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Bloomberg: $10,000-Plus 18-Karat Gold Apple Watch Edition Sales Fizzled After Just Two Weeks
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The crazy part is that Apple still probably made money hand over fist with the gold watches. "tens of thousands of units" still means that they prob sold $500 mil in the first few months. I'm sure the margin is very hefty on the gold units, so even after marketing expenses and inventory write downs safe to say they made out ok.
This means that Apple's gold watch struggle was still considered unimaginable success by the Swiss watchmaker standards. I.e. Breitling has ~500M USD in annual revenues.
This means that Apple's gold watch struggle was still considered unimaginable success by the Swiss watchmaker standards. I.e. Breitling has ~500M USD in annual revenues.
Honestly I’m a little surprised the gold watch sold in the tens of thousands. For that, I say good for them. It was obviously made expensive for the sake of being expensive but if they turned a profit on them then so be it. Now as for the $1k monitor stand...
From all the reporting it seems the gold Watch was an Ive thing probably because he’s a materials geek and wanted to play with gold. I see a lot of reporting that the Watch failed as a fashion item and only became successful after the focus turned to health. I don’t think that’s completely correct. Watch the keynote from 2014 and the 3 pillars Tim Cook focused on were: a customizable timepiece, communications and fitness. There was not a huge focus on fashion in the keynote. One could argue the only one of the three Apple got wrong was communications which perhaps could have been replaced with notifications. So I don’t think the device was re-focused to health so much as some of the work they were doing in that space wasn’t ready when the Watch first launched.
As far as fashion goes one of the best selling features of the Watch is the bands and how easy they are to swap out. And when the Watch first launched one of the design features most praised was the Watch bands with several being compared favorably to very expensive mechanical watches. One of my favorite things about AW is the Watch bands. I’ve got many and swap out nearly daily depending on what I’m wearing. So fashion definitely does matter.
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Apple didn’t target the premium market. Their use of outlets like Vogue and pop-up shops in higher end department stores was for marketing purposes more than anything else. I also think they were wary of it being branded as nothing more than an expensive Fitbit. Which is why a lot of videos focused on the materials and band design. They wanted people to think of it as a more premium product than a Fitbit.
Citizen really screwed up making my watch last 12 years (so far) and designing it to charge itself. It still works as good as the day I got it. Think of all that money they're missing out on!
Larry Ellison wears a Paneral Luminor Marina watch in all his pictures so what's your point?
https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-ceo-watches-2017-5#panerai-luminor-marina-6200-8
Exactly.
And mine isn't dinged up or scratched at all. The only one thing that will see me move to the current watch his when the AMA in Australia give the go for ECG support.
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Exactly.
And mine isn't dinged up or scratched at all. The only one thing that will see me move to the current watch his when the AMA in Australia give the go for ECG support.
And mine isn't dinged up or scratched at all. The only one thing that will see me move to the current watch his when the AMA in Australia give the go for ECG support.
[doublepost=1563837174][/doublepost].
[doublepost=1563837237][/doublepost]
Exactly.
And mine isn't dinged up or scratched at all. The only one thing that will see me move to the current watch his when the AMA in Australia give the go for ECG support.
but we are smart enough to spend only $2,000 on a macbook we will replace within the same time-frame.
Still comes down to how much one can afford The rich, get richer.
Apple attempted to enter luxury market by releasing an expensive consumer electronics that having a hard graved expiry date on it. In the case of Apple Watch series 0, the expiry date is 3 years, or watchOS 4.
Apple Watch is supposed to be a time piece, telling time and date and nothing else. Luxury watches (Rolex for example) don’t have electronics. They are built with extremely sophisticated gears and such, with a very high level of craftsmanship. Those watches can live past generations. Apple Watch on the other hand, can’t. Battery won’t last. Chipset is outdated already. Features are becoming limited. User experience is getting worse over time.
Several members argue Apple created this luxury edition to create a huge market fuzz and let celebrities to wear them. However, I’d argue this edition attempt is not successful. Sales number aside, Apple simply cannot create a luxury item with electronics and batteries that will eventually fail. Good luck for those unopened watches to work after three or four more years from now on.
Stainless steel version on the other hand, strikes a good balance between luxury and affordability. It is not meant for everybody, but it gives the premium feeling to its owner. Since stainless steel version Watch does not carry $10k price tag, more people can buy it, and upgrading cost is a bit more manageable.
Apple nowadays have positioned itself as a brand between affordable and luxury, selling products with premium price but cannot sell luxurious products easily.
Apple Watch is supposed to be a time piece, telling time and date and nothing else. Luxury watches (Rolex for example) don’t have electronics. They are built with extremely sophisticated gears and such, with a very high level of craftsmanship. Those watches can live past generations. Apple Watch on the other hand, can’t. Battery won’t last. Chipset is outdated already. Features are becoming limited. User experience is getting worse over time.
Several members argue Apple created this luxury edition to create a huge market fuzz and let celebrities to wear them. However, I’d argue this edition attempt is not successful. Sales number aside, Apple simply cannot create a luxury item with electronics and batteries that will eventually fail. Good luck for those unopened watches to work after three or four more years from now on.
Stainless steel version on the other hand, strikes a good balance between luxury and affordability. It is not meant for everybody, but it gives the premium feeling to its owner. Since stainless steel version Watch does not carry $10k price tag, more people can buy it, and upgrading cost is a bit more manageable.
Apple nowadays have positioned itself as a brand between affordable and luxury, selling products with premium price but cannot sell luxurious products easily.
Would he not then ALSO be to black for the MB/MBP keyboard nonesense?!
Then again ... after 3 repairs FREE updated MBP for everyone at no cost!!!!
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From the future here:
I think this was an incredible smart initiative that helps galvanize the initial launch into a frenzy .. further helping Apple be viewed as a must of premium/elite brand!
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uh-uh ... more of a joke of those whom purchase it looking like one now
I think ... maybe this is the second time in Apple's history Apple has done such an elite move with a launch product:
Apple TAM (Twentieth Anniversary Mac)
Apple Watch Edition (initial Gold Edition).
Guess who was behind both? Hint: is last name is 3 letters and is both a surname and an abbreviation without an apostrophe
Honestly:
For 10'000 Apple really should've had a 5-10yr buy-back/trade-in upgrade program
Every 2yrs upgrade to the latest version.
Apple recycles the material: upgrades you to the latest Edition model (which would've worked to the Porcelain Edition) while the parts could've been refreshed into an S1 for resale or recycled for planet conciousness/mindset.
Users trade-in plus a fee ... say ... $2000 + $1000 AppleCare+ for the latest model. I'd be VERY curious for those elite that would've jumped on this.
It blows my mind that anyone would pay the difference between the gold watch and the standard watch when the value of the gold in it is worth way less than $10,000.
Didn’t Apple remove an app from its store that was nothing more than a status symbol that cost a bunch of money? How is this watch different?
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Didn’t Apple remove an app from its store that was nothing more than a status symbol that cost a bunch of money? How is this watch different?
[doublepost=1563851453][/doublepost]
It isn’t solid gold, it’s 18K gold. Also, the gold in it isn’t worth even close to $10,000, so the only reason it would double in value is if it’s considered a collectors item.
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The point is that it isn’t worth $1000. Being able to afford it doesn’t change that.
the golden edition is just a try of Apple to enter the fashion & luxury market, i assume that Apple never expected it a big sales. we, at least i am not the target person, so i won't give my opinion to the topic as worth buying it or not. for me, i consider the value, price and usability before every purchase of pricy product. BUT for those rich guys, paying $ 10000 is the same as i buy an ice cream. so they are the target group for apple.
The Apple Watch was compared to luxury mechanical watches due to clever marketing. But then again your idea of an expensive luxury mechanical watch might be in the ball park of $1000.
The idea was even pushed by John Gruber. I thought more deeply about it and even if it would have been possible technologically, it would really stifle innovation. I doubt the ECG would have been possible with the same chassis.
Also, it would have been a service nightmare. Imagine millions of people essentially want their Watch upgraded. No way they could have handled that at the Apple Store.
I think it’s worth more than 1,000.
The apple reference monitor and stand wasn’t meant for you
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You’re simultaneously saying that the expense is both inconsequential and stupid. How is it stupid to spend an inconsequential amount of money? Ever bought a candy bar?