Apple Watch Bands

[jabingla2810]

They will do it like Motorola do the MOTO X, or Nike do custom trainers.

You will put together the watch you want on the website, and order it.

No idea why people are making this out to be more complicated than it actually is. Things like this have been done before.

 

[Rogifan]

They will do it like Motorola do the MOTO X, or Nike do custom trainers.

You will put together the watch you want on the website, and order it.

No idea why people are making this out to be more complicated than it actually is. Things like this have been done before.

Yeah I own several pairs of Nike ID shoes that I "designed" myself. The problem is looking at Apple the tech company and applying it to this watch. This is as much about style and fashion as it is technology. One style does not fit all. If Apple couldn't manage all these SKUs they would have designed the sport version only and been done with it.

 

[Julien]

They will do it like Motorola do the MOTO X, or Nike do custom trainers.

You will put together the watch you want on the website, and order it.

No idea why people are making this out to be more complicated than it actually is. Things like this have been done before.

Because this doesn't work when you walk into an Apple Store or Best Buy or Sears or MacMall or any new luxury high end store that will probably sell the Edition or ....

Not sure why this is so hard to understand since Apple clearly lays it all out in the Apple Watch Gallery.

There will be 34 SKUs of the Watch offered (assuming there are no memory options) and there will be 34 SKUs of watch bands for sell (all watch bands sold individually too).

SIMPLE

 

[Rogifan]

Because this doesn't work when you walk into an Apple Store or Best Buy or Sears or MacMall or any new luxury high end store that will probably sell the Edition or ....

Not sure why this is so hard to understand since Apple clearly lays it all out in the Apple Watch Gallery.

There will be 34 SKUs of the Watch offered (assuming there are no memory options) and there will be 34 SKUs of watch bands for sell (all watch bands sold individually too).

SIMPLE

Its not. But some seem to think the stainless steel Watch will come with a sport band and if you want something different you'll be forced to upgrade. That's what I disagree with. Apple is not going to make you pay for a sport band if you want something different.

 

[Julien]

Its not. But some seem to think the stainless steel Watch will come with a sport band and if you want something different you'll be forced to upgrade. That's what I disagree with. Apple is not going to make you pay for a sport band if you want something different.

It is that simple. The SS will be available in the following:

White Fluoroelastomer 38mm & 42mm
Black Fluoroelastomer 38mm & 42mm
Black Leather 38mm & 42mm
Milanese Loop 38mm & 42mm
Stone Leather 42mm
Bright Blue Leather 42mm
Light Brown Leather 42mm
Soft Pink Leather 38mm
Midnight Blue Leather 38mm
Brown Leather 38mm
Link Bracelet 38mm & 42mm
Space Link Bracelet Black Stainless Steel 38mm & 42mm

That is 18 SUKs for the SS (plus 18 SUKs for the individual bands) and the starting (lowest) price SS will be the 4 Fluoroelastomer SUKs.

My guess is the Link Bracelet Black Stainless Steel will be the most expensive SS.

EDIT: added Black Fluoroelastomer 38mm & 42mm

 

[Rogifan]

It is that simple. The SS will be available in the following:

White Fluoroelastomer 38mm & 42mm
Black Leather 38mm & 42mm
Milanese Loop 38mm & 42mm
Stone Leather 42mm
Bright Blue Leather 42mm
Light Brown Leather 42mm
Soft Pink Leather 38mm
Midnight Blue Leather 38mm
Brown Leather 38mm
Link Bracelet 38mm & 42mm
Space Black Stainless Steel 38mm & 42mm

That is 16 SUKs for the SS and the starting (lowest) price SS will be the 4 Fluoroelastomer SUKs.

My guess is the Link Bracelet Black Stainless Steel will be the most expensive SS.

Yep. And there's black Fluoroelastomer too so that gets you to 18. Not rocket science, as you say.

 

[jabingla2810]

Because this doesn't work when you walk into an Apple Store or Best Buy or Sears or MacMall or any new luxury high end store that will probably sell the Edition or ....

Of course it works.

It's 2015, shopping can be interactive, Apple could do anything.

Like this:

Customer "I'd like to buy an Apple Watch"
Apple employee "Certainly, do you know what you want or would you like to browse through the options on this iPad."

*Customer selects the watch and band they would like.*

Employee "Thanks, we'll have that ready for you in 5 minutes"

In the back office, the watch is put together and put in a box.

Now on launch day, when lots of people will be buying, this might not be ideal. But it's certainly possible.

 

[Julien]

Of course it works.

It's 2015, shopping can be interactive, Apple could do anything.

Like this:

Customer "I'd like to buy an Apple Watch"
Apple employee "Certainly, do you know what you want or would you like to browse through the options on this iPad."

*Customer selects the watch and band they would like.*

Employee "Thanks, we'll have that ready for you in 5 minutes"

In the back office, the watch is put together and put in a box....

At Radio Shack where they may have only 1 employee?

Just to add economics into the picture. It is less costly to stock all the SUKs than it is to devote employee time and floor space plus customer inconvenience on the 'choose your band and we will install it' model.

EDIT: Another problem with the 'choose your band and we will install it' is gift giving. No one wants to give an opened box to someone as a gift.

 

[Rogifan]

This brings up a question of where Watch will be sold. Perhaps the sport collection will be sold at traditional places like Best Buy but I have my doubts the other collections will be.

 

[jabingla2810]

At Radio Shack where they may have only 1 employee?

Just to add economics into the picture. It is less costly to stock all the SUKs than it is to devote employee time and floor space plus customer inconvenience on the 'choose your band and we will install it' model.

Who said Radio Shack will be selling them in 2015?

Anyway, there is always staff training etc about these things.

Apple are all about customer service.

You don't have to anymore, but in the UK Apple used to have to set up and register your iPhone in store, which took an employee 15-20 minutes, and that wasn't an issue.

A lot of Apple employees carry iPads, and this is something they could be used for.

I'm not sure you can count 'Choose the band you want and we will install it' as Customer inconvenience?

I think Apple will manage the watches and bands seperately, and sell the customer the combination they want. I think the gallery Apple has on their website is an attempt to show the amount of variations possible, not necessarily the watches they will ship.

Of course, I could be wrong!

 

[Julien]

This brings up a question of where Watch will be sold. Perhaps the sport collection will be sold at traditional places like Best Buy but I have my doubts the other collections will be.

I agree and also believe the SS and Edition (not Sport) may be sold at 'new' to Apple products, luxury brand stores.

 

[jabingla2810]

EDIT: Another problem with the 'choose your band and we will install it' is gift giving. No one wants to give an opened box to someone as a gift.

Who said it was an opened box?

Apple have always been good at packaging.

Perhaps you select the watch and band you want. They put it in a plastic box, seal it with a sticker and stick on it's own personal bar code on the bottom side of it?

Anything is possible!

 

[Julien]

...I think Apple will manage the watches and bands seperately, and sell the customer the combination they want. I think the gallery Apple has on their website is an attempt to show the amount of variations possible, not necessarily the watches they will ship.

Of course, I could be wrong!

Then you should email Apple and tell them they need to correct their website.

 

[jabingla2810]

Then you should email Apple and tell them they need to correct their website.

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Yes, these galleries show the variations in each style.

It doesn't say these are the only watches they will ship.

How Apple manages the watches, how they will assemble and sell them, and where they will sell them has not yet been announced by Apple.

At the end of the way, it doesn't really matter.

My way, your way, another way, the end result is the same, we get fancy new gadgets the play with!

 

[Rogifan]

Then you should email Apple and tell them they need to correct their website.

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As long as Apple sells bands individually I don't think they can prevent people from creating a combination not shown in the collection. But my guess is when you first buy the watch the band options you get will match what's in the collections on their website. For example if you select the sport watch the only band options you'll get will be fluoroelastomer. Personally I think Apple has put together the most logical/good looking combinations. My guess is not many people will buy outside of those.

 

[fousfous]

As long as Apple sells bands individually I don't think they can prevent people from creating a combination not shown in the collection. But my guess is when you first buy the watch the band options you get will match what's in the collections on their website. For example if you select the sport watch the only band options you'll get will be fluoroelastomer. Personally I think Apple has put together the most logical/good looking combinations. My guess is not many people will buy outside of those.

I agree, because some bands CAN'T go on Watch Sport for example because it's ugly.
Took the Milanese one with the Watch Sport, the place were the band is attached to the Watch is in Steel and that is ugly to put it with Aluminium.

 

[576316]

I'm sure Apple will require everyone to buy a watch+band combination this year. I think subsequent Apple Watches will be offered with just the watch body as an option for those who already own bands, assuming that the watch bands are compatible with future hardware.

I'm apprehensive about how easy it will be to upgrade to the 'new' Apple Watch whenever they decide to create new generations of the device. Right now, lots of us sell our old iPhones either through services like eBay or, like me, through mobile recycling services (who take tablets and phones). Are these recycling companies going to be interested in buying people's old Apple Watches in order to provide 'developing countries' with this new tech - seeing as that's their aim with buying the latest handsets from us?

If the Apple Watch really is going to cost around £400, I'd hate to find out that my first generation Apple Watch is worth nothing when the second generation comes out, because nobody and nowhere wants to buy it from me.

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Yes, these galleries show the variations in each style.

It doesn't say these are the only watches they will ship.

How Apple manages the watches, how they will assemble and sell them, and where they will sell them has not yet been announced by Apple.

At the end of the way, it doesn't really matter.

My way, your way, another way, the end result is the same, we get fancy new gadgets the play with!

It will definitely be interesting to see how Apple deal with the Apple Watch at a store level. Online purchases will be easy because presumably you'll be able to select a watch and a band (within that range, I imagine the Sport watch will have to come with one of the Sport bands). But at a store level, this gets trickier. The easiest way to do it would be to box the watches with a strap and then the customer has to just choose which watch and strap they want. But this would then require a lot of stock because of all the possible combinations.

Even different to this, I can't imagine how Apple would ever be able to sell them separately. Are they going to dedicate a whole area of each store to Apple Watch straps, just as they do with cases? (Actually that's not so hard to believe now thinking about it)

So it comes down to whether the Apple Watch will be packaged with a strap (which is highly likely) and how many combinations will be available at each store but also if Apple are then going to offer other straps separately at stores (something which also seems likely).

 

[Piggie]

Interesting topic.

So, I buy the sports watch as I want something lightweight, and being used to Apple products, I want to stick with Aluminium.

However, I want a nice strap, so pay, lets guess £200 for a nice high end Apple strap.

Months later, I realise my Aluminium watch was perhaps not the best choice, it's getting marked too easy, the metal is soft.

I think I'll get the stainless watch, but of course, I already have my luxury Apple strap, which is still perfect.

So, I just want the Stainless watch body.

Perhaps not this exact scenario, but I can see this happening a LOT esp. with millions of customers.

Perhaps in store they will sell just bodies to fit onto your current straps?

You think?

Makes sense no?
I mean what if you damage the watch, but the strap is fine.

I think we can see Apple will have to sell just the body rather than forcing you to pay for another nice strap when you already have your nice strap.

 

[banyanjd]

And this is the reason I wrote post #17. They must be sold separately AT SOME POINT. So they must be priced separately. And the price of the cheapest watch AND band we can presume to 349. Even if they are bundled the pricing has to be have a logical basis.