Apple Watch to be Featured in November Issue of Vogue China

[mrothroc]

Why not? The fashion industry is ripe for disruption and Apple is best positioned to do it. Here's why: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKoqLLHvFA

If you want to skip some great content and get right to the reason, fast forward to 5:30 or so.

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing and suddenly making my time reading the forums productive for the first time ever.

On another note, if you want to see why Apple hired Ahrendts, look at the slide starting at around 6:30. There are some smart, far-sighted people at Apple, and they are going after the opportunity highlighted in this slide. They see the money on the table.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Stainless steel isn't a cheap material and costs a lot more than standard mild steel. The price of the raw materials is probably quite similar (depending on the exact grades used) because you get 3 times more aluminium watches out of the same weight of material because of their different densities.

The stainless steel watch also gets the sapphire crystal, ceramic back and leather and metal bands which suggest it's going to be more expensive.

You could be right, but this product alignment still puzzles me. The lightness of the aluminum is a significant appeal for a device you carry around on your wrist all day. I don't know enough about Ion-X glass to say it's less expensive than sapphire glass. The Sport is also (we would be led to expect) more durable than the other models. From Apple:

For Apple Watch, we created a new alloy of 7000 Series aluminum that’s 60 percent stronger than standard alloys. Yet it’s very light. Together with the Ion-X glass covering the display, it makes the Sport collection watches up to 30 percent lighter than our stainless steel models. It’s also exceptionally pure, with a beautifully consistent appearance that’s difficult to achieve with traditional aluminum alloys.

I'd prefer a Sport model with one of the leather bands, or the Milanese loop (especially if it turns out to be the less expensive model).

 

[Keirasplace]

I'm sorry but this article just made me laugh. We are getting Apple product endorsements from fashion models now. Whatever next. Has Apple totally abandoned the tech world for fashion accessories? Apple is fast becoming a "label" just like Nike or Burberry or Gucci. The product quality or technical expertise takes second place to the design and desirability of the label.

You're talking about Apple here, how it looks has been a part of the products appeal for decades. Why do you think taking this into wearables is any different? If they made techno gismos and marketed them as such they'd be just like Samsung.

For Apple, form is part of a product's overall appeal, not seperate from it.

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I don't think there's any question that they put it on for editorial purposes, and of course it would be odd to show a blank screen.

But unfortunately that's the reality of the product: It's mostly going to be seen in its "off" state. To show otherwise verges on false advertising.

Like I said, I think the watch looks nice even when it's off. I'm just putting these mockups out there for those who haven't considered what it might look like in a non-editorial context.

I'm guessing that if you absolutely want it on all the time, you will be able to do it at the expense of battery life. Maybe do that for the few hours you go to special events, say on a date, meeting a client, then later put it back in its "on demand" state. We don't really know much about how the OS will function right now.

 

[slask]

She is gorgeous. And she is a supermodel just because she has those extremely general features that can be adapted infinitely.

how did she make the cover, to me, she doesn't look pretty and she looks like a guy

 

[poppy10]

It looks great on the model. I can't imagine how huge and ridiculous the Moto 360 would look on her.

4.7" android phones were huge and ridiculous until Apple made one too.

 

[AFDoc]

So I guess I should have stated I was saying it with a bit of "tonge in cheek.."

Still, with all the Fashion people that Apple has added to its ranks, one has to imagine (at least if your imagination is a big as mine ) that they are doing more than just a watch in there foray into fashion.

Sorry...... sarcasm doesn't translate well sometimes. Problem is you don't know with some on MR..... they believe Apple created the world in 7 days.

 

[FlaccidSnake]

Wow. I'm impressed.

The watch photographs quite well, and is clearly the only "smart" watch designed with women in mind.

I wonder, though: Will the display actually be "on" in the contexts shown in these photos? It's my understanding that the display stays off until activated by a gesture or button-press. So if I'm correct, the watch will look more like this:

Image

Image

Image

Still nice, but less flashy, less expressive, less "personal."

What do you all think?

You forgot the lighting and reflection. It won't be flat black like you 'shopped it. I think the flashy value isn't all lost.

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how did she make the cover, to me, she doesn't look pretty and she looks like a guy

That's why she made the cover:
"Liu is one of the world's highest-paid models and the first Chinese face to crack the top five in Forbes' annual list of top earners."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/30/world/models-guide-paris-fashion-week/

 

[Wayfarer]

First foray into fashion? No one remembers iPod socks?

iRemember

 

[StyxMaker]

I want.

I'd like to have the watch, also.

 

[McCool71]

Is aluminum cheaper than steel? This being the question I'd already asked. The lighter aluminum bezel could be seen as a feature.

I do not think the actual production cost has any real bearing on pricing of this type of goods. Pricing has a lot more to do with how it looks and feels than if it costs 104 or 107 bucks to manufacture.

For a lot of products - especially those who are fashion-related - the more expensive ones are rarely really that more expensive to manufacture than the low range ones.

A jacket that costs 1000 USD probably does not cost that much more to manufacture than one that costs 500 USD from the same brand. It is all about pricing to a level that gives the most profit, and not on a pre-set formula where you add a certain percentage to the actual cost.

 

[Arndroid]

I am caring less and less about the Apple Watch as time goes on, and this kind of advertising is even more off putting.

Gruber was right, techie people are definitely not the target market for this thing.

Techie market hasn't been apple's target for over thirty years.

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This seems a little cart before the horse. Displaying it all over the place and the product's not close to shipping yet.

Because it is being promoted as a piece of jewelerly and the aesthetics of it will not change. What they are working on is all internal at this point?

Why would they not lap up 4-6 months of free publicity from segments that never touch on technology products ever? Just from a marketing perspective, what they are doing is a huge achievement.

Also showing the watch on people makes a massive difference becaude with prévious gadget watches and the five million horrible I watch mock ups size was a huge concern.

Seeing it on people now it is pretty clear that the two sizes work well but also the extent apple has gone for in variation eclipses the combined total of the rest of the computer watch device segment.

 

[Arndroid]

watch is the only smart watch that looks good on women. Samsung also hired a fashion model for their Gear watch, but it looks nowhere near as good.

Image

Yeah to me it is not even close.

The one huge advantage apple has is the have considered whst their products looked like and felt like in industries where nobody else cared. So their foundation into actually creating a more fashionable line of watches is there and will not be easy to play catch up. You will have other companies making things like the Motorola iTunes phone.

They really do seem to be going after women and I have not seen a single other smartwatch that looked good on a woman.

Still not a buyer at this point as I don't wear a watch or any jewelry for that matter, so it would have to be function for me but the more I have seen the more appealing the have become and I don't think any previous products have done that.

 

[KPOM]

Techie market hasn't been apple's target for over thirty years.

I am caring less and less about the Apple Watch as time goes on, and this kind of advertising is even more off putting.

Gruber was right, techie people are definitely not the target market for this thing.

Just because Apple doesn't aim for the "techie people" market doesn't mean the products aren't technical wonders. Look at how they caught the rest of the market completely off guard with the A7 chip. More than a year later we have yet to see a 64-bit version of Android or other chip designers customizing the ARM v8 architecture. Apple doesn't directly compete in spec wars. They never have. But that doesn't mean they aren't concerned about specifications. It means they are focused on the specs that matter for the end user experience.

A watch is first and foremost an article of jewelry. It needs to look good even when it isn't doing anything. It isn't a necessity anymore. So unlike with the Mac or iPhone, Apple can't "assume" the existence of a market that it will automatically capture a certain percentage of. It needs to create the market, in no small part because no one else, whether watch makers or tech companies, has yet created a compelling case for it. It's a bigger challenge than the iPhone was. Although "smartphones" were a niche in 2007, phones were commonplace. Not only are "smart watches" a niche, but the watch itself has been fading.

 

[KPOM]

You could be right, but this product alignment still puzzles me. The lightness of the aluminum is a significant appeal for a device you carry around on your wrist all day. I don't know enough about Ion-X glass to say it's less expensive than sapphire glass. The Sport is also (we would be led to expect) more durable than the other models. From Apple:



I'd prefer a Sport model with one of the leather bands, or the Milanese loop (especially if it turns out to be the less expensive model).

"Luxury" wearables are often heavier, as heft gives something a sense of substance. The Edition is the heaviest, though that's also because gold is more dense than steel or aluminum. The stainless steel is in the middle, and the more expensive choice of bands and use of sapphire suggest that it will be the mid-range.

On another note, I think we are looking at a target release date around February 19th.

 

[Gameboy70]

Battery life is absolutely a deal breaker for me. Charging every day is unacceptable.

Which is exactly what many flip phone owners insisted about smartphones.

 

[grahamperrin]

… Liu Wen will be featured in Vogue China's November issue, wearing the Apple Watch on the cover of the magazine.

Wen appears to be wearing …

lots of hip stuff. But apparently not wearing the requisite iPhone.​

Whilst we're here, can anyone paste some Bose headphones on that cover shot? Mwah.

 

[Rogifan]

I'm sorry but this article just made me laugh. We are getting Apple product endorsements from fashion models now. Whatever next. Has Apple totally abandoned the tech world for fashion accessories? Apple is fast becoming a "label" just like Nike or Burberry or Gucci. The product quality or technical expertise takes second place to the design and desirability of the label.

Because the product quality and technical expertise took second place when Apple partnered up with musicians?

As far as technical expertise, I give you:

 

[IJ Reilly]

I do not think the actual production cost has any real bearing on pricing of this type of goods. Pricing has a lot more to do with how it looks and feels than if it costs 104 or 107 bucks to manufacture.

For a lot of products - especially those who are fashion-related - the more expensive ones are rarely really that more expensive to manufacture than the low range ones.

A jacket that costs 1000 USD probably does not cost that much more to manufacture than one that costs 500 USD from the same brand. It is all about pricing to a level that gives the most profit, and not on a pre-set formula where you add a certain percentage to the actual cost.

You are right, but I wasn't suggesting that pricing is a formula. Assuming many if not most prospective Apple Watch buyers would prefer a lighter rather than a heavier object for their wrists, then which model can bear the premium price?

 

[IJ Reilly]

"Luxury" wearables are often heavier, as heft gives something a sense of substance. The Edition is the heaviest, though that's also because gold is more dense than steel or aluminum. The stainless steel is in the middle, and the more expensive choice of bands and use of sapphire suggest that it will be the mid-range.

On another note, I think we are looking at a target release date around February 19th.

Gold = heavy, and for people who like to wear gold, the more gold showing the better. So I think this explains the tendency for luxury goods to be big and heavy. As far as the crystal materials ares concerned, the difficulty in analyzing the relative cost and performance of sapphire vs. Ion-X is that nobody outside of Apple seems to know anything about Ion-X. All we really know is that the Sport models are designed for active wear.

Interesting thoughts about the release timing. If the product become available first in China, Apple would certainly be making a statement.

 

[KPOM]

You are right, but I wasn't suggesting that pricing is a formula. Assuming many if not most prospective Apple Watch buyers would prefer a lighter rather than a heavier object for their wrists, then which model can bear the premium price?

I think a lot of tech-oriented Apple buyers will opt for the $349 model, which is already at the pricey end of what little "smart watch" market exists today. If Apple is to sell pricier models they'll need to appeal to the traditional watch market, where watches in the $500-$1000 price range tend to be made with stainless steel and have sapphire crystals.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think a lot of tech-oriented Apple buyers will opt for the $349 model, which is already at the pricey end of what little "smart watch" market exists today. If Apple is to sell pricier models they'll need to appeal to the traditional watch market, where watches in the $500-$1000 price range tend to be made with stainless steel and have sapphire crystals.

Could be. As someone who has never purchased a $500 watch, I can't claim to understand the jewelry market.

I am hoping that the Sport models can be purchased with something less flashy than those gaudy rubber straps. Apple's description of the three watch lines implies that buyers won't be offered any mix-and-match options. That would be unfortunate. If so, I wonder if this won't be a mistake and an inventory nightmare besides.

 

[DisMyMac]

That cover is making me seasick. It looks like an Onion parody using a male model posing as a woman.

Yeah, that is so true, not only that but I hate the way she holds her shirt, like what's that about. And that little pout, I pray every night that this extremely irritating facial gesture is sorted. I could go on and on, and I'm sure that everyone would be most amused and interested in my witty observations.

 

[macs4nw]

Apple getting into fashion. They have already reinvented the computer, music, and the phone. next the watch, and then fashion.

Amazing...

Don't forget the next huuuge thing, ApplePay, which has a very real potential to eclipse all of the above, and could become a monster $$$ machine for Apple, dwarfing the now dwindling iTunes business.

 

[macs4nw]

This Apple commissioned shot was done by fashion stylist Karl Templar. I'm not surprised Apple is going down this route. I suspect we'll see a fair amount of advertising in magazines like Vogue, GQ, etc.

Of course, the well-heeled and the ultra-chic crowd are more often than not trendsetters due to, amongst other reasons, their ability to pay for the higher cost of first generation products, after which the masses become exposed to and intrigued by these, by now, hot new must-have devices.

Eliciting the help of the ultra-chic is a classic way to generate interest in ground-breaking new products, and turn up their 'desirability factor'.

 

[macs4nw]

how did she make the cover, to me, she doesn't look pretty and she looks like a guy

Apparently millions disagree with you, besides beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I for one think she is exquisitely beautiful with her high cheekbones, symmetrical face, slender body and limbs, beautiful straight shoulders, long neck and long fingers, as well as perfectly-sized forehead. But that's just me.