Apple Watch Now Available at Target in Stores and Online

[hipnetic]

They've put themselves in an awkward position. They made a big bet at launch that this watch was going to be able to compete at the high end. They priced it obscenely high, required special appointments to try it on, etc. But it's an accessory. And not a very good one, either. Rectangular face, when people want round watch faces. Too much dead space around the actual display. Poor UI for launching apps. Locked-down customization (developers can't design their own watch faces).

They could open up that last issue easily, but it would still be limited due to the dead space issue (i.e., the only watch faces that will look good are ones with a black background).

But how do they walk back their overpricing it? They can't do that easily without it looking obvious. So they give it to Target, etc., and those guys will offer some steep discounts around Xmas. But there's a limit to how steeply they'll be able to discount it, too. An entry-level Sport model sells for $400. Even at a very steeply discounted price of $300, it will have trouble selling.

I bought my moto 360 when they were easy to find at $150. At that price, it was a bargain. But it only works great with an Android phone, and my "Android experiment" was short-lived, so I'm back using an iPhone again and that watch is too limited when paired with an iPhone. A shame, since it's a much better, and much more stylish, watch than the Apple Watch.

 

[neutralguy]

Where's the "It's Happening" guy?

There...

 

[iMas70]

I believe they carry 20 versions of the watch. I wonder if they will have more later. I'd be going with the stainless 42mm version with classic black buckle. I can see Target offer discounts on these watches or at least throwing in a gift card around the holidays. That plus the 5% off discount for Red Card users.

 

[Denmac1]

I was in Target today and went by the display. The back graphic was really nice, but the rest of the display was really lacking. They had one of the Apple displays that holds a watch, but not much more to really showcase the watch. Only one watch style was on display and there was really nothing that indicated that you could 'test' the watch's different functions.
Not sure if consumers will shell out even $349 at a Target.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Because it's such an about-face from the original "appointment only" in special sections of Apple stores and in a few luxury shops approach at launch. It went from special & exclusive to Target & Best Buy in 6 months. You kinda have to wonder why...

I feel like all that was a bad fan fiction. Whoever thought this wasn't intended to be a mass produced product from the start was delusional.

 

[doboy]

They can put it in Walmart for all I care. Waiting for version 2.

You can wait for all I care since I already have one.

 

[KPOM]

Because it's such an about-face from the original "appointment only" in special sections of Apple stores and in a few luxury shops approach at launch. It went from special & exclusive to Target & Best Buy in 6 months. You kinda have to wonder why...

Because they didn't have any supply because of issues with the taptic engine and Qanta (who also made the MacBook that also had supply issues). There was never any doubt in my mind that once they got the supply issues sorted, they'd be dramatically expanding the retail channels.

If you want something more exclusive, there's the Apple Watch Hermes.

 

[KPOM]

They've put themselves in an awkward position. They made a big bet at launch that this watch was going to be able to compete at the high end. They priced it obscenely high, required special appointments to try it on, etc. But it's an accessory. And not a very good one, either. Rectangular face, when people want round watch faces. Too much dead space around the actual display. Poor UI for launching apps. Locked-down customization (developers can't design their own watch faces).

The fact that they offered a model at $350 and Tim Cook quite conspicuously wears the Sport band indicates to me that Apple knew the lower-end models would be the big sellers. The higher end models generate additional profits, so even if they sell in smaller numbers it is worth while. That's just how the fashion world works.

The try-outs were a way to get the watch in the stores so that people could see them. It's pretty clear that they wanted to launch earlier but had some sort of production issue that constrained supply that they obviously didn't expect in September 2014 (otherwise they wouldn't have advertised "Early 2015"). It's a mass market product. Most watches are mass market products.

As for round watch faces, I haven't really seen many Moto 360s in the wild (I've seen many more Apple Watches), and Samsung isn't exactly crowing about Gear 2 sales (though it is early).

 

[ActionableMango]

It seems that secretly Apple is desperate for the watch to become popular.

Apple has sold millions of AW with revenue so far over a billion dollars. That is more than any other competitor. It's probably more than all other competitors combined. It's hardly desperate.

 

[maxsix]

Apple has sold millions of AW with revenue so far over a billion dollars. That is more than any other competitor. It's probably more than all other competitors combined. It's hardly desperate.

It's a drop in the bucket, a mere pittance for Apple. That's not much revenue at all. Besides I don't care how many they sell, the most likely outcome is once the newness wears off the niche market they are selling in now will have moved on. I see a lot of articles outside of the tech space that agree that smartwatches are a gadget lovers dream, but will not remain popular for long.

As usual time will tell, I hope for those who like Apple Watch that Apple keeps it in the lineup. They can easily lower the price as well. Apple is in a tough spot with the watch, and doing a very nice job at keeping a straight face and not looking worried.

We all know they don't need the money

 

[ActionableMango]

It's a drop in the bucket, a mere pittance for Apple. That's not much revenue at all.

That's an unfair metric. If anyone is expecting iPhone/iPad-like revenue from a watch, then it's the expectation that's the failure, not the product. By that same metric, many Apple successes would be considered failures.

 

[aarontsuru]

Apple has sold millions of AW with revenue so far over a billion dollars. That is more than any other competitor. It's probably more than all other competitors combined. It's hardly desperate.

To be fair, it's all relative... One company's massive success is another company's flop. We don't know what that sales curve looks like on a chart.

I have no idea if it's a flop, but it is a very niche product, so I'm more interested in the long term sales AFTER the first holidays when we get knee-deep in 2016. I think it will flatten out faster than the iPad did, but who knows!

It's fun to watch (pun intended)!

 

[Nightrich]

I will say that despite the announcement that Target stores would carry the watch all of the stores near me don't have it in stock yet. The manager at my local target didn't even know they would be carrying it. So much for increased availability in East Tennessee so far.

 

[yashz]

Found the 38mm rose gold at the target store here. Just bought it to try as I don't know how I'll use the watch yet. To my surprise target still offer the 30 day return period for the watch

 

[sracer]

Except Apple is a massively larger and more popular company now than it was 8-10 years ago. It's hard to keep anything underground. The watch certainly isn't perfect but I still wear and use mine every day. I can't see Target giving up retail space for the Watch if they didn't expect it to sell.

I can. Apple can provide retailers with incentives in exchange for retail space for the Watch. That wouldn't be surprising, nor would it be anything newsworthy. Companies do things like that all the time.