Apple Launches Magnetic Apple Watch Dock for $79

[jclardy]

? The video shows it facing the back of the dock. The watch will be in nightstand mode, and the cable will be at the back of the device.

I think he is saying if the watch is facing him, the back is going straight across the nightstand, rather than to the back which would require a 90 degree angle. To support what he wants the cable would have to come out of the right or left side (But then would only work for one nightstand side of the bed.)

I'm surprised it doesn't rotate to any angle though...

All I want is the charging end that can be plugged into a lightning cable, that way I only have to take one cable with while traveling and not the AW cable.

 

[RogerWilco]

Finally, a Tim Cook inspired product! I was wondering when the Jobs' era gravy train would grind to a halt, and it looks like that time is upon us.

 

[JonnyIreland]

I'm sorry, but Apple IS greedy.
Yes, all businesses exist to maximize profits... but Apple also likes to talk about how strong its ethics are, and this should extend to charging fair prices for their products. Price gouging is unethical in any situation. I know, "if you don't like the products/price, don't buy them, nobody is forcing you, vote with your wallet" and so on... Well, overpricing WILL come back to bite them in the ass one day, it always does.

 

[lucasrant]

Price is a little high. But a good idea that may prevent my watch to fall off the table during the night.

is you apple watch alive?

 

[Packerowner1984]

With every day I'm more disgusted by the obvious greed of Apple. When I jumped into Apple ecosystem in 2007, I understood the products are a bit more expensive [than competition], but most likely worth it. But today everything they sell is so obviously and shamelessly overpriced, that it seems the millionaires/billionaires at Apple have lost any connection with reality and turned the brand in some sort of Vertu equivalent.

I'm at that point too. There's only so much koolaid one can drink. I do own the Watch and its alright. But their pricing on some of these products as of late are just insane. The Pro for example is ridiculous. I had it for 4 days and returned it. Great concept, but I just couldn't get around how they purposely gimped it in features. Then had the b@lls to charge the price they did and still not include the pencil and/or the keyboard. Which is almost a must to enjoy it the way it's meant to be. Don't get me wrong, I love my 6s+ and Air2, but I'm getting sick of their greed lately and milking product features for generations just because they can.

 

[HenryDJP]

Kinda of junky looking for that kind of cash.

Seriously??? Junky looking?? Okaaaaay. Everybody has an opinion. It's actually very cool looking, but way too expensive. If it's too high priced for people here then they don't shouldn't trip about it anyway. Nobody here really NEEDS this charger.

 

[gcooldude86]

$99 in Canada, probably will wait till I get some Christmas money to buy this.

 

[Iconoclysm]

So $79 for a plastic device that has a flip out magnet to hold your phone and charge it. No wonder Apple is so profitable, people are willing to pay for this. $29 for a cable too?

You know, I think it's pricey as well but the hyperbole here is absurd. There is no evidence that it's made of plastic, it looks like leather to me...which is the reason Apple is able to charge so much, they use more expensive materials. More expensive=more room for higher profit margins.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Greed has nothing to do with it. Apple is a business and their goal is to maximize their profit. That is the goal of all for-profit businesses. If you don't like their product pricing, then you are welcome to not buy from them.

But when you're invested in an ecosystem, especially one as tight-knitted as Apple's, it's difficult to suddenly jump ship to something unfamiliar. It really is. With the recent pricing choices and a lot of subpar hardware, I think consumers are entitled to feel a little betrayed. If everybody shrugged their shoulders and didn't make a fuss, I have little doubt we'd be in a worse scenario than we are now.

 

[imronburgundy]

Apple has lost their minds. I'll gladly grab a $20 stand off of Amazon that utilizes the existing charger. Also, instead of spending $150+ on some weak bands, I'll just continue to use the $15 Luvvitt lugs with my leather strap I already own. Some of the pricing from Apple lately baffles me.

 

[Ries]

Almost the same price as an airport express ($99) ...

 

[BillyBobBongo]

Was surprised at how good my German still is, I haven't spoken it in more than 15 years. Wunderbar!

 

[jbachandouris]

Funny thing is that I hesitated buying a combo dock because of their high prices. $79 to charge ONE device? Those combo docks are looking better all the time.

 

[mcdj]

I don't understand why it needs such a large footprint. Far too big for my nightstand.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm sorry, but Apple IS greedy.
Yes, all businesses exist to maximize profits... but Apple also likes to talk about how strong its ethics are, and this should extend to charging fair prices for their products. Price gouging is unethical in any situation. I know, "if you don't like the products/price, don't buy them, nobody is forcing you, vote with your wallet" and so on... Well, overpricing WILL come back to bite them in the ass one day, it always does.

Wrong. Perhaps if a charger wasn't included w/ AW and Apple had a monopoly on docks, i.e., it was the only source. But Apple is one of many companies to selling docks, which aren't even a necessity. If you do want a lower priced one the marketplace is working for you. $8 docks are sold on Amazon all day long. Or you could drill a hole in a 2x4 cast off, plop your charger in and voila, a dock for free. Or you could just use the including charger w/o a dock also for free.

Sure, this is arguably an overpriced, unnecessary, frankly ugly, accessory, but to suggest Apple is being greedy in its pricing is baseless. There are plenty of items from cars to coats that are at the atmospheric end of the price zone. It's not the market I'm in, but the luxury market is none-the-less legitimate. No one is freezing to death because Armani sells top coats for $2K.

 

[Binarymix]

Almost the same price as an airport express ($99) ...

Just wait until they release the new Airport Express for just $250 ($325 CAD).

That'll make this charger look like a steal!

 

[wyarp]

So expensive. Between this and the latest input devices I think Apple's pricing team are on another planet.

Plus I wish the screen would stay on in nightmode, I don't want to fumble to tap the watch.

Agreed. I understand the premium prices apple charge for the products as they are selling them as 'premium' devices. With regards the accessories though, whilst I can understand some mark-up (tear-downs of their chargers and other devices before have shown they are very highly, often over-engineered in comparison to the cheaper alternatives) but the prices they charge are just a bit ridiculous.

They don't need to charge a premium for their accessories as i) the vast majority of their profits come from the main product line ii) it doesn't in any way weaken the 'premium' nature of the main product of the brand to sell cheaper accessories iii) it drives most people into either buying cheaper 3rd party versions or simply not bothering to upgrade (case in the point the latest keyboard and trackpads).

 

[HenryDJP]

I'm sorry, but Apple IS greedy.
Yes, all businesses exist to maximize profits... but Apple also likes to talk about how strong its ethics are, and this should extend to charging fair prices for their products. Price gouging is unethical in any situation. I know, "if you don't like the products/price, don't buy them, nobody is forcing you, vote with your wallet" and so on... Well, overpricing WILL come back to bite them in the ass one day, it always does.

Nice rant, and some of it I agree with but your last line...please step into reality. Apple has ALWAYS been expensive for way too many years and to some degree priced way more than what they are selling is even worth but that has not lost them business. You may verbally disagree for public sake but let's be real about this, if any of us here were running a big company like Apple and KNEW we could get away with charging high prices because our customers continually buy from us, anybody here would do it.

 

[bnmcj1]

A no purpose device. Uglier than the included solution, more to dust off at home.

 

[Gregintosh]

I paid around $10 or $15 for my Spiegen stand. It's black, beautiful, simple, small, and looks elegant. I'll stick with that. Must say that if I didn't already have mine I would be tempted though.

 

[JonnyIreland]

Wrong. Perhaps if a charger wasn't included w/ AW and Apple had a monopoly on docks, i.e., it was the only source. But Apple is one of many companies to selling docks, which aren't even a necessity. If you do want a lower priced one the marketplace is working for you. $8 docks are sold on Amazon all day long. Or you could drill a hole in a 2x4 cast off, plop your charger in and voila, a dock for free. Or you could just use the including charger w/o a dock also for free.

Sure, this is arguably an overpriced, unnecessary, frankly ugly, accessory, but to suggest Apple is being greedy in its pricing is baseless. There are plenty of items from cars to coats that are at the atmospheric end of the price zone. It's not the market I'm in, but the luxury market is none-the-less legitimate. No one is freezing to death because Armani sells top coats for $2K.

I'm not talking about this dock in particular though... I'm talking about their overall pricing strategy, just as several other people have mentioned.
There's nothing wrong with premium/luxury brands charging premium prices (like the $2k Armani coat), but when your customer base slowly increases resistance to the pricing of your products and get more and more vocal about it, I think it is fair to say that it could be a future recipe for disaster.
Most "premium" brands sell items that are considered timeless, classic, something to hold on to for many years (generally speaking -I'm sure you could dig up examples contrary to this if you really want to) -for example, classic cars, timepieces, furniture, even clothing. Unfortunately, Apple is in a much more mass-produced category of products with short life cycles -and aside from a few collectors that hold on to their classic iPod collection or their Apple II, their products aren't a Rolex or a Porsche.

 

[andreyirra]

In my country it says apple watch dock - WHITE so i'm guessing they will release other colors in the future.

Has anybody checked the material? What is it? Sponge? Leather? Plastic?

 

[thmsup]

What the f#@k Apple, c'mon! 89€ in Germany (for the lazy ones, that's about US-$ 95). Thats outrageous.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Finally, a Tim Cook inspired product! I was wondering when the Jobs' era gravy train would grind to a halt, and it looks like that time is upon us.

Hmm, I wonder what a Tim Cook inspired product would really be:

"To ... create ... this product, we looked at the inspired trend of products that our customers felt were most ... relevant for their usage. Consistently, flatulance apps are popular, unapologetically ... complementing Apple's drive for innovation.

The 'iFart', a beautiful ... cylindrical object, sculpted from solid aluminium, is not a refinement, but rather a distillation, of one's own fecal odor. By pressing the nose gently to what we call the aromatic crown, the user can inhale deeply for a user experience unlike any other.

We, at Apple, have been using this ... consistently ... on our desks ... for the last four years, and we can't wait for you to try it."

 

[selfsilent]

They're like "crap! it got leaked. there goes our doubled security. might as well release it"

So you think that in less than a day, they shipped stock to all the stores?
The fact is that all the stores had them already and had a set release day.
Days in Europe start before days in America so it was released in Europe and you just found out about early. That's not a leak, that's time zones.