“If you are absolutely sure you are never going to buy an Apple Watch — and certainly not version 1.0 — you can stop reading right now,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.
“But if you’re an early adopter like me — or a reseller working the global arbitrage — and you can’t decide without physically weighing the 38 combinations of size, material and band, you’re out of luck,” P.E.D. reports. “That’s because pre-orders start at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, and there’s a very good chance that by the time doors open at your nearest Apple Store, all the models you had in mind will have already sold out.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What to do, what to do…
We know: We’ll trust Apple on this one and preorder. Bigger models for male wrists, smaller models for female wrists. Sport models for fitness buffs. We already know what aluminum, stainless steel, and gold are like and we can guess with close enough proximity on the bands and materials.
Get the right watch size and casing and you can always change the band later, but if you can’t find an Apple Watch to put it on, the right band isn’t going to be of much use. Knowing Apple, the initial supply will be severely constrained and supply and demand won’t come into balance for months.
Good luck, everybody!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
I cannot wait! So excited for preorder. I hope my confirmation says “for delivery April 24, 2015 :D” and not “maybe 2-3 weeks (or months) :(“
I think Apple has more stockpiled than rumored, and the capability to ramp production quickly, depending on the results of the (April 10 to launch date) pre-order period, and knowing more precisely the ratio of Apple Watch types and bands to produce and package.
People who are “not sure” should just make an appointment at an Apple Store and not worry about any “conundrum.” Your experience will not be that much different…
If you pre-order immediately on 4/10, you still have to wait until 4/24 (or later) to get your Apple Watch, which is about two weeks (or longer). And if you make an appointment see Apple Watch in person (during the pre-order period or later), you’ll have to wait for delivery. Who knows, maybe YOUR wait will be shorter than two weeks, or maybe not. The point is, you will be waiting for delivery in either case, so don’t get stressed over nothing. 🙂
The point your missing is that online orders can occur for upwards of 5 hours between the hours of 3:01am Eastern Time and the opening of the first retail store at 8:00am Eastern Time. During that time, it’s possible so many orders will be placed that the watch’s estimated delivery could shoot up from April 24 to 4-5 weeks or longer. The point is if you want one on day zero, you pretty much have to order within minutes, just like iPhone every single year. Those waiting for the store to open are going to be forced to the end of the line of everyone else who ordered before the store opened.
The POINT is that you are waiting at least two weeks (or longer), even if you order on the first pre-order day. THAT is the customer experience, even for people who “click the fastest” on April 10. Ordering and waiting.
You have no idea what the waiting list time will be (and it will probably depend on the specific model selected) once actual sales start on April 24. Depending on Apple’s actual stockpile (which you don’t know) and fastest production rate (which you don’t know) and initial sales rate (which you don’t know), the waiting list may be shorter than two weeks or it may be two months. But the customer experience. Ordering and waiting.
So, IF you are NOT sure which watch and band you want, and trying it for yourself at an Apple Store will help you make a good decision, you should do that, instead of risking an Apple Watch that ends up being returned in exchange for another model (and even more waiting).
Don’t get “pressured” into deciding at the very first opportunity… 🙂
Doesn’t matter, go ahead and wait til June for yours. I’ll have mine on April 24 because I didn’t listen to you.
IF you have already decided on the Apple Watch model you want, there is no reason to listen to me. Please order away, at the earliest opportunity.
Which part of “IF you NOT sure which watch and band you want…” don’t you understand? 🙂
I want Apple to announce HUGE numbers during the pre-order period. But I also want Apple to avoid the expense of handling returns and exchanges to a different model. And customers do NOT need to wait until April 24 to “try before buying”; Apple Watch appointments start on April 10.
I’m in the situation where I want a black stainless but I want a leather band and not a link bracelet.
Too bad that one only comes with link bracelet that about doubles the price compared to the least expensive steel model. To me, the shiny steel Apple Watch with link bracelet is the best looking model, period (including the Edition models).
Guess what. Screwed by Apple again. Enjoy it. LOL.
You are annoying.
See what you did? If you hate Apple so much, why don’t you leave the nice people alone and get back under your bridge and eat your goat?
When you keep doing this kind of thing, people will not respect you or your opinions. Try looking for the good things in the world and focus on them. If you do notice something that can be improved, talk about solutions to those problems in a thoughtful respectful way please.
That’s exactly what I’m buying:
Space Black Steel Link $1099
Black Leather Loop in Large $149
Just happens to be the price for black.
No “conundrum” at all… It’s simple
“Sport” version for generation one to use everyday. It’s only $399
After the gen one kinks are ironed out, it’ll be the pricier generation two stainless version, for dressier occasions.
Shhh. Don’t tell anybody! lol
Bingo, thank you!
Will skip it all. I am experiencing no Early Adopter Fever at all for this watch. Love my iPhone and my MBP, though.
The extreme price of the Apple Watch Edition is in bad taste. First time Apple has sold something expensive just to sell something that’s expensive. Tacky.
Um, in case you haven’t noticed. Gold Jewelry is expensive. If you have to question the price, then the gold version is not for you. There is a sport version with the same technology at $349.
Having owned a Rolex, Baume Mercier, and a Patek, I know a little bit about watches.
Your comment about questioning the price of gold jewelry is misconceived, rarely true. People who can afford the best routinely question the price, they routinely try to knock the price down.
When Apple sells something expensive just because they want to sell something expensive, they’re in the bling business. This is a departure from what they’ve done before.
At least they didn’t add a crust of diamonds.
If you owned a Rolex, Baume Mercier, and a Patek, then you should know what a 18k gold watch with polished sapphire crystal costs.
It will be worn and or/coveted by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dre, Jay-z, Beverly hills housewives, and all of China.. Not your middle class tech-geeks. For them, there is “Sport!”
See, no need to get your panties in a bunch, there is something for everyone. 🙂
And for the record, the Apple Lisa was 10k in 1983, that inflates to a price of about $24k today!
See, you’re wrong! 🙂
You’ve become so emotional, Mike K. All this because somebody said an extravagant overpriced gold watch was in bad taste.
And the “panties in a bunch” swipe.
Not very classy, MikeK.
I’m not emotional, i think it’s ridiculously funny! hence the 🙂
Mike K,
People unable to comprehend when somebody is telling the truth usually don’t tell the truth themselves. Put differently, I did own those watches, and they were great. The oval Patek with the blue gold face was a work of art.
I’m going to try and explain this just one more time. It’s a subtle point, and so far you haven’t demonstrated an aptitude for it. After that, I’ll leave you alone because you deserve it.
The issue isn’t price, but bling and the Apple people who’ve dived into that undertaking. I saw the Lisa in the early 80s at the Moscone. Too expensive, but that was still a revolutionary device.
Had Apple back then added some gold and jacked the Lisa price another $5,000, that would have been what we’re seeing with their watch. Apple has not added genuine value besides the gold. They are telling customers, “Buy this extravagance because we’ve made it expensive.” That change in values is small, but it’s significant in the long run. You see this in the Beats headphones, which are considered wildly overpriced by audiophiles. Acoustical bling.
That’s why it’s in bad taste. However, it’s a business decision they needed to make. Giving customers a hugely overpriced model makes the cheaper models look better, actually. Car companies do that. People associated the value of the higher with the affordability of the cheaper.
Good luck in college.
MaxBay,
Are you really trying to compare manufacturing an 18k gold case on a computer to a watch made of 18k gold? Ok, you’re delusional.
Apple is a premium brand, Apple watch edition solidifies that fact. What baffles me is why you think it’s so “tacky” for premium brand to offer a product as personal as a watch, made of premium precious metal and sapphire crystal when premium watches have been with these materials for centuries.
Apple have not only revolutionized the common wristwatch with Apple watch, they are also revolutionizing fine jewelry.
If you can’t afford or don’t like the bling of a precious metal such as 18k gold with sapphire crystal, buy the plastic/aluminum version! Get over it already, it’s not for you!
Diamonds are for gen 2, at $24K a pop.
I really don’t get this attitude. If Apple ONLY made a $10K watch, yeah, I’d be pissed. But the same technology is available starting at under $400. Why should anyone care that there is a gold watch for people have the disposable cash to buy one. The $10K is not in bad taste. It is simply targeted at those who value exclusivity and are willing to pay for it. To each his own. I’m getting the Sport model.
I love nearly everything Apple does, but a $10,000 watch is in bad taste. If you don’t understand, fine. Sing the praises of customers getting more choice, etc, but Apple has now entered the bling business.
Bling isn’t tasteless, but its a very quick way to get there. I doubt Apple will take it too far, but this is the first time they’ve made something expensive simply to sell something for an expensive price.
As for the $10,000 watches sold by Rolex or Patek, et al, those are mechanical works of art. They are investments of a sort – thought not as good as Apple stock – but the Apple Watch Edition? Most technology fades in function and value.
Yes, it was in bad taste for Apple to sell the first home computers for $666.66 and we all know that no one wants them now. You can’t buy them at auctions and the price is way less than the original asking price. Nobody collects first editions anymore.
Reality Check:
The auction price today for an original Apple I is directly related to the small number produced. For example, the first edition of a first novel by Hemingway or Faulkner sells for a lot. The first edition of a John Grisham novel, or anything which sells in huge numbers? Not worth as much.
You seem pretty smart, so why not use facts in support of truthful arguments?
Exactly HOW is $10k for Apple Watch in bad taste, and $10k for a Rolex watch not?
There is no objective argument here; it all boils down to some emotional reaction to a piece of jewelry. Rolex watch has more-or-less same type of mechanical movement as the $100 Seiko. Or, if we disregard Seiko, the $500 Rolex (DateJust) has the same automatic movement as the $10,000 Rolex Oyster (not to mention the even more expensive models).
Apple is positioning their devices in the exact same space as Rolex / Movado / Patek. Yes, they have entered precisely the same bling business heretofore dominated by these three (and a few others).
Apparently he wasn’t around when laserwriters cost 5 grand. Hell, my first SE/20 cost $2,772
Remember those day’s? Black and white 8 bit 17″ monitor a grand. Geez the prices today keep getting lower, we keep getting better stuff each year for the money.
MaxBay is spot on – the Edition watch isn’t the luxury watch its pricetag suggests it is, but the regular watch tarted up a bit. A Honda Civic that you fill with leather seats and a mahogany dash might technically be worth more, but it hasn’t been transformed into a Rolls Royce. And that’s the issue here. A £5,000 Omega Seamaster is a near-indestructible masterpiece in mechanical design. It isn’t a £500 Seiko, but just in a gold case. The Apple Watch Edition *is* the £399 one in a gold case. There’s no added value in the workmanship, the mechanism or the craftmanship, and there’s certainly a LOT less heirloom factor – you won’t be leaving this to your kids, and Apple are almost relying on that to sell Gen 2 products. Omega etc. expect to sell far fewer products because they expect them to be handed down as treasured possessions.
If people want to buy them, good for them. They could get the exact same effect and functionality though by buying a regular Apple Watch and stuffing 100 dollar bills under the wristband for everyone to see.
I maintain that anyone buying the edition watch is an idiot with too much money, or a horrendous showoff. I don’t have any issue with Apple wanting to fleece that market rather than leave it up to the third party gold and crystal encrusters, but I’m bewildered by the amount of people stepping up to suggest being able to throw money away and being willing to do so is somehow inspirational. Let them be showoffs, but for pity’s sake don’t make out they’re anything *but* showoffs.
But, but, but….ITS PERSONAL, SAYS APPLE
Here is the main point: Omega (and Rolex, and Movado, and some others) have successfully convinced people that their mechanical movement is somehow 10 – 20x better than Seiko or Casio. A traditional, old-fashioned watchmaker will tell you that an inside of a Rolex is pretty much a Honda Accord (perhaps not quite the Civic).
Fans of fine time pieces are true believers in the special quality of their expensive watches. But those who know something about the insides of these watches will tell you that there is nothing worth $15k inside these watches.
Apple’s only challenge is to convince their customers that what’s inside Apple Edition watches is somehow special. The way Patek, or Rolex convinced their customers of the same…
OK, so I have read through article after article, then comment after comment throughout MDN, and as much as I use Apple products and own Apple stock;
– I can not purchase something that I can not experience first hand before laying my money down. Someone mentioned that $350.00 is not a lot of money? I certainly do not agree with that: $350.00 represents a good chunk towards replacing my iPhone 5S with a 6-Plus. PS, I also own a Mac Pro (desktop) ‘Early 2008 model’ I do not yet own a tablet, hopeful the the 6 Plus will fill that role.
– I do not have a pressing need for this device until someone comes up with a way to measure my (diabetic) glucose levels (for example through sweat or a skin-sensor of some type) without my having to purchase some ridiculously priced add-on (like the DEXCOM implant).
When they do that and I can try it on, then perhaps I will get the cheapest model available.
In the meantime, if I want to tell time, I have a dozen or so watches … one I purchased at Radio Shack circa 1972 (!), a few Timex’s, a Longines (circa ’66), and Elgin pocket watch (circa 1901-1910), and another inherited from my Dad. They tell time, some have Chronographs, each is perfectible serviceable for what it does, and some will be handed down to my son.
As a stock-holder, I am hoping for an amazing success story for the Apple Watch. Personally, I can live vicariously through those wonderful early adopters, who I deeply and most respectfully thank.
Sincerely,
Lawrence