What do you guys think? Do you think Apple should bring back the solid gold Apple Watch? I love my automatic watches, but I can’t get away from the functionality of the Apple Watch. Would be nice to have something premium I think.
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Anyone wishing for a higher end Apple watch
- Thread starter RyanFlynn
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Honestly with how fast technology moves I wouldn't be comfortable buying anything more than a titanium version. I have had a few high-end automatics with 13k being the most I paid for one but they won't be outdated 2-3 years from now.
Very good point. Maybe if apple had a solid trade up plan in place. Something that only costs 10% or 20% of the original to upgrade? I doubt its going to happen.
There was some speculation/hope for something like this for the S0 solid gold models. If it didn‘t happen then, I can‘t see it happening now or in the future. Would be cool, though.
IMO, the biggest roadblock to a higher-end Apple Watch being successful is that the tech changes quickly and the device would become obsolete in about 5 years. If Apple could find a way to "service" high-end Apple Watches, e.g., replace the internals, update sensors, etc., then it might be doable. It wouldn't be cheap, but like you, I have automatic and mechanical watches, and when my Speedmaster goes in for a service, I'm looking at around $700 to have Omega do the work.
If Apple could keep the AW running for longer than a few years, I could see the appeal of a high-end version.
I'm just like you. I love my autos and mechanicals, but get more use out of my Apple Watch.
You have no idea how many they sold. Neither do I or anyone else outside of Apple. It will not have been in huge numbers, obviously, but „barely a handful“ is way too low, if I had to take I guess. Do not underestimate the number of people around the globe for whom the cost of these was pocket change.
That being said, it has been told that Jony Ive - whose interest in watches in general is well-documented - always wanted to design a luxury watch and the Edition was something Tim Cook let him do to satisfy his MVP. So I guess with Ive out of the picture, we will not see Apple Watches much more expensive than the current Ceramic Edition. The solid gold S0 generated a lot of press/free PR for Apple, though, so in hindsight it wasn‘t just a vanity project.
That's exactly my thought on it. What's new today...is going to be old news next week. That's just how fast tech is going at this point in time. Knowing that...certain prices for certain things just aren't too justifiable in my opinion. (Others may think it is...but for me...I wouldn't spend that much money on something like that).
Agreed. I had the SS and SSSB first gen models. The depreciation hit was pretty high. I decided to stick with aluminum from the Series 4 on.
Nice to hear the opinion of someone who had a different material. Haha I've bought the aluminum ones from day one. Cost wasn't a factor for me, but since I exercise a lot and work in a job where I'm fairly likely to bump my wrists on something...the Sport model got my attention right away. I definitely appreciate the lighter-weight aluminum and it certainly holds up better in terms of scratches than from what I've seen of the stainless steel.
you don't think SS and ceramic are not premium? they cost 800 to 1500....
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it's more the other way around for me, the aluminium is more likely to scratch than the SS. Had 3 different watches that had scratches on while the SS I've never had any issues.
I have a Series 5 stainless steel and Series 5 aluminum Nike+ versions and really with the stainless steel you can polish any scratches you might get on it away, you're not doing that with the aluminum.
Also, the sapphire screen glass of the of the higher end models (Stainless, Hermes and Edition) is much more resilient than the ionX glass of the aluminum models and is way harder to scratch.
True. Good point. I've bumped this watch multiple times. Nothing visible on the case itself. But...I did get a nice little scratch on the screen...on day 2 😂 Worth mentioning though that since I've had this watch...that hit was without a doubt the hardest it's taken. If the case was taking hard hits like that, I would definitely have some pretty visible scratches.
I'm the opposite and always buy the cheapest model because I know I'll be tempted to upgrade when the new one comes out.
Let me help you understand why the ‘Edition’ watch was manufactured in the first place:
The Edition Apple Watch was nothing more than a marketing piece to gain the traction being a fashion device when it first started. Apple never had plans to keep the Edition Apple Watch as an offering for the next generation Apple Watches moving forward. The Edition Apple Watch was for those who have expendable income, but it helped the Apple Watch gain notoriety from the beginning.
It Was simply a marketing piece, nothing more, nothing less, and it worked, as the media was all over it.
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Apple likely stopped offering the highest priced models precisely for the reason many others in the thread have mentioned- it just makes little sense to invest in an Apple Watch that expensive when it could be lacking desirable features of the next generation within 12 months. Tech just moves to fast for it to be a justifiable investment for most. But then again, there are folks with very deep pockets that will buy it just for fun. For me, I'll stick to my tried-and-true aluminum models
It was widely reported here
Bloomberg: $10,000-Plus 18-Karat Gold Apple Watch Edition Sales Fizzled After Just Two Weeks
In a profile of Apple's operations chief Jeff Williams, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed some interesting anecdotes about development of...
www.macrumors.com
While I have owned the SS and SBSS in the past, I still usually come back to the aluminum models. I currently have the SG aluminum S5. For me, I just don't really have much of a need for the higher end models.
When I first started purchasing the AW, I would switch up my bands a lot depending on my day. I liked that the SS and SBSS were more "formal" and could dress them up with a Milanese or leather band. Nowadays, I never really swap bands at all (maybe a couple times a year).
When I first started purchasing the AW, I would switch up my bands a lot depending on my day. I liked that the SS and SBSS were more "formal" and could dress them up with a Milanese or leather band. Nowadays, I never really swap bands at all (maybe a couple times a year).
It was widely reported here
Bloomberg: $10,000-Plus 18-Karat Gold Apple Watch Edition Sales Fizzled After Just Two Weeks
In a profile of Apple's operations chief Jeff Williams, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed some interesting anecdotes about development of...
First of all, this is not a „report“, but just a rumor/guess by Bloomberg (a publication that has has written a lot of unsubstantiated crap about Apple - remember The Big Hack ?) Also, I wouldn‘t call (quote: Bloomber) „in the low tens of thousands“ (quote: pumazooma) „barely a handful“.
I think most people who are enamored with high end automatic watches are going to scoff at the Apple Watch no matter what it costs, so why bother trying to appeal to them? There will be some exceptions, of course (like the OP), but I think it’s a small subset of an already small group (meaning people who are going to spend 10k and up on any watch).
A 10k apple watch will be worth the price of the gold that in it in 2-3 years. I think thats the problem many have.
I did buy the original gold Apple Watch, its a fun collectors item, but it really feels cheap compared to a Rolex. It would be nice if Apple would "service it" with new components. Thats the rub I guess. I am currently wearing a stainless steal series 5 with the link band.