“For months I’ve been asking friends who might know — or know someone else who might know, or even know someone who knows someone who might know — whether my guess of $5,000 is too high for the Edition starting price,” John Gruber writes for Daring Fireball. “The answer has always been ‘No.’ But the way I’ve been told ‘No’ has given me the uneasy feeling that I’ve been asking the wrong question. I should have been asking if $5,000 is too low.”
“I now think Edition models will start around $10,000 — and, if my hunch is right about bands and bracelets, the upper range could go to $20,000,” Gruber writes. “I walked out of [Apple’s Apple Watch event] under the assumption that all of these bands would be available to purchase as accessories, like iPhone cases. So that one could, say, buy an Apple Watch Sport with a white sport band, and buy a Milanese Loop or one of the leather bands to make it dressier. I am no longer certain that’s going to be the case. And if it is the case, the non-Sport bands are going to be expensive — in most cases, even more expensive than the Apple Watch Sport itself.”
“I think the spread between these tiers could be significant, ranging from, say, $700 for the entry model with the Sport Band to well over $1,000 for the Link Bracelet,” Gruber writes. “I still think the average for the steel Apple Watch will be around $1,000, but depending on your strap choice, you’ll pay several hundred less or more… Further, I don’t think any of the stainless steel bands will be available for retail purchase. They’ll sell sport bands, which you’ll be able to use on any Apple Watch, but I don’t think any of the nicer bands will be available for retail purchase. Don’t hold your breath for a space black Link Bracelet to put on your $349 Sport model. The nicer bands aren’t accessories that Apple hopes you’ll tack onto your purchase; they’re signifiers of how much you paid for your stainless steel or gold Apple Watch.”
Tons more in the full article – highly recommended – here.
Related articles:
Apple Watch Edition will cost at least $5,000, probably much more – February 19, 2015
Will you pay $4000 or more for the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition? – November 5, 2014
Why the Apple Watch can afford to cost thousands of dollars – December 12, 2014