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First Deals of the Year Arrive for Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra With Best-Ever Prices on Amazon

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It's been weeks since we tracked solid discounts on the Apple Watch Series 8, and today Amazon has introduced the first of such deals for 2023. Below you'll find sales on both 41mm and 45mm Apple Watch Series 8 models, as well as a few Apple Watch Ultra markdowns.

Apple Watch Series 8

Starting with the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 8, you can get the PRODUCT(RED) Aluminum version for $349.00, down from $399.00. This is a match for the all-time low price on this watch, and it's only available in (PRODUCT)RED as of writing.

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Moving to the 45mm GPS Apple Watch Series 8, you can get (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum for $379.00, down from $429.00. Shipping on this one has been delayed into February, but it is another record low price that you can lock in today.



Lastly, the 45mm Cellular Apple Watch Series 8 is on sale for $479.00, down from $529.00 in a few colors: Starlight, PRODUCT(RED), Midnight, and Silver. This is another best-ever price, and most models are available to ship and deliver this month.



Apple Watch Ultra

Numerous models of the Apple Watch Ultra have dropped to $749.00 today on Amazon, down from $799.00. This is just about $10 higher compared to the all-time low price we saw during the holidays on the Ultra, so it's a solid second-best price for January.

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You'll find sales on Apple Watch Ultra with the Trail Loop, Alpine Loop, and Ocean Band, all with various size options available. The best sale you'll find on any Ultra model this week is $50 off.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Article Link: First Deals of the Year Arrive for Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra With Best-Ever Prices on Amazon
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/01/06/first-deals-of-the-year-apple-watch-8/
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Too big, too thick, too heavy. Just like the iphone now.

Edit:

And to those that have disagreed, you think the watch would be better if it were even bigger, thicker, and heavier? If not, what could you possibly be disagreeing with.

If tomorrow Apple releases a new watch that is half as heavy and half as thick, would you be complaining?

Probably…because nothing that small could include the various heart monitors and other sensors that grandma needs!
 
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I have been in The Ecosystem for a few decades now - which has, in very large part, served me quite well. Thus, I am fully aware of Apple's "go big" pricing strategy. But AW pricing has always struck me as one of the more misaligned pricing structures where bang for buck is concerned. Sure, build quality is classic Apple - tho every AW I've known (s0, s5 and s7) have all suffered a disappointingly noticeable face scratch within first month or two of wearing (yes, those are all built with "entry-level" materials. Still...). And not that Apple would, could, or should go backward on the category's pricing structure (they're clearly doing just fine as is), it would be interesting to see the effects of a pricing structure that starts somewhere closer to:

SE*
$199 (40mm), $229 (44mm) + $50 for cellular

s8
$299 (41mm), $349 (45mm) + $50 for cellular

Ultra**
$499

I've also grown a little bored with the s8 line. Not sure what else I would want from my AW (save month-long battery 🤪), but I would not be opposed to the hardware team reimagining the wrist-worn aesthetic (again, they have little-to-no incentive to head down that path - just personal preference). Maybe s9 can expand the hardware design language a bit more than where the platform sits at present? Not sure if that's squared edges (maybe), round face (nah), larger face (yes please), different materials (eye brows raised)... But something that ignites the platform a bit. Sure - easier said than done. I get it. 😜



* The term SE is one of those, like Air, I find meaningless in the goofy mess that is Apple's naming scheme. I mean, how special is an edition when there are two tiers above it that I would posit are more special? I have been calling for a simplification to their product naming for a while. For AW, drop SE and consider something like the following 3 tiers/names:
Apple Watch (formerly SE)
Apple Watch Plus (formerly regular series)
Apple Watch Ultra

I could see this approach working across other categories (iPad, iPad Plus, iPad Ultra - yes, they can drop the Pro term and, yes, brace yourselves - adios Air - [wtf does Air even mean 15 years later? A show of hands who is making tech device purchasing decisions based on weight? Every iPad is remarkably thin and light - Pros not withstanding], iPhone, iPhone Plus, iPhone Ultra. Yes, it would force some category tidying to accommodate, but I don't think that a bad thing. Look at recent iPhone mini and iPhone Plus sales. I think that is a clear indication that Apple has pushed the a phone for every type of user too far. So while my naming riffing here doesn't hold up in every case for every category, the fact remains: Apple's naming and differentiation and likely pricing could use a more cohesive approach across the board).



** I still can't grasp $799 for a software-based watch whose battery will be toast in 3 years. But, if the market will bear it, why would they not collect $799? It is hands-down my favorite AW to date. Closest to where I have always wanted the aesthetic to land. I'd be ok if they wanted to take that aesthetic down to the s9, and their s9-level materials and s9-level pricing. 😜
 
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deebinem said:
WTH is VIPOutlet and how did you find them? That's a pretty tempting price for the larger model.
Click to expand...
Not sure and I can't vouch for them. It was just a quick interwebs search. I got my AW7 deal at Target before the holidays.
 
lazyrighteye said:
A show of hands who is making tech device purchasing decisions based on weight? Every iPad is remarkably thin and light -
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Until my iPad Pro can run my macOS based music software AND allow driver support for legacy hardware that I still use (because some of us don't need large, jogwheel based midi controllers), then I am absolutely basing my use case around how small and light I can make my portable travel setup. Sure, I could pay extra ticket fees for this ridiculously large NI S5 controller and rMBP 15" inside a flight case but why, when I could streamline everything into a perfectly capable Air and Novation controller that fits inside my carry-on?

EDIT: So yeah, here's my hand, proudly waving in the air.
 
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Why is it you can get cheaper prices on Apple stuff from retailers other than Apple?

I never understood that.
 
deebinem said:
Until my iPad Pro can run my macOS based music software AND allow driver support for legacy hardware that I still use (because some of us don't need large, jogwheel based midi controllers), then I am absolutely basing my use case around how small and light I can make my portable travel setup. Sure, I could pay extra ticket fees for this ridiculously large NI S5 controller and rMBP 15" inside a flight case but why, when I could streamline everything into a perfectly capable Air and Novation controller that fits inside my carry-on?

EDIT: So yeah, here's my hand, proudly waving in the air.
Click to expand...

Oh for sure! And you are not alone. I was a taper for years. I use everything from the field recording standard Tascam DA-P1 (which I still have), to a Sony MZ-R55 (which I also still have). In that world, small/light were certainly important factors. When tapers started moving to laptops, that was dominated by Windows as A) Macs were still the butt of the jokes in the computer world and B) the main DAW was also Windows-based. I was one of the earliest (and only) Mac-based tapers on the scene when I jumped to a the white MacBook. Looking back at its specs, it's amazing I was able to record rock solid 96k stereo audio for three hours - the latter made possible because that model offered a user-swappable battery. So at set break, I'd swamp out batteries and be ready to rock. Admittedly, from a super Mac-nerd pov, it was pretty cool being the only Mac taper on the scene. So I fully get it: there is a segment of consumer where hyper-portability concerns are a real factor. But those users represent such a small niche when looking across the complete spectrum of customer. And I just don't believe the term Air plays the same role for consumers that it did in 2008. It's a term that has stuck around more out of brand equity, than functional meaning. Ish. 😜

But my overarching point, was that Apple's naming and product offerings are a mess. SE, Air, Plus, Max, Pro, Ultra… I think those offer the consumer very little in he way of an intuitive discriptor of what they can expect with any given device. Which is not at all helped by the fact that they are inconsistently leveraged across categories. I'd be interested in simplifying, across the board. Entry-level and Pro-level. That's it. Pretty easy to understand what to expect from each tier. Something like MacBook and MacBook Pro (sure, with multiple screen sizes per). iPhone, iPhone Pro. Mac Studio, Mac Studio Pro. Mac, Mac Pro. iMac, iMac Pro. Studio Display, Studio Display Pro. And so on.

For those that get worked up about this sort of discussion, fear not: Apple's not disrupting their entire product line. It's no more than the harmless ramblings of an insignificant form member. The Apple Store has not changed. The sun will still rise. 🤪
 
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lazyrighteye said:
I was one of the earliest (and only) Mac-based tapers on the scene when I jumped to a the white MacBook. Looking back at its specs, it's amazing I was able to record rock solid 96k stereo audio for three hours
Click to expand...
Ah man, sounds a lot like me when I used to run my PowerBook 12 alongside the Technics as a third channel on my mixer, getting a lot of looks like “what is he doing up there?” Being able to write music at home and then play it that night at the club was such an amazing experience.

I think my pendulum swung from having to lug heavy bags of records, two turntables, and a mixer to my gigs to wanting to make it as tiny as possible. I guess it just never swung back.
 
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