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The body is the part that will depreciate. You can keep the bands you like.. If you like.

SS is more expensive for greater durability, higher quality finish and sapphire screen that absolutely will not scratch.

If you opt for SB, you get a harder finish that will be near impossible to scratch.

They are upgrades if you want & can afford them
 
Retired....no need to justify any purchases anymore, wife went crazy when I brought home a new 14 Vette a few months ago.....LOL

3 bands , 2 watches ordered, will cancel a few items after my try on appt later today....

Retired (check)
Living in Florida (check)
Driving a Vette (check)

I have a running bit with my 13 year old who's into cars where I pay him $5 every time we see someone in a Vette under 50. No knock on you or the car, but would like to see Chevy somehow someway expand the marketing of a once classic car. :)
 
lol, at 3:00 a.m. I actually was a little delirious when I chose it over the blue sport I was planning to get for practical reasons. I. JUST. LIKED. IT. BETTER.

That became profoundly clear to me in my overly tired state and all the other reasons I had come up with to go with the Sport fell aside at the last possible moment. But it was close because I still like the blue Sport a lot. But I can get a similar look buying a blue sport band. It's not as easy upgrading the band on the Sport with Apple's current offerings.

Also the last bit of advice my daughter has given me before she went to bed like a sane person was that I was going to be wearing it every day for at least a year. She said I should get what I like as long as I could afford it. By delaying other non essential purchases, I could.

And Bunnicula had repeatedly given compelling reasons for her choice of SS and I admired her reasoning and that was another influence on me at 3:00 a.m. when my thought processes are reduced to gut instinct.

So if my friends ask I'll just say cryptically that "Bunnicula made me do it" and laugh maniacally and give them something harmless to gossip about for a few weeks.
 
Considering the following facts:

- the wearable market is in its infancy and smart watches have yet to prove themselves as valuable indespensible devices
- No-one has actually tried or used an Apple Watch yet so no-one knows if it is actually any good
- as the Apple Watch is gen 1, there will likely be some significant improvements in the coming years

On this basis, when you show people your £600+ Stainless Steel Apple Watch, and they look at you in disbelief because you spent that much, how will you give a serious respectable answer?

To be very clear, im playing devil's advocate - I'm not judging anyone here for what they choose to spend their money on, but I'm asking from the hypothetical perspective of most non tech-obsessed people,who will probably think you are bonkers.

(The Sports Watch on the other hand, while not looking as nice has a more believable response - "it is gen 1 so I got the cheapest I could to try out the category, decide if it is for me, then if I like it I can perhaps invest in a nicer one in a year or two.")

Because I wanted it. Why would I need to say anything further?
 
Considering the following facts:

- the wearable market is in its infancy and smart watches have yet to prove themselves as valuable indespensible devices
- No-one has actually tried or used an Apple Watch yet so no-one knows if it is actually any good
- as the Apple Watch is gen 1, there will likely be some significant improvements in the coming years

On this basis, when you show people your £600+ Stainless Steel Apple Watch, and they look at you in disbelief because you spent that much, how will you give a serious respectable answer?

I just had this conversation with my cousin whose almost a big an  koolaide drinker as me.

I bought a $100 a few years ago that died. I spent about another $100-150 trying to get it fixed to no avail.

So this time, I considered getting a nicer one at a jeweler in the $350-400 range. So if I was going to spend that, why not spend a couple hundred more on something that allows me to get my flight info/changes, MLB updates, text, phone calls etc. on my wrist.
 
Considering the following facts:

- the wearable market is in its infancy and smart watches have yet to prove themselves as valuable indespensible devices
- No-one has actually tried or used an Apple Watch yet so no-one knows if it is actually any good
- as the Apple Watch is gen 1, there will likely be some significant improvements in the coming years

On this basis, when you show people your £600+ Stainless Steel Apple Watch, and they look at you in disbelief because you spent that much, how will you give a serious respectable answer?

To be very clear, im playing devil's advocate - I'm not judging anyone here for what they choose to spend their money on, but I'm asking from the hypothetical perspective of most non tech-obsessed people,who will probably think you are bonkers.

(The Sports Watch on the other hand, while not looking as nice has a more believable response - "it is gen 1 so I got the cheapest I could to try out the category, decide if it is for me, then if I like it I can perhaps invest in a nicer one in a year or two.")

The price differential is not that great depending on which band you want. Personally I don't like the plastic band, so the Sports watch with a classic buckle strap is £468 i.e. only £131 less than the SS with the classic buckle strap included.

The earliest I'm likely to upgrade will be in two years time (that is the quickest I have upgraded my iPhone since getting the 1st gen). So the SS model will cost me 18p a day extra over those 2 years. A small price to pay for a sapphire crystal and a better looking (IMHO) watch that matches the band.
 
That hasn't happened with any other device, and would cannibal sales of a gene device - so I would not count on that happening.

Since when has Apple ever cared about cannibalizing sales? The iPhone is the greatest example of this, it killed the iPod which at the time was a huge product for them. The same logic could be applied to the battery in every Apple product. To me, it is just as unreasonable to expect someone to pay $10k for a watch that will be obsolete in a few years as it would be for them to sell a $1k laptop that has to be thrown out when the battery won't hard a charge a few years later.

Anyway, that isn't the main reason I bought the SS, as they didn't even promise it. So maybe it's wishful thinking.
 
didn't realize Mercedes and Honda are made exactly the same internally. Good to know


Both cars can get you from A to B just fine.

They are two different cars just as the watch is different from the sport in materials (sapphire and ceramic back) as well as more choice in bands.

Some if is just appreciate finer things and are willing to pau the extra cost.
 
I love the look of the shiny, slightly blingy stainless steel.
I also love the look of the matte, almost pearlescent aluminium.
(As an aside, I really didn't like the gold, so that's good...)

They are all great watches, and if you have to reassure yourself with your purchasing decision with confirmation from strangers or bashing others' decisions, then I really don't know what to say. I could afford the SS, but went for the Sport as I'd rather spend £180 on something else. Not a big deal.

Just enjoy what you personally bought :)
 
Both cars can get you from A to B just fine.

They are two different cars just as the watch is different from the sport in materials (sapphire and ceramic back) as well as more choice in bands.

Some if is just appreciate finer things and are willing to pau the extra cost.

oh, that's what we disagree ENTIRELY.

comparing 2 different car would be like comparing Apple Watch with Samsung Gear. Not 2 different version of the exact same Apple watch.
 
Since when has Apple ever cared about cannibalizing sales? The iPhone is the greatest example of this, it killed the iPod which at the time was a huge product for them. The same logic could be applied to the battery in every Apple product. To me, it is just as unreasonable to expect someone to pay $10k for a watch that will be obsolete in a few years as it would be for them to sell a $1k laptop that has to be thrown out when the battery won't hard a charge a few years later.

Anyway, that isn't the main reason I bought the SS, as they didn't even promise it. So maybe it's wishful thinking.

I mean it will cannibalise sales of the next gen device.

Why would you sell an upgrade for $300, when you could sell a new watch for $600.

You can't upgrade an iPhone 3G to a 3GS (which *could* have been a simple board swap). Nor the 3GS to the 4. Or the 4 to the 4S, etc, etc, etc.

And the battery example is flawed. Apple will probably offer a battery service, like they do for the iPods, etc, where they will replace the battery or swap the device for a charge. Your MacBook example would be akin to upgrading a 2012 MBP to a 2013 one by swapping a board.
 
Since when has Apple ever cared about cannibalizing sales? The iPhone is the greatest example of this, it killed the iPod which at the time was a huge product for them. The same logic could be applied to the battery in every Apple product. To me, it is just as unreasonable to expect someone to pay $10k for a watch that will be obsolete in a few years as it would be for them to sell a $1k laptop that has to be thrown out when the battery won't hard a charge a few years later.

Anyway, that isn't the main reason I bought the SS, as they didn't even promise it. So maybe it's wishful thinking.

Steve Jobs was asked about cannibilizing their own product and he said better they do it to themselves than let a competitor do it to Apple.
 
Durability. I would hate scratches on my screen. I'm fine with them on the body but not the screen.
 
I guess what brought this question to my mind was the quite noticeable difference in public perception of this watch vs most other known Apple products.

Really, almost no-one I talk to knows anything about this watch. Obviously no-one needs to justify anything to anyone, but in reality a LOT of people are going to be asking about what you bought, what it does and how much it costs.

When I was initially planning on getting the SS with leather loop, I imagined myself answering these questions. "Well, it shows notifications, you can make calls and texts, and do a few other things, but in essence this is a new type of product and time will tell how useful it will be". "Cool, how much was it?". "£600". "WHAT?".

Perhaps what I'm saying is that I think people who spend lots of cash on this are making more of a statement than usual. I.e. "not only can I afford to spend this much on a smartwatch, I can afford to spend this much while having no idea whether it will be any good or not".

(I'm obviously making an assumption that we don't know how useful this watch will be yet. Perhaps others who have already owned smartwatches don't agree this is case. Fair enough.)
 
I don't have to justify my purchases to anyone. My friends respect my opinions and choices, as I do theirs. Sounds like the OP either needs new friends or is just shallow... ;)


Or can't afford anything other than the sport and is trying to make himself feel better.
 
Also, there was the resale value when it comes time to sell for the next edition. Whether true or not, research shows the devices on the lower end usually sell better than higher end versions (16gb vs. 128gb iPhone).

So with these two points for me, the SB Apple Sport Watch made the best sense for me. My resale value should be higher than what I would get with the SS SB.

I don't get this. You think the SB Sport will have higher resale value than the SB stainless? There is literally no way that will happen. That doesn't necessarily make the SB SS a good buy, since you will certainly lose a significant amount to depreciation. But I can't see it plummeting in value. The differences between these models can't be directly compared to things like different storage tiers for iPhones. In fact, we've never really had an Apple product quite like this. The closest I can think of was the black Macbook, which was a bit more expensive even though it was functionally identical.

I went back and forth between the aluminum and stainless, but chose the stainless for a few reasons. The sapphire screen and ceramic back are nice but not probably worth $200 to me on their own. But I prefer the shiny look of the stainless, and the added weight, which makes it seem a little more high-end. And in the end, I decided that I would rather pay $600 for the one I really wanted than pay $400 for something I was lukewarm about. Even if I upgrade in a year, I want to actually enjoy using it for that year.
 
I mean it will cannibalise sales of the next gen device.

Why would you sell an upgrade for $300, when you could sell a new watch for $600.

I knew that's what you meant. And the answer is because perhaps there is more margin and it builds value in your premium luxury item. Since this is Apple's first piece of jewelry, there is no precedence.
 
Because if I'm going to invest £400 in a smartwatch that I will wear every day, I might as well invest £600 and get the one I want.

One that will hold its value better, look and feel nicer, and resist scratches and dings better.
 
Ok first of all, no one has the right to demand any justification for what a person spends their own money on, it's nobody's business but their own.

However I also don't like this elitist crap which apple themselves are to blame for starting.
All of this 'aluminium looks cheap' 'aluminium doesn't suit my social circle' is elitist ******** and a sign of the new Apple. Just watch this nonsense extend onto iPhones iPad and eventually macs.

We used to all be tech enthusiasts together , but now we are all of a sudden classist! And yet I bet none of you are rocking the edition model.
It's bad enough edition customers are getting a VIP buying experience while the rest of us are being treated like peasants
 
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