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Apple Watch Launches in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates on October 22

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Apple has updated its regional websites for Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to announce the Apple Watch will be available on October 22.

apple-watch-trio-new-800x316.jpg

Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates will be part of the eighth Apple Watch launch wave. Apple Watch expands to Belgium, Finland, Norway, Luxembourg and Poland tomorrow and to Brazil and Columbia on October 16.

April 24: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, UK, US
June 26: Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan
July 17: The Netherlands, Sweden, and Thailand
July 31: New Zealand, Russia, and Turkey
September 25: Austria, Denmark, and Ireland
October 9: Belgium, Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, and Poland
October 16: Brazil and Colombia
October 22: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
In the United Arab Emirates, pricing for the Apple Watch Sport will start at 1,399 dirhams for the 38mm model, which is equivalent to approximately $380 in U.S. dollars. Apple Watch prices in Saudi Arabia are not yet available on the website.

Article Link: Apple Watch Launches in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates on October 22
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/10/08/apple-watch-saudi-arabia-uae-oct-22/
This is the market that's likely to devour Apple Watch. With obscene amounts of money to burn for toys, Apple Watch is the one gadget that may capture their attention till everyone has one.

At that point the newness will have worn off. Apple needs to brace themselves for that day.
 
maxsix said:
This is the market that's likely to devour Apple Watch. With obscene amounts of money to burn for toys, Apple Watch is the one gadget that may capture their attention till everyone has one.

At that point the newness will have worn off. Apple needs to brace themselves for that day.
Click to expand...
Are we still pretending that Apple aren't already selling bucket loads of Apple Watches?

I don't think they need Saudi Arabia's help to continue selling millions of 'em.
 
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maxsix said:
This is the market that's likely to devour Apple Watch. With obscene amounts of money to burn for toys, Apple Watch is the one gadget that may capture their attention till everyone has one.

At that point the newness will have worn off. Apple needs to brace themselves for that day.
Click to expand...

It has been selling here in the UAE since the launch date in the US, so nothing new. Prices have dropped significantly (lower than Apple's official price even), which implies that people aren't that keen on the watch anymore.
 
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Most people in those regions already had it imported, and third-party retail stores also been selling them since their debut in the US. The prices must be way higher though...

PS. Thank you MacRumors' Moderators for your unbiased 'moderation'.
 
JimHarlan said:
Most people in those regions already had it imported, and third-party retail stores also been selling them since their debut in the US. The prices must be way higher though...

PS. Thank you MacRumors' Moderators for your unbiased 'moderation'.
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I too am happy that MR cleaned up the thread. Unfortunately, my comment was deleted as part of that.

All I was saying is that the total population is small compared to places like the US and China, so I would not think that SA and UAE will significantly impact sale numbers for the watch.
 
maxsix said:
This is the market that's likely to devour Apple Watch. With obscene amounts of money to burn for toys, Apple Watch is the one gadget that may capture their attention till everyone has one.

At that point the newness will have worn off. Apple needs to brace themselves for that day.
Click to expand...

I think you have never been to Dubai. The total UAE population is 10 million and only about 10% of the population you can consider will buy latest and greatest. These people probably already own Apple Watch imported from US or UK.

Rest of the population are labourers working in construction or white collar workers saving up every penny to send back home.

Don't believe everything you read on media.
 
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Cuban Missles said:
I too am happy that MR cleaned up the thread. Unfortunately, my comment was deleted as part of that.

All I was saying is that the total population is small compared to places like the US and China, so I would not think that SA and UAE will significantly impact sale numbers for the watch.
Click to expand...

Though if you think about it, the population doesn't matter much in sales in these scenarios considering the poverty rates in high population countries like China etc. thus not many people (subjective) will have the latest Apple products compared to lower population rich countries. Don't forget that you need an iPhone 5+ AND an Apple Watch in this case.

Also, many other resale-retail stores in the Middle East (like Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar etc.) buy Apple products in bulks from Saudi Arabia and UAE since it's cheaper shipping and tax-free.
 
JimHarlan said:
Though if you think about it, the population doesn't matter much in sales in these scenarios considering the poverty rates in high population countries like China etc. thus not many people (subjective) will have the latest Apple products compared to lower population rich countries. Don't forget that you need an iPhone 5+ AND an Apple Watch in this case.

Also, many other resale-retail stores in the Middle East (like Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar etc.) buy Apple products in bulks from Saudi Arabia and UAE since it's cheaper shipping and tax-free.
Click to expand...
All very good points. I would add though that the top 1% of Chinese people equals about 25% of US people. So although the poverty rate is higher than the US, the number of people able to afford apple toys is still probably similar and is why Apple is going after that market so strongly. In the case of SA and UAE, where the total population is only 10% of the US combined, even if 50% are affluent it only equals 5% of US. On sheer numbers, if everyone in the top .2% of china purchases an apple watch it would still take 50% of everyone in SA and UAE to buy one.
 
In Brazil the less expensive model is $753 (sport 38mm). Crazy taxes and law which requires profit over taxes! This explain why Jobs was reluctant to open an Apple Store in Brazil. In fact input after he passes away first Apple Store was open In Rio de Janeiro!!!!!
 
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