Apple to Close Last Remaining Apple Watch Pop-Up Shop Next Month

[Soccertess]

Just popped-in to say:

Pop-up implies eventual pop-down after the pop-ulation is satisfied or the item proves generally pop-ular or absolutely un-pop-ular.

The original Edition watches were more of a perception-smashing marketing gimmick designed to break the snob-appeal of high-end mechanical timepieces.

Given that an Apple Watch does all the functions, except being like jewelry, that high end watches do, the Edition was necessary to move people beyond the aesthetic hang-up they would have against a black screen and something akin to Geek Wear. The gold Edition served this purpose and Apple Watch has cemented its place at nearly the top of the Watch industry.

So no great surprise that the pop-up are popping-down now as their customers can buy through conventional channels now. And if the ultra-spenders don’t replace, but go back to Swiss watches? No big deal because they are a rarified slice of the overall market, a market that Apple now is #2 in (within 3 years of entry.)

I don’t buy this pop up spin. Apple thought the Apple Watch would be “revolutionary” Tim’s exact word, and sales would be significantly higher.

And how did this cement apple’s watch in the top of the watch industry? The 10k watch was a flop, it became useless the day it was released due un under powered processor. So those who spent 10k plus had a buggy, slow as paper weight.

I think we need to stop the bs PR spin. Not everything that Apple does is gold, or a good decision. Steve’s one button mouse was a horrid mistake, thankfully he admited it.

The fact with the Apple Watch is that the initial release not only missed the mark on demand, but on who was buying it. While it is the best selling smart watch, and in my opinion one of the nicest, it isn’t a smash fit for many reasons.

The best thing that Apple has done is to refocus, stop this appeal to ultra luxury, and focus on health with a price drop.

 

[willmtaylor]

I don’t buy this pop up spin. Apple thought the Apple Watch would be “revolutionary” Tim’s exact word, and sales would be significantly higher.

And how did this cement apple’s watch in the top of the watch industry? The 10k watch was a flop, it became useless the day it was released due un under powered processor. So those who spent 10k plus had a buggy, slow as paper weight.

I think we need to stop the bs PR spin. Not everything that Apple does is gold, or a good decision. Steve’s one button mouse was a horrid mistake, thankfully he admited it.

The fact with the Apple Watch is that the initial release not only missed the mark on demand, but on who was buying it. While it is the best selling smart watch, and in my opinion one of the nicest, it isn’t a smash fit for many reasons.

The best thing that Apple has done is to refocus, stop this appeal to ultra luxury, and focus on health with a price drop.

Rage against the machine all you like, but it’s Apple’s job to spin the PR hype.

 

[bbednarz]

This is the point that a lot of people like to overlook. Yes a Rolex can cost five figures, but if you do the service on it, it'll also last for decades. A Series 0 Apple watch likely will not last more than 3 before the battery ceases to hold a charge, and Apple will stop issuing software updates not long after.

I'm really tired of people trying to argue that Apple has rendered the swiss luxury watchmakers obsolete and how this is the greatest timepiece ever conceived. The first gen especially was a bad product, and 3 years later it still isn't particularly useful at anything it was marketed for.

Who is arguing that it makes swiss luxury watches obsolete?
The watch is quite useful for what it is marketed for, notifications and health tracking.

 

[Baymowe335]

Who is it you’re addressing, exactly?

You.

 

[willmtaylor]

Who is it you’re addressing, exactly?

My name isn’t MacRumors, and I didn’t say the Apple Watch failed.

 

[Plutonius]

As with any language, translations are never really 100%. I think it's literally closer to, "Thank you for your long term patronage."

You are probably correct. That sounds much better then the translated statement in the article.

 

[Spendlove]

This is the point that a lot of people like to overlook. Yes a Rolex can cost five figures, but if you do the service on it, it'll also last for decades. A Series 0 Apple watch likely will not last more than 3 before the battery ceases to hold a charge, and Apple will stop issuing software updates not long after.

I'm really tired of people trying to argue that Apple has rendered the swiss luxury watchmakers obsolete and how this is the greatest timepiece ever conceived. The first gen especially was a bad product, and 3 years later it still isn't particularly useful at anything it was marketed for.

I have worn my generation zero every single day since day one of release and it works just fine. Charge lasts over 24 hours, still getting updates, works BETTER than it did on release, the software is that good.

Swiss watch, meh, overpriced metal tat that only tells the time. What use is that?!

 

[DjanSeriyAnaplian]

I have worn my generation zero every single day since day one of release and it works just fine. Charge lasts over 24 hours, still getting updates, works BETTER than it did on release, the software is that good.

Swiss watch, meh, overpriced metal tat that only tells the time. What use is that?!

'A fool and his money are soon parted'.

 

[chucker23n1]

I'm really tired of people trying to argue that Apple has rendered the swiss luxury watchmakers obsolete and how this is the greatest timepiece ever conceived. The first gen especially was a bad product, and 3 years later it still isn't particularly useful at anything it was marketed for.

I don't think the bad gen was a particularly bad product. Not great by Apple's standards, but hardly mediocre. I wear one every day.

Does it make Rolex obsolete? Hardly. Did Apple at one point have the hubris to believe they could and should enter that market segment? It appears that way.

Regardless, for the sub-$1,000 market segment, they have achieved a significant share.

did you google?

Don't be a jerk about it.

http://www.gluco-wise.com/

Yes, I'm aware of that product, and until proven otherwise, I'll shove it in the same snake-oil nonsense drawer as Theranos.

The onus is on GlucoWise to prove their product, and they're still in clinical trials, so they haven't.

Anything's possible and there are lots of things happening behind the scenes we aren't even aware of.

Plenty is possible, and I didn't make any other claim. Here's what I said:

but glucose monitoring isn't currently feasible. Non-invasive glucose monitoring would be a breakthrough that has yet to happen.

Snake-oil salesmen like to pretend we're further along than we are, and junk science journalists like to eat those claims up and spread them. Right now, today, non-invasive glucose monitoring is not a thing that exists. Ask any diabetologist.

Tomorrow, that might change. Ten years from now, it's even more likely to change. But don't give people false hope.

I don’t buy this pop up spin. Apple thought the Apple Watch would be “revolutionary” Tim’s exact word, and sales would be significantly higher.

What's your evidence that Apple expected Watch sales to be higher than they are?
[doublepost=1524503431][/doublepost]

The best thing that Apple has done is to refocus, stop this appeal to ultra luxury, and focus on health with a price drop.

The original Watch started at $349. The current one starts at… $329. To call that a "drop" is a bit dramatic, don't you think?

 

[technole]

I'm not sure why people say the focus switched from fashion to sport, they still have fashion oriented versions in Hermes and their own unique taste of Ceramic. Price points that apparently are working well.

Did you also forget the base Series 0 model was called "Apple Watch Sport"?

 

[chucker23n1]

I'm not sure why people say the focus switched from fashion to sport, they still have fashion oriented versions in Hermes and their own unique taste of Ceramic. Price points that apparently are working well.

Did you also forget the base Series 0 model was called "Apple Watch Sport"?

In that demo video, health/fitness is just one feature among many. Notice how the second button is reserved for contacts (something they changed in 2.0? 3.0?), how "digital touch" is mentioned, how weird gimmicky stuff like sharing your heartbeat is shown. Not to mention concepts such as Glances.

Much of that has been deemphasized or removed altogether.

 

[technole]

In that demo video, health/fitness is just one feature among many. Notice how the second button is reserved for contacts (something they changed in 2.0? 3.0?), how "digital touch" is mentioned, how weird gimmicky stuff like sharing your heartbeat is shown. Not to mention concepts such as Glances.

Much of that has been deemphasized or removed altogether.

It's an introduction of every feature it has, being it wasn't released yet at the time. There is nothing wrong with features evolving with versions over time. Glances is now what the button does today to swap apps. I still use Digital Touch, it's the same thing as using an Apple Pencil on an iPad, or the draw feature in iMessage. Now with LTE watches, you might not have any of those other devices with you, so the Digital Touch feature got better.

Sharing a heartbeat gimmicky? You can even share all your activity band data with your friends now.

Are you going to say animoji is gimmicky too just because you don't use it?

 

[chucker23n1]

Are you going to say animoji is gimmicky too just because you don't use it?

No.

The point is that, in my opinion, the focus of watchOS changed significantly between 1.0 and 3.0. You don't have to agree.

 

[strategicthinke]

Where are those gold Apple watches now? How many did they sell and are they even still functional? It was a ridiculous product; a limited lifespan that will be made obsolete and impossible to be serviced or repaired within a decade. Anybody who bought one has rocks for brains! I can think of many beautiful mechanical watches I’d love to have for that kind of money that can be serviced for generations.

First edition Apple products are nearly always very poor.

You’re missing the point of using the Edition to change the mindset off insurers of how much value an electronic timepiece holds...

 

[Beelzbub]

I remember when that was released lol.
https://gizmodo.com/the-crazy-metallurgy-apple-is-using-to-sell-its-watch-1690388081

 

[makinao]

Apple distancing itself from the fickle world of fashion can only be a good thing.

Nope. In many ways the fashion industry influences what you and the rest of the capitalist world wear, unless you make your own clothes from scratch. For example, look at sports. The sports and fashion industries maintain a healthy relationship. This is why Nike and Adidas maintain stores which look more like a contemporary designer boutiques than locker rooms. This is also why design and aesthetics are just as important as function in the creation of sportswear. And this is why their list of endorsers are treated the same as fashion models because the mere sight of their glorious bodies wearing a brands products generate worldwide sales. Whether we like it or not, Apple cannot afford to "distance itself from the fickle world of the fashion industry" and the design/aesthetic trends it controls because doing so will make Apple appear dull and unappealing to the mass market.

 

[technole]

Apple cannot afford to "distance itself from the fickle world of the fashion industry" and the design/aesthetic trends it controls because doing so will make Apple appear dull and unappealing to the mass market.

Yep.

There will always be some ignorance from people who just refuse to believe Apple actually sells bands that are $500+, or a watch that is $1400. They do sell.

 

[Soccertess]

I don't think the bad gen was a particularly bad product. Not great by Apple's standards, but hardly mediocre. I wear one every day.

Does it make Rolex obsolete? Hardly. Did Apple at one point have the hubris to believe they could and should enter that market segment? It appears that way.

Regardless, for the sub-$1,000 market segment, they have achieved a significant share.



Don't be a jerk about it.



Yes, I'm aware of that product, and until proven otherwise, I'll shove it in the same snake-oil nonsense drawer as Theranos.

The onus is on GlucoWise to prove their product, and they're still in clinical trials, so they haven't.



Plenty is possible, and I didn't make any other claim. Here's what I said:



Snake-oil salesmen like to pretend we're further along than we are, and junk science journalists like to eat those claims up and spread them. Right now, today, non-invasive glucose monitoring is not a thing that exists. Ask any diabetologist.

Tomorrow, that might change. Ten years from now, it's even more likely to change. But don't give people false hope.



What's your evidence that Apple expected Watch sales to be higher than they are?
[doublepost=1524503431][/doublepost]

The original Watch started at $349. The current one starts at… $329. To call that a "drop" is a bit dramatic, don't you think?

Did you forget that the high end models were dropped?? You know the 10k to 20k? Good memory you have