
At least i hope …
I like
I’ve heard in several rumors that the Edition version could cost $5,000. Let’s for the sake of what I’m going to say, assume this figure is true.
Are you concerned with buying a piece of tech that might age itself out of usefulness in a year or two at that price?
I remember jumping on the original iPad despite all the complaints people had about no forward facing camera. Needless to say, I ended up owning the first two gens of iPad. I should have listened to the crowd in that one.
Have to take issue with the article title.
Integration w/Apple ecosystem will determine sales after the opening rush.
Hate articles like this. Apple Watch will be a success mostly because of it’s design and usability. Not because of sales people. Price will have some effect, but I also remember people saying it has to be no more than $150….back before it was unveiled. Now no one says it has to be $150 or less. The price is whatever VALUE it provides. Apple knows a lot about VALUE. They will price it according to value not some vague price pulled out by a Sales and marketing person. This is what all these analyst’s don’t understand…..mainly because this is the background they come from. Sales and marketing is ALL they know.
Trolls are out in force to kill any positive anticipation and feedback for Watch.
Just like Samscum’s effort in the past, someone’s really worried.
Apple hired Angela Ahrendts to handle pricing and sales
My eye is on the Stainless Steel Apple Watch with a Milanese Loop. Jury’s still out on which size I’ll get: my preference is smaller watches, but if it impairs functionality or battery life in any way, I’ll suck it up and accept the extra millimeters.
Of course, it also depends on price. I have no interest in a Sport, but if I have to compromise on the Milanese Loop at first, I will.
Apple watch will be made or broken on the technology period.
The battery cycle will either fit the requirement or it wont.
The interface will either work seamlessly with the iPhone or it wont.
Fashion and sales will act as a revenue multiplier if the basic product works and will deliver no benefit if it isnt considered technically sound.
Water resistance?
I would hope that a watch with pretensions to be “sporty” will have a good water resistant rating. Needs to be at least in the 5 to 10 ATMS range. This is unlikely to be a diver’s watch but at least be able to wear whilst swimming etc.
So far I have not seen any mention of this issue.
I thought they had already made it clear that it wont be a swim safe watch.
Clearly its got to stop rain or sweat but immersion is unlikely unless they bring out a different version of the case. And you can bet Griffin and all the usual suspects will be bringing out their own accessory ‘cases’
5 to 10 ATMs is exactly a dive watch. That would be 50 to 100 meters, or 164-328 feet. That’s well beyond recreational scuba diving, beyond deep diving, and into the realm of technical diving.
I too recall they said something like “splash resistant” but not submersible. Would have been cool to get 1 ATM though for swimming.
Sport watch with blue sport watch silicon watch band.