“I’ve been vaguely aware — and generally skeptical — of rumors that Apple would introduce a second Apple Watch in March, 12 months after its first,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.
“A one-year life cycle seemed too short for something purchased — at least by the $10,000-plus crowd — as a Rolex-ish luxury item,” P.E.D reports. “Rumors are cheap, but cash is real, especially when it represents a discount of as much as 29%.”
“So the news Thursday that Target, Best Buy, and B&H — all authorized Apple resellers — slashed $100 off their inventory of Apple Watches sent me to the wayback machine to see where exactly those rumors came from,” P.E.D reports. “Apple will eventually release a new Watch, but I’m still skeptical about the timing. Meanwhile, B&H has also cut prices on Apple’s first-generation 12-inch MacBook. That’s a computer that could use an update.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If this was a loss leader for Valentine’s Day, it’d have had to happen sooner than this. Sounds like they’re clearing the deck for something more than new rubberized Apple Watch bands, doesn’t it?
Just saw last night at a local (central Jersey) Sam’s Club signs going up for the $100. discount.
Pay me $750 and I’ll wear one (and then put it in a drawer never to be seen again, so I’m not called out as a techno-douche)
I’ll pay you a dollar to refrain from posting such asinine, pointless statements in the future.
From a Gaagle glasshole I imagine!
The same retailers and more had the watch at some form of $100 off from Thanksgiving until the middle of January. It’s more about making the Apple Watch sales numbers look better then it is about clearing stock.
Spot on. Despite the fact that the majority of Apple hardware right now is stale — that is, well beyond its normal update timeframe as wonderfully recorded by MacRumors — the latest Cook release, the Watch is the one product that Apple has to significantly actively discount to move inventory. This is the real reason that Watch profits are never released. It’s just not a compelling value.
It will be interesting to see how badly Apple’s 2015 MacBook netbook bombs too. It’s just way too overpriced for the limited usability it offers, period. The convenience of ultra-thinness and ultraportability is vastly overrated, yet it appears Apple doesn’t have any other hardware tricks up its sleeve. Sad.
Unless they add built in GPS with longer battery life, the original is still fine for me.😄
There are several other discount offers on Apple gear. I’ve noticed:
– Beats by Dr. Dre Solo 2 On-Ear Headphones now half off: $100 w/ free shipping (Reg. $200).
– Beats Studio 2.0 Over-Ear headphones (multiple colors) $150 shipped (Orig. $300).
– Apple iPhone 6s/Plus (Verizon + Sprint) on-contract pricing gets slashed by $200, 64GB now just $100.
– Apple iPad mini 3 128GB: Wi-Fi $300 (Orig. $599), Wi-Fi + Cellular $430 (Orig. $729)
– 12-inch Retina MacBook $300 off across the board at B&H, prices start at $999 for the first time.
– Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (Newest Version) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,600 shipped (Reg. $1,999).
– Best Buy just cut prices for Apple’s iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2 by $100, deals start at $300 w/ free shipping.
IOW: NOT just the Watch. Discounting is VERY unusual for Apple. We can guess why this new strategy is being applied. (Hint: WallNut Street hysteria).
Still love and wear my Apple Watch every day. I can’t imagine upgrading though to Apple Watch 2 unless they’ve installed a replicator, hologram, flying car controller, etc.. The one I got does everything I need (until it doesn’t).