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Final Price Predictions
- Thread starter TheDeviceUser
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This doesn't make sense. So I could buy 42mm SS with rubber band for $550 and add link for $150. Total $700. Or I could buy 42mm SS bundled with the link for $700 and get no free rubber band?
This is the answer. Apple's competition are smart watches. It's crazy that these numbers are even discussed. Actually sick to be honest. Apple wants one on everyone's wrist. For me 350-1000 seems right for all of them. Maybe besides a few gold models. At that price I'll buy a MacBook and strap it to my wrist. And if they are overpriced they will get hammered by pebble and others. Also you must not forget just like the IPhone's they want us to buy a new one every year, which more of us will if they are 400 dollars. Not at 1500. While analog watches are a luxury item that stand the test of time, no pun intended, smart watches are technology. Technology doesn't stand the test of time. The **** gets old and tired and needs to be replaced. Apple will fail if they think otherwise.
Just an estimate on the actually strap prices, most people will only buy one strap, the one the watch comes with. Since the sport strap is so cheap I think it will be like a "free" band with purchase of the base model.
If these prices hold up, I would probably go with the base Stainless Steel Apple Watch with Black Band for $549 and eventually by the Link. Any higher however and I would go with the 42mm Space Grey Sport with Black Band.
Whats also cool is I think the bracelet mechanism will remain the same for atlas two or three generations, so you can buy a base model of lets say next years watch and still use the same band.
It's not more expensive than either of the other models. If you're talking about the 42mm being more than the 38mm, it's probably because the watch is bigger, if that's what Apple decides to do.
I (almost) completely agree!
I think the Edition model will be priced higher than what you have said, but that's about it
Edit- And I also don't see a reason why the Space Black model will be priced higher...
You're missing the most important element of the Apple Watch: it's not jewelry, nor is it intended to be a luxury timepiece. No one is going to buy an Apple Watch and expect it to last many years like they do for Rolex watches; it's technology and must be priced accordingly.
The SS watch itself will probably be anywhere from $500 $800, most likely somewhere in the middle of those figures. Apple can't get away with selling the link bracelet an accessory for the watch for more than the watch itself; that would create an uproar. Omega and other premium watch companies can easily get away with selling a watch band for $1000+ because the watches they're intended for are much more expensive. Apple isn't competing with them; they're competing with other smartwatches Moto 360, Pebble, miscellaneous Android Wear watches, etc.
Furthermore, Omega watches and watch bands are built to last for numerous years, while the Apple Watch can only last a few years at best. There is no guarantee that the current generation link bracelet will be compatible with the 2nd generation Apple Watch, so you can't argue that the bands are designed to last a lifetime either. Additionally, who's to say that the smartwatch will even be around in a few years? You'd then have a watch meant to only last a few years without a successor. So even if Apple's plans are to provide compatibility for current generation watch bands in future Apple Watch generations, no Apple Watch 2 would render all existing bands useless, unlike Omega bands which have no chance of becoming useless.
The Apple Watch is not jewelry, therefore it cannot be priced like jewelry unless Apple only wants to sell it to the wealthy, which is definitely not their intention. It needs to priced around what it is, and that is technology.
I have a stainless steel armitron with stainless steel band, total price $80, so Why would Apple over price a stainless steel band alone at $1000?
That's what I'm saying. The link bracelet will not exceed $200 in my opinion, and I still think that's too high.
If they were positioning it as a smart watch, if they even made a "premium" version, they may have made a gold-colored edition, or possibly even a gold-plated edition. They also would be advertising it through their normal channels. They would not have made an 18kt gold version and advertised it heavily in women's fashion magazines.
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They are not positioning this against an $80 Armitron. Tell me what's so special about this watch. Yet it lists for $1,795 (though I suspect the actual selling price is closer to $1,000).
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I don't think that's the case at all. How many ads for the Moto 360 or Pebble did you see in Vogue last month? 9to5Mac posted leaked retail pitch guidance. It's clear that they see women as a significant potential market, either for direct purchases, or as gifts from men to women.
I was also thinking, and this is just a thought.
They could bundle an upgrade into AppleCare....if the innards were swappable. Pay $79 get 1 internal upgrade and extended 1 year warranty, something like that.
They could bundle an upgrade into AppleCare....if the innards were swappable. Pay $79 get 1 internal upgrade and extended 1 year warranty, something like that.
My predictions:
The Sport watch is $349/$399
The Steel and Gold watch are the SAME PRICE $449 $499
You also pay a $2,000 gold owner fee, which entitles you to trade in your watch for future gold watches and pay only the incremental new price. (next years gold watch would only cost you $449/$499)
The fancy bands add $100-$300.
The Sport watch is $349/$399
The Steel and Gold watch are the SAME PRICE $449 $499
You also pay a $2,000 gold owner fee, which entitles you to trade in your watch for future gold watches and pay only the incremental new price. (next years gold watch would only cost you $449/$499)
The fancy bands add $100-$300.
Not if there is $1500 of gold in it. Plus gold is more difficult to work with. It is usually at least partly handcrafted.
As long as I can get one with a simple band for $349, I won't have an aneurysm. My price predictions might be completely wrong though.
If the Edition winds up being less than I expect, I'll be very happy. If it's more than what I expect, then I guess I'm buying the stainless steel with the highest end band I can.