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

[TallManNY]

Paying ~700€ (or even up to 3000€) for a special, hand made watch? Sure, I'd to that.
Thing is: it has to work after 10 years like it did on day 1. With modern electronics this is not going to happen.

Factor 2 off? I'd say now it's factor 10 overpriced. Those prices could if you could exchange your watch for the newest version every 2 years for 10 years or something like that

Actually, I'm guessing that the internals of the Edition Watch will be swappable down the road. Considering the internals probably cost less than a $100 that might be a cheap way to justify the value. And if designed to be fairly easy to repair (which I know is very un-Apple), then the labor cost for a swap and repair would be cheap as well. Since Luxury Watches regularly get serviced, Apple might take a cue from that.

 

[iSee]

How is this newsworthy? Gruber doesn't know any more than the rest of us. You might as well throw up an article asking MacRumors to guess what prices will be.

Essentially, that's what they just did.

 

[Yojimbo007]

I thought one can purchase any band he/she wants individually... So one can swith between them.

I hope apple does not limit the choice of band i can buy separately!

If they dont it will be a huge mistake.

Plus it will be a waste of the cool snapon feature they have !

If they dont offer bands as accessory , They are leaving a huge amount of potental sales on the table and iinviting counterfit band galore !

 

[puma1552]

You people aren't reading the analysis. These are priced as fashion watches are. Disregard what tech is inside them. Millions of people spend that much every day on watches that only tell time and not even as reliably.

But if it's a fashion accessory, how can you spend $10k on one knowing that in 12 months it will be half as thick? $10k for this is absurd.

problem being that those things are still just electronics / toys that get outdated and judged by its specs at the end of the day so those price drops will be significant as soon as the next gen or two comes along. I don't see them holding much of its value unlike real watches.

just look how much detail and crafting goes into a real clockwork while the smart watch simply has a "theme" on its screen

Exactly - the value of these things will go to zero (besides possible scrap price for gold, etc.) in 12-24 months, guaranteed.

This is a disposable product - if it weren't, Apple wouldn't be in this market. Remember, Jobs said TV sets were a horrible business to be in because the turnaround is so infrequent. So this product has to be disposable, and a smart watch is almost by nature, so getting people to shell out retarded amounts of money for something that WON'T stand the test of time when they can buy a Breitling etc. that WILL stand the test of time is going to be pretty difficult.

What people are missing here is that people who spend a lot of money on watches usually tend to buy/collect them knowing they will have them for life, that they will never really depreciate much or go out of style. A good swiss watch is timeless, and buyers such as myself know this.

Not to mention, the Apple watch is just plain ugly, so it's not much of a fashion accessory IMO like a nice classic watch.

 

[JPLC]

Maybe it's some kind of watch industry big boys behaviour. With prices like that, you just manualy produce watches with little in stock. If this is the case, they also could introduce diamond editions for 100K.

 

[JoEw]

Actually, I'm guessing that the internals of the Edition Watch will be swappable down the road. Considering the internals probably cost less than a $100 that might be a cheap way to justify the value. And if designed to be fairly easy to repair (which I know is very un-Apple), then the labor cost for a swap and repair would be cheap as well. Since Luxury Watches regularly get serviced, Apple might take a cue from that.

I think this is partially why the components are integrated into 1 piece, quickly swap out an s1 to an s2 internal etc. also battery changes. New bands as well.

 

[samcraig]

I think making guesses are silly. The only thing I will say is I think Gruber is wrong about the bands. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if bands is where Apple hopes to make a lot of money. No way do I think Apple will restrict people from buying bands separate from the watch. I doubt you'll be able to buy a watch without a band but I'm certwin Apple will let you buy as many bands as you want.

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.

 

[PRSGuitarist]

It's looking more and more likely I'll be going with the black sport one.

 

[stephen1108]

I think this is partially why the components are integrated into 1 piece, quickly swap out an s1 to an s2 internal etc. also battery changes. New bands as well.

I'm hoping that's the case, if it's not then I'll be getting the Black Sport Edition.

It doesn't make sense for ME to drop absurd amounts of money on a watch that will be rendered technologically obsolete in a matter of months with no way of upgrading it.

 

[gugy]

The crazy part for me is to pay this kind of money for a watch that is not even waterproof.
While I am excite to see what the Apple Watch is, I am not sold on it for the reason above.

 

[Lepton]

There's no way Apple won't sell the bands alone as accessories after they've emphasized how easy it is to swap them out.

And there will be third party bands, which will probably be huge. We just haven't heard from them so far, because they don't know how to make the catches yet.

 

[xraydoc]

I really hope this is wrong. While I'm fortunate to have some disposable income, I won't be spending $1,000+ on a stainless steel Watch with a metal band. $500 maybe. Significantly more than that, no way.

I'll stick with my Pebble Steel if that's the case.

I'm growing concerned the whole watch thing is turning in to Jony Ive's ultimate wet dream with prices to match.

Anyone remember the Apple Lisa was $10,000 at launch in 1983?

The rumor about the electronics being upgradable better be true!

 

[iPadCary]

As God is my witness, NO ONE is gonna pay $15,000 for a frackin' AppleWatch.
NO. ONE.

 

[ebouwman]

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).

I don't see any gold bands though.

Personally I imagine the edition going for $2000 - $2500. Just my guess.

We should get a pool going on this.

 

[hoits2000]

Wow. I really thought Apple would really get the smartwatch movement going. Instead it looks like it is just going to kill it, if those prices are correct.

I was hoping for more of this kind of breakdown:

349/449 for Sport Apple Watch
499/599 for Metal Apple Watch
999/1099 for Gold Apple Watch

I was planning on getting the Metal one since I love my Pebble Steel so much but screw this watch it is cost $1000 for a metal watch.

Come on Apple. The world proved we NEED a computer. That we NEED a phone. But watches have been around for ever. You don't need them with everything else we have and I for one won't be spending anything close to 4 figures for a wrist onramnet.

 

[imwoblin]

Hmm, spend $10,000 on a heirloom Rolex that features a precision mechanical movement from a Swiss watch manufacturer that I will give to my son and will last over 100 years with little upkeep, or a gold smart watch with a battery from a computer / electronics manufacturer with exactly 0 years of watch making history or experience?
Tough choice indeed! Not

 

[the8thark]

Short version: I know nothing, so I'll just randomly guess with no real logic behind it.

That's almost every analyst and supposed insiders like Jim Dalrymple. All guessing with zero logic.

 

[thogin]

I thought one can purchase any band he/she wants individually... So one can swith between them.

I hope apple does not limit the choice of band i can buy separately!

I wouldn't fret too much about this. If the Apple Watch is a success, there will be a flood of 3rd party watch bands of various colors and designs, no doubt.

 

[Lepton]

Actually, I'm guessing that the internals of the Edition Watch will be swappable down the road.

On many watches, the back simply unscrews so you can clean it or change the battery. I'm hoping the heart sensor unit unscrews similarly, that will make the guts easy to update. The S1 unit is directly above it, and the battery above that.

 

[djpedro]

As unhinged as they've been in some of these Apple Watch threads so far, the naysayers are going to go absolutely bananas when the actual pricing is announced.

YUP.
Actually, if you read the New Yorker article on Jony Ive, you will see that the Apple Watch Edition was contentious INSIDE of Apple as well.

From the article-

Yet Ive still had to make a case to Apple, and Mansfield recalled “a lot of resistance.” It wasn’t clear how the company would display such things in stores; there were also concerns about creating a divide between wealthy and less wealthy customers.

This will be the first Apple device since the 20th anniversary Mac (also Jony Ive designed, btw) that you need to be rich to afford.


The pricing of the Apple Watch Edition is going to be controversial and it's going to be expensive. It's going to piss people off but make Apple a lot of money.


I personally think that long term, it may be a misstep to go "luxury" but time will tell.

 

[phillipduran]

Why someone would (hypothetically) waste $10k+ in a smartwatch fad is beyond my understanding.

Make $5,000,000 per year, and $10k on a watch is like $5 for coffee for "normal" people. It's not hard to understand. $5 for coffee is a lot but if you make $40k per year, you can buy some $5 coffee and not bat an eye.

Why would someone spend $1,000,000 on a tub that floats in the water. Well, some rich folk like yachts.

This is the flashy accessory wear world, people with extra monies are going to buy what they like with the money they have.

This whole watch thing is kind of ugly though. It just has a stink on it I don't like. Eww is how I feel about it.

 

[handsome pete]

Actually, I'm guessing that the internals of the Edition Watch will be swappable down the road.

I think the problem with that, is you'd have to assume the watch will maintain the same form factor/dimensions in future versions to be sure of compatibility.

You're still thinking about the Apple Watch in iPhone/smartphone terms.

That's everyone's mistake here - we have no idea what Apple has in store for the device. What if it's not a device you replace every year or two - what if it's upgradeable by itself somehow? What if they come up with a way to incorporate years of updates in the original price?

I think we need to stop trying to fit the Apple Watch into current mobile device upgrade/pricing models and wait until the thing is released.

Of course we'll have to wait until the thing is released to get a clearer picture, but then again, this site thrives on uninformed speculation. I tend to disagree with your overall point though. We can't ignore the fashion aspect of it, but we can't ignore its similarities to the smartphone either. It's essentially a computer on your wrist, much like a smartphone is a handheld computer. Because it is a tech device, it will inevitably use newer and better hardware in newer models. You can only get so much mileage out of each release of CPU, sensor, etc.

 

[Blakjack]

The problem with pricing the gold watches that high is that this is still a gadget. Next year the $350 watch will have better specs and in my eyes be "better". They will need to
Have a trade-in program or upgrade program of some kind for this to fly.

I don't expect the Apple watch to get a device upgrade every year. Not with those prices

 

[technosix]

If anyone can pull this off and command very high prices it's Apple. Many of the uber wealthy people can easily toss $10 or $20k on the counter, even if they are only curious to see what kind of attention it might get, while on their wrist.

 

[k1121j]

im guessing there will be a big market for 3rd party bands