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how is apple going to profit from the watch

Appl3FTW

Appl3FTW

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
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the more I see the more I get the angle apple is aiming with the sale of the apple watch. they want people to use it as a customizable fashion device... they want people to buy bands to change around and use as a fashion piece. hopefully the upgrades are incremental OS without the need to replace the actual hardware case. at least not until 2-3 yrs of life until redesign.

btw: what's the official OS is the apple watch running? applewatch OS?
 
They'll profit from the way they profit from the other Mac items: By getting you further entrenched into their ecosystem to buy iCloud, music, apps, etc. The watch is just another gateway drug.
 
JuryDuty said:
They'll profit from the way they profit from the other Mac items: By getting you further entrenched into their ecosystem to buy iCloud, music, apps, etc. The watch is just another gateway drug.
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True, but this one is especial because its highly customizable.
 
heavy profit on the hardware is #1.

sales of additional bands.

new app store and apps for watch expand their software sales.

Watch locks in users into iPhone ecosystem

paves the way to future products that are function as well as status.

WHAT IF they actually sell a fair amount of Apple Watch Editions? They are marked up 10 times the actual cost.
 
Appl3FTW said:
the bands will be the bread and butter
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I think this belief is overstated. Most people who buy the Watch will be fine with the band they get, and relatively few will buy multiple bands. If you compare it to iPhone cases, the phone doesn't even come with a case, and most people buy one. The watch already comes with a band. Because the watch has more of a fashion aspect than the phone, some people will buy extra bands. But overall, I think there will be relatively fewer bands sold proportionally than phone cases. Yet the bands will have higher profit. I think the bands will be more profitable than phone cases, but not enough to say it's a significant part of the profit. That would be in the watch itself.
 
Appl3FTW said:
the more I see the more I get the angle apple is aiming with the sale of the apple watch. they want people to use it as a customizable fashion device... they want people to buy bands to change around and use as a fashion piece. hopefully the upgrades are incremental OS without the need to replace the actual hardware case. at least not until 2-3 yrs of life until redesign.

btw: what's the official OS is the apple watch running? applewatch OS?
Click to expand...

Yes it is called Watch OS
 
Appl3FTW said:
Thanks Lucifer how nice of you
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Sorry if I was a bit sarcastic. :eek:

But you don't really believe they would let you swap out the innards?

But then again that would make sense with the gold. As a matter of fact, that's the only thing that makes sense.

And your right about the fashion angle. I didn't even think of that. It's a rather strange thing.

Anyway, I'm not sure how "profit" part in thread topic adds up (so to speak)
 

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449 for a link band is insane. That's More than the sport
 
Arran said:
Margins on the $500 stainless steel bracelet will be colossal:eek:. A similar high quality, concealed clasp, SS bracelet for a Braun BN10 watch costs $130 for regular stainless and $160 for black coated.

Pricing here: http://www.braun-clocks.com/accessories/BN0106Bracelet
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What makes you say the Braun bands are "similar high quality" compared to the Apple bands? I'd be interested in seeing that statement backed up with evidence. There's no evidence at the link you provided.

The only specific detail mentioned -- black PVD plating -- speaks poorly of the Braun band. Apple's black link bracelet uses DLC.
 
Apple is selling a watch for $17,000, and you wonder how they are going to profit? :p
 
MeFromHere said:
What makes you say the Braun bands are "similar high quality" compared to the Apple bands? I'd be interested in seeing that statement backed up with evidence. There's no evidence at the link you provided.

The only specific detail mentioned -- black PVD plating -- speaks poorly of the Braun band. Apple's black link bracelet uses DLC.
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While it is true that if a company is not using DLC, they usually will just quote PVD, they refer to different things. PVD is the process and DLC is the material. However, as I understand it, DLC material can be applied using the PVD process.

Apple's will profit from very healthy margins on both the watches, especially the stainless steel and Edition, and the bands. They are charging $49 for a .10 rubber band, and the stainless costs $150 more for very little extra cost in materials. They don't need to sell many at those margins to make a ton of money.
 
Arran said:
Margins on the $500 stainless steel bracelet will be colossal:eek:. A similar high quality, concealed clasp, SS bracelet for a Braun BN10 watch costs $130 for regular stainless and $160 for black coated.

Pricing here: http://www.braun-clocks.com/accessories/BN0106Bracelet
Click to expand...


Similar high quality? Highly doubtful although Braun supplies far to little information to really discuss this (less information is not usually indicative of a higher quality in my experience)... just the way apple has devised to remove/add links is way better for the end user and would certainly add to the production cost.

That being said I think we agree on the fact that apple will make a healthy profit from the sale of bands (including the stainless steel).

Edited to add: The more I look at the two bands the more I realize they really aren't even close in quality/design.
 
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MeFromHere said:
What makes you say the Braun bands are "similar high quality" compared to the Apple bands?
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It's Braun, duh!

They don't put their name on junk. Not in my experience, anyway.

Even Ive respects Braun. There's much mutual respect between Rams and Ive. Admittedly Rams didn't design the Braun watch mentioned above, but it comes from the same stable. It's a Braun product.

Here's what Ive has to say about Rams and Braun:

Ive said:
“what Dieter Rams and his team at Braun did was to produce hundreds of wonderfully conceived and designed objects: products that were beautifully made in high volumes and that were broadly accessible”
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Thats a pretty nice compliment and IMHO, well deserved.

More info: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...Apple-has-achieved-something-I-never-did.html
 
I saw the pricing today for the first time.

I was honestly expecting a $349-$399 ballpark price range...

I don't even wear a watch and I just can't see dropping $600 on one. The one reason I'd even consider it would be if I can use it to replace my Fitbit.

What's the markup on these watches? More than the iPhones would be my guess.
 
Apple profits handsomely from every little thing they sell, make no mistake about it. They didn't end up with the massive cash reserves they have now without charging a fat margin.

The question isn't how will they profit, but how masterfully they'll manipulate the cash management to avoid the taxes as they're so typically accustomed to doing.

Apple's brand strength is at an all time high and only increasing. The Watch will simply ad a few more layers of icing on the cake.
 
Appl3FTW said:
True, but this one is especial because its highly customizable.
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Really?

You can select from 3 iPhone colours Silver, White, Gold
You can pick ANYTHING to have on your iPhone screen, not just a small selection controlled by Apple.
You can select from a VAST amount of cases, in colours, designs, and styles from Apple and other 3rd party makers.
You can even buy iPhones in a range of colours (the plastic one)

The watch is far less customisable
 
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