Ceramic Case Could Return With Apple Watch Series 12

[ThailandToo]

What I have thought since the very first Apple Watch is Apple made a massive mistake on how they sell it.

I believe instead of being a throw away device, which is stupid with gold or even other materials other than aluminum which is cheap, they should have made the case of the watch completely reusable.

Picture this: you bought a $15k gold Apple Watch. It’s not worthless three years late but you want the new one and can never get gold again. This is a dumb way to sell things. A much simpler way is this: you buy the nicest Apple Watch and band you can afford and what material you really want. The watch comes apart from the back. Every year or whenever you want, you essentially buy a new insert that runs the newest SoC, newest software, and etc and you don’t throw away your old case, band because that is still perfectly fine.

This business model could yield the same profits or potentially much more. Let’s say I buy a gold Apple Watch and a gold band for it. I would pay $400 per year to get it simply switched. And I am saying it should be as simple as user can do it themselves or basically any Apple Store could do it in less than five minutes in front of you.

This business model is also way more environmentally friendly. The Apple Store can then take the old Watch SoC/motherboard/battery and recycle it.

This is the dumbest thing in an Hermes or gold Apple Watch. When you want a new one the old one is relegated to the trash or a drawer which is sure stupidity. And the other thing this would fix is the terrible battery life. It would allow quick swappable battery. This shouldn’t be your battery health has to be less than X for Apple to agree to fix it, it should be hey I will pay the $69 for a new battery installation now. And then my Apple Watch will work for another three years. We get why they don’t do this for batteries, but the EU should step in and make that law too. It’s a lot of Apple Watches headed to the landfill as designed. Easily rectified.

Finally, for people who want the tracking but not the other crap, instead of making a separate strapped version like the whoop. Give me a version of sensor that I can strap to the inside of my nice automatic watch. I don’t want the screen. I don’t want to wear a second device. Not even a ring. I just want my sleep, steps and etc tracked smoothly.

Does anyone agree with this or am I playing in left field not thinking about the shareholders and CEO making bank? But really I think Apple would profit more!

 

[Vincent Hanna]

I am surprised and heartened by the love for the ceramic Apple Watch, both past and (possibly) future.

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

I think there's a bigger picture here that the rumored return of the Apple Watch Edition fits into very neatly.


Microsoft and Google and Dell and Samsung have no ability to copy this strategy, and their products will keep having price increases every 90 days, until they are more expensive than Apple's entry-level stuff.

..and pray tell, exactly WHY won't competitors be able to offer these high end devices?...just wanna hear you say it...

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Does anyone agree with this or am I playing in left field not thinking about the shareholders and CEO making bank? But really I think Apple would profit more!

People don’t want upgradeable Apple Watches anymore than they want upgradable iPads or iPhones or MacBook Airs.

This is just more hobbyist projection/nostalgia for the early days of modular computing.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

..and pray tell, exactly WHY won't competitors be able to offer these high end devices?...just wanna hear you say it...

Because no one’s going to spend $2000+ on a phone, laptop or watch from anyone other than Apple.

 

[bluecoast]

What I have thought since the very first Apple Watch is Apple made a massive mistake on how they sell it.

I believe instead of being a throw away device, which is stupid with gold or even other materials other than aluminum which is cheap, they should have made the case of the watch completely reusable.

Picture this: you bought a $15k gold Apple Watch. It’s not worthless three years late but you want the new one and can never get gold again. This is a dumb way to sell things. A much simpler way is this: you buy the nicest Apple Watch and band you can afford and what material you really want. The watch comes apart from the back. Every year or whenever you want, you essentially buy a new insert that runs the newest SoC, newest software, and etc and you don’t throw away your old case, band because that is still perfectly fine.

This business model could yield the same profits or potentially much more. Let’s say I buy a gold Apple Watch and a gold band for it. I would pay $400 per year to get it simply switched. And I am saying it should be as simple as user can do it themselves or basically any Apple Store could do it in less than five minutes in front of you.

This business model is also way more environmentally friendly. The Apple Store can then take the old Watch SoC/motherboard/battery and recycle it.

This is the dumbest thing in an Hermes or gold Apple Watch. When you want a new one the old one is relegated to the trash or a drawer which is sure stupidity. And the other thing this would fix is the terrible battery life. It would allow quick swappable battery. This shouldn’t be your battery health has to be less than X for Apple to agree to fix it, it should be hey I will pay the $69 for a new battery installation now. And then my Apple Watch will work for another three years. We get why they don’t do this for batteries, but the EU should step in and make that law too. It’s a lot of Apple Watches headed to the landfill as designed. Easily rectified.

Finally, for people who want the tracking but not the other crap, instead of making a separate strapped version like the whoop. Give me a version of sensor that I can strap to the inside of my nice automatic watch. I don’t want the screen. I don’t want to wear a second device. Not even a ring. I just want my sleep, steps and etc tracked smoothly.

Does anyone agree with this or am I playing in left field not thinking about the shareholders and CEO making bank? But really I think Apple would profit more!

I love this idea, as this is very much something that already happens in the world of traditional mechanical watches, where you’ll get them serviced through a multi decade life with the original parts gradually being replaced.

I’m not a ‘watch guy’ but for many people who describe themselves as so, their watch’s ’patina’ ie weathering as the watch ages & is used, is a really important part of the watch’s character for them.

With tech, because it’s disposable and we’re encouraged to buy new, this isn’t at all a thing that’s a part of tech.

But as form factors mature and as reuse becomes even more important, I wonder if we’ll see tech starting to be built for a 5-10+ year life span.

Finally, obviously tech is different to the world of mechanical watches, which only very very slowly evolve.

With tech, the changes in form factor is very closely linked to the innovation in components (ie smaller more efficient batteries. Screen bezels getting thinner etc).

But I could honestly see a class of people who say ‘you know what, my iPhone 17 pro is just perfect for me, I’d just like the components to be upgraded every few years’.

It will probably take legislation to force this to happen, admittedly.

 

[Johnny907]

Oh joy, another overpriced case option.

 

[Cel186]

There were rumors about a black ceramic version some years ago: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/06/16/apple-planned-black-ceramic-apple-watch/

Would be nice to see a black version, that would really bring me into trouble. 😀 Planned to buy a Slate Ti again.

 

[Abazigal]

..and pray tell, exactly WHY won't competitors be able to offer these high end devices?...just wanna hear you say it...

Because Apple has aggregated the best customers in the world thanks to the iPhone. These are the people with the disposable income, and the propensity to spend on more expensive alternatives like an Apple Watch Ultra which costs $1000.

There is nothing stopping competitors from trying the same, but I can guarantee that they will not see the same degree of success that Apple enjoys.

 

[ThailandToo]

People don’t want upgradeable Apple Watches anymore than they want upgradable iPads or iPhones or MacBook Airs.

This is just more hobbyist projection/nostalgia for the early days of modular computing.

So throwing away your very expensive Apple Watch case makes sense and buying the exact same thing again just to get a tech upgrade?

 

[sherwinzadeh]

I never saw the appeal as it looks like plastic.

 

[krspkbl]

Im quite happy with my S11 but would be tempted to replace it with ceramic. Looks so good!

 

[ginkobiloba]

Ok cool. But introducing these high end models while lowering their Trade-In value does no good. My Steel series 8 that cost almost double the aluminum version has a trade-in value of 70 €….

 

[the future]

Given the recent fallout where owners of the Apple Watch Ultra were complaining of support for their watch being cut short (The Series 2 won't get watchOS 27), I don't see this being too popular.

Of course the Ultra 2 will get watchOS 27, just not some of the AI features.

I never saw the appeal as it looks like plastic.

In pictures, maybe. In real life, not even close.

 

[bluecoast]

Ok cool. But introducing these high end models while lowering their Trade-In value does no good. My Steel series 8 that cost almost double the aluminum version has a trade-in value of 70 €….

Only apple could sell steel as a mid tier premium material when sub $200 quartz watches use this material (and more of it than the AW does).

 

[Abazigal]

Of course the Ultra 2 will get watchOS 27, just not some of the AI features.

The first gen Apple Watch Ultra won't get watchOS 27, IIRC, and it was released in 2022 (meaning it got just 3 years of software support). Can you imagine your expensive ceramic watch getting discontinued so quickly?

 

[Vincent Hanna]

So throwing away your very expensive Apple Watch case makes sense and buying the exact same thing again just to get a tech upgrade?

Sigh. Why do hobbyists drag out the same ridiculous arguments?

1. They aren’t being thrown away.

2. They are not the exact same thing.

3. The tech upgrade is the whole point.

The days of modular computing are over. And Apple leading the charge killing it made it the biggest company in the world.

It’s not the 90s anymore, and we don’t have to assemble tech products from components bought at Radio Shack. I know you want those days to return, but they are GONE.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Oh joy, another overpriced case option.

Which, amazingly, you are not forced to buy.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Only apple could sell steel as a mid tier premium material when sub $200 quartz watches use this material (and more of it than the AW does).

But the Apple Watch isn’t competing against $200 quartz watches, it’s competing against $200 junky Android and Tizen smartwatches that are all made out of plastic.

 

[bluecoast]

But the Apple Watch isn’t competing against $200 quartz watches, it’s competing against $200 junky Android and Tizen smartwatches that are all made out of plastic.

Actually I forgot that s11 doesn’t come in steel!

Anyway, I still contend that Apple whacks a massive premium on aw materials that are anything other than aluminium.

In the uk, the s11 starts at £369 & the titanium version starts at £649.

Ok the crystal is industrial sapphire on the ti one, but I very much doubt that the bill of materials is anywhere close to being nearly £300 more.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

And the BOM on a Rolex isn’t $25,000 either. What’s your point?

 

[sherwinzadeh]

Sigh. Why do hobbyists drag out the same ridiculous arguments?

1. They aren’t being thrown away.

2. They are not the exact same thing.

3. The tech upgrade is the whole point.

The days of modular computing are over. And Apple leading the charge killing it made it the biggest company in the world.

It’s not the 90s anymore, and we don’t have to assemble tech products from components bought at Radio Shack. I know you want those days to return, but they are GONE.

I think he's referring to it from an expensive watch perspective, not a tech perspective. Meaning it's not worth spending money on expensive material if the tech is going to be obsolete. The OG gold watch resells for it's gold melt value only today, despite costing over $10K-$17K.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

To me they were overpriced and looked like they were made for white polycarbonate, but they satisfied a niche. Good to see more options in the range.

 

[ThailandToo]

Sigh. Why do hobbyists drag out the same ridiculous arguments?

1. They aren’t being thrown away.

2. They are not the exact same thing.

3. The tech upgrade is the whole point.

The days of modular computing are over. And Apple leading the charge killing it made it the biggest company in the world.

It’s not the 90s anymore, and we don’t have to assemble tech products from components bought at Radio Shack. I know you want those days to return, but they are GONE.

Not true. I am saying a person buys a solid gold Apple Watch, why should it only have one tech cycle? What about the gold? There’s real value in the casing and bands. No reason to rebuy the same things. It’s consumer waste propagated by Apple who claims to be environmentally friendly first! Which is again marketing. My whole point is Apple could make more money by having a swap in with the tech inside of a case that stays the same and is user focused.

People would buy a $15k Apple Watch if they knew once a year or two they could swap out the internal tech and get a new battery with the upgrades they want. The model makes way more sense.

 

[tridley68]

Ultra 4 in ceramic im in 👍