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An In-Depth Look at Apple Watch Band Options and Potential Pricing

wesk702 said:
Yeah but he has a friend that likes watches. I mean... That's a source right?
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This is where I think a lot of these analyses jump the shark. If Apple was really turning luxury high-end watch industry we would've seen a gold watch with a gold band. To me the fact that Apple didn't do those is the biggest signal the price is going to be a lot less than what's being guesstimated. It seems to me the Edition watch is more about fashion (and geared towards women) then it is about the luxury watch market.
 
samcraig said:
I agree. Personally, I think there will be tons of bands. Perhaps as you move up in cost, less options. But at the sport level, I see many options.

I would also assume they will offer various branded bands from partners in the fashion industry (think LV, DvF, Kate Spade, etc). Maybe not at launch - but I see it.

I also see 3rd parties getting in on the action. However I do see Apple regulating like they do with accessories and having an official "mark" for those that adhere to their program.
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Somethng else I've been pondering...Apple makes a big deal about the bands and it seems like they put a lot of effort into them. And in that New Yorker piece Jony Ive said "we're not stopping" in reference to coming up with different materials/colors for the bands. I have a hard time seeing them become obsolete in a year or two. So that makes me wonder if the internals of the watch will be upgradeable or if you'll be able to buy a new watch (without a band) to replace your existing one? Perhaps even if the design changes somewhat it will still be able to accommodate these bands. Or perhaps the design of the watch itself won't be changing much for a while and it's all about new/different band styles/colors.

I do think Apple will partner with the fashion industry on watch bands. And I wouldn't be surprised to see some type of MFI program. The question is will these be available at launch or will Apple want to keep the band market to itself for a while?
 
Max(IT) said:
Those watches aren't going to be replaced one year later by a better model....
I can't afford it, but I can justify the purchase of a Rolex or an omega, for that price. They are jewelry.
A tech accessory is nothing more than a piece of technology that's going to be obsolete in a very short time.

No, as much as I love Apple, I just can't understand the logic behind a very highly priced Apple watch.
Prices between 360-900$ are the right range.

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He knows Apple better than you and me..... For sure

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If you think it's going to work without an iPhone you're being naive....
It doesn't even has a proper GPS receiver inside.
It's an iPhone's accessory, at least in this first iteration.
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It works without an Iphone. It can do this without the phone at launch :
- Collects heart beat and accelerometer info
- Has a timer (like a stopwatch)
- Plays music like an Ipod to a bluetooth device (headphone or speakers)
- Stores photos
- Run whatever native apps Apple puts on the watch
(yes, there are no restrictions to Apple' on apps, just third parties right now, and we certainly didn't have a good view in September of the OS's full capability (the watches themselves were seemingly mostly in demo mode at that time)).
- Later this year it will run third party apps on the watch itself (without needing the phone)

This is from the Apple press release last year
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"Starting later next year, developers will be able to create fully native apps for Apple Watch."
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Black Belt said:
That's about the stupidest thing I've ever read. First of all, high end time pieces are hand-assembled works of art with hundreds of hand made gears and pieces. Apple Watch is not that, it is a gloried Nano, assembled by robot in China. While Apple does exert a premium price because of quality beyond the pale (look at a Macbook versus a Lenovo), they are not priced beyond the capabilities of the customer base. The reason Apple is going the fashion route is to elevate Apple Watch in perception as the top of the line smart watch, not to compete with handmade timepieces. I would expect this be priced at multiples of a crap Samsung watch, not magnitudes. Excellent stainless Swiss handmade timepieces can be had for 2-3k. Gold for twice that. BUT the gold pieces are gold throughout. The Apple Watch is sealed and you can bet the only gold on that sucker is the exposed metal surround (likely a ring of a certain thickness), the knob, and the watchband clips. I seriously doubt ANY interior metal is gold, maybe 1/2 oz total of 14 k which is FAR from pure gold.

I would guess the pricing considering their real market, not some masterbation fantasy of John Gruber, is 399/599/999. Maybe 1299 on the gold.

If that is the case, still, those will be the most expensive watches 95% of Apple customers have ever owned. But that would be a more rational pricing structure for Fashion watches "For the rest of us".
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It would be good if you simply visited apple.com. It clearly states that the watch is made out of 18k gold.
And even if the watch only has 1/2 oz of gold (it will likely have more), Apple won't sell it for $999 or $1299. They'd be losing money with those prices.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
5. It's routine for the higher end products to have more margin. A BMW 4 Series convertible has a MSRP nearly $9K higher than it's coupe model counterpart. Is it an insult to convertible lovers that they have to pay $9,000 more for the exact same car except that the top goes up and down?
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its a matter of opinion. there is no right or wrong answer here.
 
FelixAng said:
Let me try this again: Rolex and the high-end timepiece makers don't do digital watches...batteries die/need replacement or charging. A good Swiss watch will last where there's no electricity, and can withstand shock, and resists water pressure.
A fine watch is an individual item, not some serial number repeat product.
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Fortunately, they will still be selling Rolex watches after the Apple Watch comes on the market - - so knock yourself out!

(But don't forget that Rolex watches require servicing every 5-10 years at a cost of $500.)
 
mdelvecchio said:
yeah, right. it's a solid 18k gold watch.

as for heirlooms, you don't get it -- the people who buy at this price point don't give a crap about leaving watches to their descendants. it's about STATUS. have you not seen the $20,000 - $40,000 Vertu cell phones?

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how does that explain luxury cellphone maker Vertu and their extremely high prices? the wealthy elite don't care about passing down their watches or phones. it's a symbol of wealth.
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You do realize that most Vertu phones don't even have a web browser or email access?...they're just phones. People willing to pay 15k USD for essentially a dumb phone don't need to check email or write texts...they have someone to do that for them. It's hardly an assumption. Check out the Verge's piece on Vertu from a year ago or so...Vertu's top phones are dumb phones.
 
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mdelvecchio said:
yeah, right. it's a solid 18k gold watch.

as for heirlooms, you don't get it -- the people who buy at this price point don't give a crap about leaving watches to their descendants. it's about STATUS. have you not seen the $20,000 - $40,000 Vertu cell phones? /QUOTE]



Solid 18k gold" that would be hilarious. Right from Apple's website it's just a gold case, which will probably include about 30 grams of gold...far from the weight of a solid good watch.

It's true---the Vertu users aren't using an iPhone(!), and a Piaget or Cartier watch will say more about theur statue then a watch they'll need to recharge daily, and one that hardly has a unique identity, which is what makes Vertu phones special.

If Apple Watch Edition is made in China, it'd be the most expensive watch manufactured there, and that's not a really hot selling point. Makers of Vertu, Piaget, Cartier et al are individuals with known identities in manufacturing the intricacies of the pieces, and based where the companies are, and working under suitable conditions.
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I can't see the super rich wanting to fork over 10k for something that is essentially the same, apart from the casing, as a product which is orders of magnitude cheaper.

Maybe there will be a few who would, but they're the kind of people who buy diamond-encrusted mobile phones. Extremely few and far between and certainly not a fashionable item.
 
CJM said:
I can't see the super rich wanting to fork over 10k for something that is essentially the same, apart from the casing, as a product which is orders of magnitude cheaper.
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Do you realize how the super rich shop?

They don't look at prices at all. They'll see the gold watch - 'I want it!' Then hand the credit card to the cashier without ever looking at the price. There is no comparison of value when you're super rich. You just get the stuff you want.

I know, I have relatives who are millionaires living in New York City, when we visit them, they take us out to fancy restaurants and buy $500 ice cream deserts, $1,000 kids clothes for our kids. Things that we think are insanely high priced, but they think nothing of spending $10,000 in an evening.
 
darcyf said:
I imagine Apple will be offering a recycling program similar to what they have now with iPhones, wherein you bring back your gold Watch and they give you some of the value of that gold towards the cost of your new gold Watch.

Apple could stand to make a lot of money this way by reacquiring gold at less than market cost that they will then turn around and sell in a future Watch.

Without some sort of recycling program in place, Apple could be viewed as fostering a disposable gold market, which probably wouldn't look so great.
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This was one idea that I did no think about. Very interesting concept indeed. I believe that you will be right on this one.

While reading your comment (and of course the others), I too was thinking of the rationale for a 10 to 20k gold apple watch. I of course cannot spend that kind of money on a gold watch as it is not financially responsible for me and my family. However, I started to think about other cultures on this planet where wearing your wealth is not only a status, but also a form of banking. If I am not mistaken, India is a very large consumer market of gold in that they actually wear almost two thirds of their assets in gold. I am quite sure this is similar in other cultures in the mideast and Asia. Just a thought of cultural differences in exploding world markets.
 
Mikes1 said:
If you buy a Rolex today it will contain different technology from a Rolex made several years ago. Mechanical technology moves on just like electronics. Sure a Rolex will last for years buy don't forget they have to be serviced to keep them working properly. I had my submariner serviced at a cost of over £400
I see no reason why an Apple watch could not be serviced and it will tell the time extremely accurately for many years. Of course there will be newer and better models but IMHO it should not be considered such as a time limited consumable like a phone or tablet
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But can you guarantee that iDevices will even be around 10, 50 or 100 years from now? You need a iPhone for this first gen Apple watch to be fully functional. We may have embedded bio-implants (think Borg from Star Trek) in 100 years that will replace tablets and phones altogether.
I hope that in 100 years that my great, great, great grandson is not rocking a iPhone 55 or iPad Air 45 when he/she is an adult. That Rolex you have would be priceless in 100 years. That gold Apple watch would have been melted down for it's gold years prior.
 
coolfactor said:
Those people don't see a watch, they see a status symbol. But the AppleWatch is a "gadget". I think Apple is working very, very hard to position their watch as a status symbol to avoid this very difference. The trick will be to ensure that the technology lasts. With the iPhone doing a lot of the heavy lifting, I think they are hoping that a watch, even the first generation, will last many years.
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A Rolex isn't just a status symbol: it's a jewel.
Could you define a smartwatch as a jewel too?
 
If Apple's plan was to only sell a $20,000 watch then I'd worry about their direction. But if a super expensive gold watch is just one of the options then I'm not too concerned. It would only be a status symbol thing and there people out there who will buy it, although I think it's pretty stupid.
 
Why couldn't Apple just release a updated nano with all the sensor/tech that the Apple watch has? It makes no sense other than a money grab. They would have sold far many of these vs. Apple watch.
The basic formula was right there for Apple to use.
 

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FelixAng said:
I can see it now, visit the Apple Store and spend 20,000 USD on an 18k watch that lasts a day on a single charge or buy Apple Car for 35,000 USD. Hopefully by 2020 the watch will get a week's battery.

Gruber leaves out the most important aspect of spending 20k on a fine timepiece, which is investment and heirloom-worthiness. The Apple Watch Edition will have diminishing returns immediately upon purchase. I know the very rich might consider one, but they usually don't need a convenient little pedometer, or something on their wrist to tell them their emails in tiny print.

As well, the Apple Watch isn't as extraordinary as the mechanics found in a fine Swiss watch; Rolex watches aren't made at Foxconn on some cheap factory line. Of course, Rolex isn't the top of the line in high-end timepieces. The Apple Watch needs a clunky recharge every day, and its functions must be tethered to a source device. That's a burden...

I doubt the premium Apple Watch will surpass 2,499 USD.
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I'm guessing the Edition starts at $5,000. But in any case, I think Gruber is right that some full solid gold bands are coming and those are clearly going to cost a bundle.
 
poppe said:
I could see the gold watch (no band) being $1,000-2,000. Then the band itself to match the gold watch being $3,000-5,000. In terms of watches that's not expensive at all.

I just can't see them making the actual devices cost too much - will not help with upgrading to the newest version - and their a better profits to be made in bands then in electronic devices (I would guess).
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In terms of mechanical watches, no, in terms of digital watches, it's expansive
 
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