“The Apple co-founder, affectionately known as ‘The Woz,’ loves getting his hands on new devices, so it’s not a surprise to hear that he plans to buy an Apple Watch when it comes out in April,” Jim Dallke reports for ChicagoInno. “But don’t expect him to shell out $10,000.”
“‘I’m going to buy the Apple Watch… just the cheapest one,’ Wozniak said to a large crowd Wednesday at the Automate/Promat Show at the McCormick Place in Chicago,” Dallke reports. “Wozniak, delivering the Wednesday keynote address, said that he didn’t agree with Apple’s decision to create such an expensive device, noting that the difference between the $10K and $17K version is ‘just the band,’ with no difference in functionality.”
Dallke reports, “‘It didn’t seem like the company we started,’ he said. ‘That’s not the Apple that moved the world forward.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Woz initially wanted to give computers away until Steve Jobs talked some sense into him, so it’s hardly surprising that he doesn’t understand why the $17,000 Apple Watch Edition exists.
Hint for Woz: It vastly separates Apple Watch from all other stupidwatches. Editions are mobile billboards and perpetual interest-generators for Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport that also elevate the perception of quality for both of those models. Those are the models that move the world forward, Woz.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Judge Bork” and “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
$17,000 Apple Watch Edition ‘risks the adoration of the masses’ or something – March 10, 2015
Incensed over the $17,000 Apple Watch Edition? You must be poor – March 9, 2015
I do not understand why a $17k AppleWatch exists. But I bet it would look great next to my Newton Message pad in 5 years.
I don’t understand why every time Apple blinks, some hit-whore, douche bag journalist thinks that Woz needs to chime in and we all need to know and we all care.
No offence to Woz, his place in the pantheon of computerdom is sure.
Besides, anyone that shacks up with Kathy Griffin should not opine about things they “don’t get”. No one gets a hag like Kathy Griffin.
You and several others below have expressed concern, doubt, and outrage at Apple making an expensive watch. OK, you are entitled to your opinion.
But I think the biggest thing here is that most of us do not have 100,000 a year extra to burn as we wish. Case in point,
Who would buy :
A mansion for 2 million $ when you can live in a house for 100,000 $ ?
A wedding ring for 6000$ when you can buy one for 200$.
A hot car for 190,000 $ when you can get a new one for 26,000 $ or even 5000$ used?
A Mac Pro for 5000% when you can get a chrome book for 200$.
An iPhone 6 Plus for 300$ when you can get a new samsung for free.
See it all goes to how much money you have and what is important to you. If you are between jobs, a 20,000$ watch sounds stupid, if you make a million $ a year and live in a normal house, you have tons of money to spend.
Its an Apple watch with the worlds best aluminum, steal, gold case and great watch bands. The quality is great (I am sure) so get one or not cause no one wants to hear about how things are too expensive. if cheap is your main focus, get a chromebook for next to nothing and have a good day.
Just saying.
Ive come to the conclusion WOZ doesn’t get much of anything.
If MDN’s take is true why didn’t Apple make Edition iPhones? If the watch is going to stop people from taking their phones out all the time then logically it would be the case that people currently do and therefore an expensive phone in the hands of celebrities etc would have really pushed the iPhone forward. MDN may well be write, but at times they’re coming off like they’ve drunk even more Koolaid than normal.
Something you wear on your wrist is different from something you carry in your pocket or purse.
Something you wear on your wrist will often be obscured by clothing, something you’re apparently staring at all the time whilst holding (hence the supposed advantage of the watch) is arguably equally as visible to other people if you’re asserting that high price items act as an advertisement for the range as a whole.
You must be Canadian if you always wear long sleeves. I never do. Ever.
Also, it’s “drank” and “right” not “drunk” and “write”.
Because the watch is marketed as a fashion accessory and nobody wears an iPhone. It’s traditional to have an expensive high quality watch, while it is not for phones. Not to mention everyone upgrades their phone every single year.
Good point.
There are already jewellers selling luxury iPhones covered in diamonds and gold .
mxnt41:
Totally agree and agree with Woz on this one. It’s a waste and unnecessary. It’s not needed nor will many people bother buying it.
So, the whole world has issues with the Apple iWatch except MacDailyNews. Talk about fanboyz. And does MacDailyNews know something Woz does not ? I don’t think so. Dudes, take a chill pill…
Nobody gives a shit about the iWatch no matter how much you try and push it. NOBODY!!!!
iWatch. lol
If you want to make the symbol on an iOS device:
Settings > General > Keyboards > Shortcuts
Tap the + and then paste into the phrase field
Type “aapl” or the text of your choosing in the shortcut field
Please no more excuses for using the word iWatch.
iOS shortcut for
How to create a shortcut for the symbol in iOS:
http://osxdaily.com/2015/03/05/type-apple-logo-ios-keyboard-shortcut/. 😀
…sez the Samsung fanboi
This was written on my Mac Pro, Fully loaded with 48GB memory, quad 1TB SSDs and 3, 30″ monitors. Do you have anything close to that? I don’t think so. I know which Apple products are good. I buy them. I also know when something is shit. I don’t buy that. This is called free will. Also, it is ok to criticize Apple. This is how we tell them that they need to improve something. This is what intelligent people do. And if Apple is smart (and I think they are) they will listen. As far as you are concerned, well…
Perhaps you meant you have an iPro?
Excuse me, I think I know what I have. OWComputing.com supports up to 64GB on this box.
root # system_profiler SPHardwareDataType
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.93 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per Processor): 8 MB
Memory: 48 GB
We good ?
**Swoooosh** (The sound of iDDW’s comment flying by *WAY* overhead)
And will you change your story when they outsell all predictions in the first week? Will you be smart enough then to listen to those of who are also part of the “whole world” you say doesn’t care, but are anxious to get our hands on this tech? Sure, you can criticize Apple all day, but I’m pretty sure they got things right here, and are doing this because they have done plenty of listening already. Just not to you, thank goodness.
There’s an ass for every seat
Whoa. GKH- Take a chill pill.
iJesusHChrist.
Well, how am I supposed to act? Just because I have an opinion, different from Apple propaganda, I am all of a sudden the worst person in the world. Hey man, I really think that the Apple Watch (for the PC here) is no big deal. And for those of you who were offended by me calling it the iWatch, well, I have another suggestion: “The Apple iSnatch” (c) GKH. Stay cool VVS. Later…
Wrong. Woz is NOT a “Samsung fanboi”. That’s plain wrong and deceptive. I met Woz. He’s a rabid Apple “fanboi” and you put it. He loves Apple products, Apple design, and holds the iPhone above of any of his own inventions.
He tries ALL technology though, and gives opinions. Nothing wrong about that. He checked the Samsung phone, and gave his opinion, saying not everything was awful. Fair enough. Still, his phone is an iPhone. Back in 2013, when I met him, he told me “So far, my favorite phone is the iPhone 4S. The engineering on this thing is better than anything I’ve ever seen.”
So, no, sir. No Samsung fanboi here.
Most of the world hasn’t even seen an Watch in person, let alone tried out its features. And while the Watch Edition is certainly expensive, it is made of 18k gold with a specialized process to make the gold harder than typical 18k gold.
Is that worth an additional $16,000 over the Watch? Is a Rolex really worth $25,000? I suppose that depends on how much value you place on exclusivity.
We need iSupply to do a breakdown on a Rolex to determine the build cost.
Nobody??? You are a clueless dope.
First weekend will see more AppleWatches sold than all Google, Android, whatever they are called watches sold so far.
And no, I am NOT getting one.
Hilarious, appreciate your doofusy misguided and erroneous joke. The roar of Apple Watch success will be deafening.
People are teasing you because you said “iWatch” — a product that doesn’t exist. I’ll spell it out for you: Apple Watch, not iWatch. We good now?
Sorry to break it to you but I am not the dense one here. I was making a joke. Does nobody here have a sense of humor ? I guess not. We should be good now, right ?
Obviously you care enough about it to seek out a blog on topics you clearly have no knowledge of. You are the dirtbag scum kinda guy who wears dirty shoes, makes under $20/hour, and drives a rusty piece of shit car. Enjoy your Korean piece of shit phone and fuck yourself.
demondeathkill? Really? Did your Mom give you permission to use that name ? Come on. You are already living in her basement and asking her for an allowance, the least you can do is see if she approves your alias. Ok… moving on. What did you say about my car? How funny! Listen “tough guy” I live in New York. Would you like to meet somewhere so we can talk like gentlemen ? By all means, bring your Mom. She was especially nice to me last night and I feel that I owe her at least another 5 dollars. Ball on your court “tough guy”. Anywhere on the 5 boroughs. Say Hello to Mom!
Woz needs to go to an old folks home and reminisce about 40 years ago when he was relevant. If it weren’t for Steve Jobs, Woz would now be retiring from HP, as an engineer on the latest crap PC.
You may be right about Woz, but I’m curious.
What do you think Steve Jobs would be remembered for if it weren’t for Woz?
Spoken like a true engineer. There are lots of reasons for making the Edition version. It doesn’t depend on functionality.
Wow, the haters are hating today. Let me help you all out, including Woz.
It may be a tech gadget, but the Watch is also still jewelry. People dress up with jewelry. Expensive jewelry. The phone has never been a candidate for that price tag because… wait for it… it isn’t jewelry.
Back when I wore watches, (it has been many years) I had a “cheap” dive watch for daily use and a nice watch that had the gold band and face and a diamond (tiny chip, but still) on the face. I’m not rich, and it wasn’t to show off, but it was a nice piece of jewelry for when the occasion called for it.
And many women wear very expensive jewelry such as diamond earrings, necklaces, rings, etc. which can easily cost thousands of dollars each. Why?
It’s status, fashion, attention. So is Watch Edition.
About 10 years ago my ex-girlfriend spent 15000USD on a golden bracelet, actually I don’t know when exactly she bought it, she just told she had spent that money on it. I thought she was crazy and she thought I was crazy to spend 3400USD on PowerMac, which I sold 2010 for 650USD. Meanwhile she had sold her bracelet 2013 for 115000USD. The Apple Watch Edition will be more than the PowerMac. After living with her I understand how huge difference there is between the geeks and glitterati.
The AWE watch is a bit difficult to judge, one friend of mine won 17000USD in Macao back in 2002, went to Hong Kong and bought a Patek Phillipe watch which he is still wearing today occationally. He says its value has gone up.
The only plus side I see on AWE is this, when you start wearing it the space on your wrist is taken, where and when are you going to wear your show-off Rolex which is a dumb watch? Twist that around, you wear a 10000-15000USD Breitling, Doxa, Oris, Rolex, but now you like the watch to be more useful and help you get things done. Do you buy AW Steel, Sport…? No, you will buy the AWE with Classic Buckle because it looks nice and works for you.
I think you answered a question as to why Apple named their expensive piece the Apple Watch Edition; we can hold it in “AWE.”
Nice work, thank you!
Who the f**k worries what Woz thinks? He’s out of Apple and also a bit out of his mind.
I don’t think he really “got” what Steve Jobs was trying to do. He was the beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time in history much as Steve Ballmer was as Bill Gates college dorm partner. The difference is we still have great affection for Woz having facilitated Job’s computer dream. Ballmer only gets our contempt for his buffoonish reign, which in some ways helped Apple by having so little competition in Microsoft.
Woz brought the Homebrew mindset, which he’s still in.
Yes, Woz had skills to be sure but never could have accomplished what Jobs did. He was just a talented engineer (Homebrew as you say) who happened to be near Steve Jobs to exploit when it all started.
Sheesh! It’s a simple equation really.
No Woz = No Apple. No Jobs = No Apple.
Woz + Jobs = Apple.
At a certain time and place, the perfect combo.
“My model for business is the Beatles: They were the four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of their parts.” -SJ
I would say 1/3 Woz with the initial engineering talent to get Apple going with Steve Jobs 2/3 of the force needed (Jobs inventiveness, marketing, vision & chutzpah) to get it also going and keep it there. It’s possible Jobs could have found someone else to do the engineering while it’s not really possible Woz could have found another Steve Jobs.
Your math may well be correct. But didn’t Woz do the engineering before Jobs “saw the light”?
I still think that however you add it up, it seems clear there would likely be no Apple as we know it now, or at all, without both of them together at that right place and at that right time.
(BTW I meant my original post to be a reply to afarstar 1, not you – sorry – I’m almost as old and inconsequential as Woz.)
Well Jobs “saw the light” on many occasions including Xerox Parcs. It was a fortuitous meet up yes but I’m not altogether unconvinced Jobs wouldn’t have found a way if there hadn’t been a convenient Wozniak nearby. It was not so much like Paul McCartney and John Lennon meeting up as John Lennon & Mal Evans. 🙂
I’m pretty sure I know what he meant….
If you look at the website on apple.com and placed an order….
The difference in the two watches (10k vs 17k):
One of them has the cheapo silicone watch ($10,000), where as the $17,000 model has a band with the 18kt buckle.
I agree with him, granted i’m an Apple fanboy from the get go- but you can’t tell me a buckle is an extra $7000. Get real Apple. Although when the kids see kanye and kim with their gold watches, the youngin’s and normal people will jump on being just like those celebs (at their own $349 budget)). Its the whole “me too” mentality. Brilliant marketing.
Also, I’m ridiculously hungover so please don’t judge the grammamtics. 😉
You know? Woz is right. I don’t get it either.
If you tell me that the $17,000 gold edition does this much more than the standard edition, I’d get it.
The hard fact is, it’s the same gadget! The difference is the enclosure. And, people, the difference with a golden -let’s say- Rolex dumbwatch is, the Rolex will never go obsolete and will gain value in the years.
Technology gets obsolete very fast. The original iPhone is about 7 years old and is already a museum piece. What would it happen once Apple launches the iWatch 2? That fancy $17,000 piece in your wrist will be obsolete.
That, of course, could be solved with some sort of buyback program. But we don’t know yet.
Financially it’s brilliant: Apple will charge to dollars for a $300 gadget covered in expensive gold. But it’s still a $300 gadget. You don’t pay for the gadget. You pay for the gold. And there are enough people in the world to go for the $17,000 version. Reminds me of those gold cell phones with diamonds which today are so obsolete they don’t even look nice.
There’s only ONE reason for the Edition version: Showing off. No other reason. No matter how you spin it. And I’m OK with some people wanting to show off if they feel like it. I just don’t get it. If product A and product B does exactly the same, has the same quality standards, is built by the same company, the logical decision is to go for the one which gives you the best price/value ratio.
I get the plastic vs. steel, and the extra price. I get the aluminum vs. plastic. I could consider $100 – $200 extra for a more robust encasing. But to go from $300 to $17,000, it’s nuts, I don’t get it, I don’t understand it and it’s something I have to be completely dumb and ignorant about, because even ebing a billionaire, there’s no scenario where it makes sense to buy that product.
So, there must be way smarter people than me that gets it.
Exactly, with a traditional high end watch it’s almost irrelevant that it actually does anything, it is being bought as jewellery, as a sign of wealth. Obviously, since it is a watch you want it to work and people are unlikely to keep wearing a broken one, but at the end of the day it is jewellery. The Apple Watch will be obsolete in a few years, it may even be the case that the battery will die and the device will be essentially useless. I doubt you’ll be able to get it rebuilt and make it last for decades should you so wish.
I mostly find it odd that MDN is so against anyone expressing any sort of doubt or hesitation about it.
You get it just fine.
“You pay for the gold. And there are enough people in the world to go for the $17,000 version.”
“There’s only ONE reason for the Edition version: Showing off. No other reason. No matter how you spin it. And I’m OK with some people wanting to show off if they feel like it.”
In my comment above, I support the concept for just the reasons you say there. What I didn’t say is that mine will be a $349 watch. The version for everyday is more than adequate. I still have that nice gold watch for when the occasion calls for it. Would the Edition be nice? Sure. Worth $10k? Not to me.
BTW, sorry for the typos. 6th paragraph:
“Financially it’s brilliant: Apple will charge to dollars for a $300 gadget covered ” Shouls be “Financially it’s brilliant: Apple will charge TOP dollars for a $300 gadget covered”
Last Paragraph:
“because even ebing a billionaire” should be “because even BEING a billionaire”
My apologies
MDN may well be right, this may be the best thing ever, but I don’t think it’s massively surprising that some people are unconvinced about the Apple Watch before it has even been launched and when it’s a lot more expensive than the vast majority of customers would be used to be spending on anything remotely comparable. People used to spend large amounts on phones, so when you threw in it being an iPhone and all the extra stuff it does the iPhone was relatively easy to justify as decent value. This is a different prospect. It may well change the world, it may well become more important than the iPhone, but I don’t think it’s as obvious as the iPhone was. I saw the iPhone and it was just mind blowing, there was nothing even remotely close, it was so clearly right that you had to have one. I will likely get an Apple Watch, but I have no problem in waiting.
There are a lot of people who will get pissed off at me for saying this, but I really don’t give a damn what Woz thinks about anything. His Apple I and Apple II designs were genius, and there’s probably a lot of genius left in Woz, but he hasn’t done anything to contribute to technology since around 1982. He’s just not relevant anymore.
The target audience are people who already spend 10K+ on wrist jewelery – people whom I would I describe using the very technical term, “fucking arrogant douchebags.”
Did Woz own a 10K+ time piece before the Apple Watch Edition was announced? No? Then he’s not going to start now. End story.
Yet this makes sense:
http://gizmodo.com/5317673/steve-wozniak-segway-polo-pioneer-aims-for-the-goal
Forget wearing long sleeved dress shirts with the apple watch. Too big, clunky, and won’t fit under the sleeves. So much for ‘fashion’ lol. What a FAIL.
Totally disagree with MDN’s take on this story. Apple’s $10K and $17K watches are the epitome of “stupid watches”. Strictly for people with more money than brains.
As a shareholder, I have no problem with people with more money than sense buying iTois plated in gold. As a customer, I have no interest in the product.
Woz is right.
Sorry from marketing point of view Woz is wrong!
If not so.. The same argument can hold true for every product apple makes!
Woz does not understand marketing !
Neither do those who voted this post down !
Come on now… Any one trully disagrees with Woz not being a marketing mind???
One reason Apple may have the Watch Edition is that ShameSkunk would never risk producing such a watch. The Watch Edition will be exclusive to Apple. The very high end of SmartWatches will be Apple’s domain.
ShameScam will forever be known for producing cheap, second-rate SmartWatches.
1) a rich guy who is used to wearing expensive watches like Rolexes to meetings, social functions etc but likes the Apple Watch is going to wear a $300 Apple Watch?
before people flame , think , will you wear an expensive suit or a pair of cheap jeans and T shirt if you were going to a job interview for a managerial post or trying to get a multi million dollar bank loan from a bank? What I’m saying is whether you like it or not in certain situations ‘impressions’ count.
2) 17,000 according to many fashion type folks is too ‘CHEAP’ rather than too expensive. Just yesterday I was looking at an article on wall coverings for rich people, one sample was $400 per SQUARE FOOT, i. e a small 10×10 patch (100 sq feet) is 40k. That’s for wall paper (handmade) .
Lots of folks don’t realize how rich some people are. They hang million dollar paintings in bathrooms.
3) The Mechanical Watch will last forever is Fantasy.
Go read the Mech Watch fans site: there are endless post about how to solve repairing old watches. Even relatively new mech watches break down and often require servicing that costs $500 or more. When the parts are no longer available, rebuilding parts can cost more than the original watch (like antique cars) . Many mech watches lay broken unfixed in drawers.
don’t believe me?
Rolexforums.com:
“Naturally I was pretty surprised to have this quote come in at $1125. Granted I inherited my datejust from my grandfather so its extra old (dont know the serial number but i know it has a acrylic crystal”
“basic service cost. $700 is the norm, and extra parts (if needed) are added and itemized in the quote.”
4) I assume that the Apple Watch solid gold band can be removed and clipped on to a new model. (yes to the naysayers it is SOLID 18k, — 18k is not as pure as 24 k etc, Apple has added stuff to make it super strong but it is legally solid 18k gold )
I can somewhat understand the price of the Edition, since gold isn’t a cheap metal. However, the prices of the lower tier models make my head spin, particularly when it comes to bands. The basic sports band alone sells for $49, and the mid-tier bands tend towards $149-249 (a tad expensive, but not excessively so). However, if you want the stainless-steel link band, the price on that alone is $449 (more than an Apple Watch Sport!), pushing the prices of the Watches in its tier to nearly a grand (sometimes more).
Why is this so? I’ve seen metal link bands selling for less than a hundred dollars, so why is there such a premium for those who like metal link watch bands? Granted, I’ll freely admit to being a cheap bastard, but this kinda boggles the mind. Is it possible to buy the watch alone, and then fit it with a non-Apple watch band? Not trying to disparage Apple on their choices, but the somewhat extreme price jump has me curious.
They’re doing it so that when it sells out permanently, the eBay prices for each individual AWE will skyrocket to far more than any competitor has earned in total for their crap smartwatches.