I wore the $17,000 apple watch: impressions

[zmunkz]

I think maybe your analysis over simplifies the point. If the question was, "should I bend or exceed my budget for the Edition"... Then I take all your points, and we can agree the answer is no.

But if the question is, "I make $1M/ year and generate 10K a week after taxes... Should I consider the Edition?" Then I think your points are off the mark and dont really apply.

 

[roddenshaw]

What a stupid post.

It's like saying, hey I went and test drove a Mercedes S63 AMG and I don't know why someone would pay 150K for this car when I can buy a Toyota Avalon for 50K with the same features for a lot less! I had no intentions of buying the Mercedes but they let me test drive it!

First of all, plenty of people read reviews of cars they cannot possibly afford and, indeed, the reviewers of those cars often cannot afford them either.

It's not a reasonable analogy either, comparably sized cars from different manufacturers will often have very different qualities, especially when the price point is so different. The S63 is likely to be considerable faster, more refined, better riding, better handling and safer than the Avalon. The Apple Watch Edition simply uses different materials from the other two versions, but it is functionally identical. In car terms a better analogy would be two BMWs that are identical but for expensive aesthetic modifications offered by BMW's individual program.

 

[shaown]

What a stupid post.

It's like saying, hey I went and test drove a Mercedes S63 AMG and I don't know why someone would pay 150K for this car when I can buy a Toyota Avalon for 50K with the same features for a lot less! I had no intentions of buying the Mercedes but they let me test drive it!

That is a piss poor analogy. A good one would be:
- I test drove the new Lexus that is an upgraded Avalon. I don't get why the Lexus carries a 20k premium for the same engine, body style, and only adds a longer warranty, better interior materials (but not comparable to a Mercedes), etc.
- If they want me to pay a 20k premium for a Lexus, they need to put Alcantra Leather, a suspension that is really differentiated, and not reuse the same hubcap design with gold plating.

I thinking paying a huge premium for luxury materials makes sense. The problem with the Edition is its not differentiated enough. The strap materials, the packaging for the case, the charger should be MORE luxurious. That is a very different criticism then saying - don't pay 17k for a nice watch.

 

[zlin9596]

ok i think the argument of buying which class of watch does not matter on the cost. I think most of it depends on the wealth of the person buying it. For example if a rich person is considering buying a car, They won't go for the lower classes of course they go straight for the highest class cars. Its the same for the watch if this person really likes the apple watch and they have the money they will not even consider the lower cost ones they go straight for the edition. And about is the watch worth it? I think everything is worth it if you like it and enjoy the product no matter how much the premium people him to pay. Thats my take on it.

 

[roddenshaw]

ok i think the argument of buying which class of watch does not matter on the cost. I think most of it depends on the wealth of the person buying it. For example if a rich person is considering buying a car, They won't go for the lower classes of course they go straight for the highest class cars. Its the same for the watch if this person really likes the apple watch and they have the money they will not even consider the lower cost ones they go straight for the edition. And about is the watch worth it? I think everything is worth it if you like it and enjoy the product no matter how much the premium people him to pay. Thats my take on it.

Holy generalisations Batman! I know a few people who would normally be defined as 'rich' (i.e. multimillionaires) who drive moderately priced cars. They also don't own overpriced diving watches (Rolex, Omega, etc) and wouldn't consider buying the Apple Watch Edition.

 

[zlin9596]

Holy generalisations Batman! I know a few people who would normally be defined as 'rich' (i.e. multimillionaires) who drive moderately priced cars. They also don't own overpriced diving watches (Rolex, Omega, etc) and wouldn't consider buying the Apple Watch Edition.

Im referring to those who buys the edition watches.

 

[FrancoRumors]

What a stupid post.

It's like saying, hey I went and test drove a Mercedes S63 AMG and I don't know why someone would pay 150K for this car when I can buy a Toyota Avalon for 50K with the same features for a lot less! I had no intentions of buying the Mercedes but they let me test drive it!

Thank God - I was hoping you would share your opinion! :roll eyes:

 

[roddenshaw]

Im referring to those who buys the edition watches.

"For example if a rich person is considering buying a car, They won't go for the lower classes of course they go straight for the highest class cars. Its the same for the watch if this person really likes the apple watch and they have the money they will not even consider the lower cost ones they go straight for the edition."

That's the generalisation.

As an example, a friend of mine recently test drove the BMW i8, and loved it. He could easily afford it, but because he appreciates the value of money he couldn't justify spending that much on a car.

 

[SHNXX]

It would be pretty interesting to find out what the demographic of Edition watch buyers is.

It is certainly not the traditional high end watch owners ($15000+), because even those who have $100k+ in watches seem to be not buying it.

I suppose the Hublot crowd and the iced Rolex crowd might buy it though.

 

[Technarchy]

The gold one is not my style, but if you got money to blow, rock on.

 

[Bigboi]

That is a piss poor analogy. A good one would be:
- I test drove the new Lexus that is an upgraded Avalon. I don't get why the Lexus carries a 20k premium for the same engine, body style, and only adds a longer warranty, better interior materials (but not comparable to a Mercedes), etc.
- If they want me to pay a 20k premium for a Lexus, they need to put Alcantra Leather, a suspension that is really differentiated, and not reuse the same hubcap design with gold plating.

I thinking paying a huge premium for luxury materials makes sense. The problem with the Edition is its not differentiated enough. The strap materials, the packaging for the case, the charger should be MORE luxurious. That is a very different criticism then saying - don't pay 17k for a nice watch.

Wrong the Lexus ES is the big cousin of the Toyota Camry not the Avalon. Most of the Lexus line don't have anything in common with Toyota.

 

[robbie12345]

What a stupid post.

It's like saying, hey I went and test drove a Mercedes S63 AMG and I don't know why someone would pay 150K for this car when I can buy a Toyota Avalon for 50K with the same features for a lot less! I had no intentions of buying the Mercedes but they let me test drive it!

Thanks for sharing your opinion! As I stated in the above post, I am merely sharing mine! If you disagree, thats great! If you agree thats great! But lets not resort to ad hominem and call each other's opinions stupid, ok?

 

[loyalist]

Those fortunate who can purchase this watch, aren't concerned about the price. Do you think people who purchase Ferraris and Lambos are concerned about rising gas prices? If they are concerned about price, they shouldn't purchase luxury items.

 

[roddenshaw]

Those fortunate who can purchase this watch, aren't concerned about the price. Do you think people who purchase Ferraris and Lambos are concerned about rising gas prices? If they are concerned about price, they shouldn't purchase luxury items.

This is what I have been taking issue with throughout this thread. "Those fortunate who can purchase this watch" may well be concerned about price. Having money doesn't automatically make somebody profligate.

 

[adammull]

Wrong the Lexus ES is the big cousin of the Toyota Camry not the Avalon. Most of the Lexus line don't have anything in common with Toyota.

They have everything in common. An Avalon is nothing more than a Lexus LS.

Lexus is the worst in my opinion for this upsale with really no added value between car companies in my opinion. I.e. (Acura/Honda, Nissan/Infiniti, Volkswagen/Audi, Chevrolet/GMC). I wouldn't buy any of the upscale partners, save maybe an Audi S7, but Lexus is by far the least attractive. All you're getting is leather that isn't even that nice.

 

[kinster]

thanks for the review.

it's exactly what I expect, an overpriced watch for those who has more money than brain (or sense).

But they must be doing okay to have the money in the first place (legally)

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Hi all, just wanted to share my experience after my apple watch edition try on today. I did not order an edition nor do I claim to so please do not bash me for that, these are solely my initial impressions with the appearance and appeal of the device.

So I was near an Apple Store that held the edition today so I figured what the heck I would try it on, my sg bsb ships at the end of May, but I wanted to see what the hype about the edition model is. I went to my appointment and they brought out the models guarded by security personnel.

First, the box the watch comes with is blue leather, but feels cheap. It isn't heavy at all, and the magnet holding the two sides together wasnt that strong. The box felt like an apple leather iPhone case if you want an impression. The charger itself was shiny black similar to the bezel on the black iPhone five.

Now onto the watches:

The watch was light. Very light. There was no considerable heft to the gold. It was as heavy as the standard (or so it seemed) and not more so. The watch also felt like a gold-standard watch, the leather band seemed to be made by the cheap machine made leather as the normal leather loops. There was no stitching on the bands. The clasps were identical to the normal leather bands, albeit gold. I don't understand why they carry such a premium, they aren't very nice.

The model with the sports band felt cheap. Just as the sport model does, however you can't be content with knowing it was cheap. It was interesting to me apple would even sell the watch with the sport band, considering it felt like a stupid pairing, a luxury watch with a cheap sport band.

The yellow gold looked ok, the rose gold is more matte, but neither really appealed to me. If you're going to show off a $20k watch do yourself a favor and get a solid gold band.

Anyways, i have no clue who would buy this thing as it felt really cheap for what it is. Also, I would feel like an idiot wearing it having people know I spent $15k on a first-gen product. You guys and myself included can feel content knowing that your sport and ss watches do the same thing and were money better spent.

Is this you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUz0eeSUuUw

Similar title.

 

[Aluminum213]

Apple isn't trying to sell a watch to someone to someone who would spend their yearly salary on it

That's why these impressions of "this isn't worth it blah blah" are useless, it's not for you, you can't afford it, those who can afford it also probably spend 4-5k on a messenger bag and wear a 10k suit. It's not a big deal to them

 

[kinster]

"For example if a rich person is considering buying a car, They won't go for the lower classes of course they go straight for the highest class cars. Its the same for the watch if this person really likes the apple watch and they have the money they will not even consider the lower cost ones they go straight for the edition."

That's the generalisation.

As an example, a friend of mine recently test drove the BMW i8, and loved it. He could easily afford it, but because he appreciates the value of money he couldn't justify spending that much on a car.

I know a very wealthy guy who sends his son to Eton. He drives a beat up old Nissan Micra and has his glasses fixed up with sellotape.

 

[puma1552]

This is what I have been taking issue with throughout this thread. "Those fortunate who can purchase this watch" may well be concerned about price. Having money doesn't automatically make somebody profligate.

so true

most people with money didnt get rich by writing checks, and they certainly didnt get there by not asking the price of things and blowing money left and right.

 

[McPhallus]

They have everything in common. An Avalon is nothing more than a Lexus LS.

Lexus is the worst in my opinion for this upsale with really no added value between car companies in my opinion. I.e. (Acura/Honda, Nissan/Infiniti, Volkswagen/Audi, Chevrolet/GMC). I wouldn't buy any of the upscale partners, save maybe an Audi S7, but Lexus is by far the least attractive. All you're getting is leather that isn't even that nice.

You must have confused the Lexus LS and the Avalon. That said, Lexus wouldn't have the brand reputation they do today if they were just rebadged toyotas. Infiniti and Acura are middling performers, at best.

Look up the Cadillac Cimarron (based on the Chevy Cavalier) if you want an example of a rebadged car that had virtually nothing to offer. Huge fail for GM.

 

[robbie12345]

But they must be doing okay to have the money in the first place (legally)

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Is this you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUz0eeSUuUw

Similar title.

Haha, I wish.

 

[spencer0922]

I really don't get it... Would rather a slightly preowned Audemars Piguet or Rolex.

 

[kinster]

I really don't get it... Would rather a slightly preowned Audemars Piguet or Rolex.

Audemars Piguet yes, common Rolex no.

 

[anez]

Most of these comparisons/analogies aren't really reasonable. The Apple Watch falls into a new-ish category which is neither exclusively functional nor exclusively decorative. Comparing it to laptops and tablets (mainly functionals) or watches (predominantly decorative, in this day and age) in terms of buyer motivations isn't going to be effective or representative.

That said, to my understanding, the difference between a truly high-end mechanical watch like a Patek/JLC/your preference here and a low-end brand is vast: in terms of design, manufacture, components, and service, they are massively differentiated. Even the difference within the same brand between something like the entry-level Rolex and their most expensive models is far greater than the difference between the Sport and the Edition in most of these areas.

The Edition, as it is the height of "premium luxury wearables" at the moment, obviously needs to go at the top of the relative pyramid, but there isn't anywhere near the same level of difference between it and what's at the bottom. Obviously, all Apple Watches are selling for massively more than the sum of their parts, and I'm happy to pay that premium because it also accounts for R&D, distribution, marketing, etc. etc. etc. However, the Edition is marked up far more than any of its counterparts, and is priced that way solely "because they can".

TL;DR: People will pay extra for something purely on the basis of exclusivity, and whether it is "fairly priced" or represents value for money is immaterial. (Some might also just dislike silver and black watches and are not prepared to go the after-market route to get what they want in terms of looks.) The Edition doesn't appeal to me as I personally don't feel it justifies its greater price, but horses for courses and all that. I'm still disappointed to hear that it doesn't feel as luxurious as one might expect for the price involved.

 

[MartyCan]

I certainly am not going to defend the Edition but in terms of weight it should not feel like the standard one. Apple specs show it to be considerably heavier.