I would buy Edition, if...

[Poochi]

Apple gives life time warranty and life time upgrade of innards. Then I would actually view Edition in the same league as the traditional timeless luxury brands.

Let's face it, innards will only get smaller and Apple could afford taking out innards and replace with the updated components in the same size with chipset (like S1 to S2 and so on) - just fill the gaps caused by miniaturization with more battery: may not get additional sensors with current design, but that's not a deal breaker as the processor and battery can be easily refreshed.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

That's nice. I wouldn't. Some things will be replaceable, such as processor, battery, and probably even most sensors.

But It won't get thinner. the design/materials won't improve. The HR sensor won't get better. Plus who knows how successful it will turn out to be. Even best case scenario I couldn't imagine the Watch in it's currently implementation would last more than 10 years so that'd still be over $1,000 a year

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

So would I, but that's not the market Apple is after with the Edition models. They're targeted a very small segment of the population (the nouveau riche) who will buy them to show off their wealth, and their being obsolete in a few short years will only add to this desirability for displaying such wealth.

 

[Rogifan]

So would I, but that's not the market Apple is after with the Edition models. They're targeted a very small segment of the population (the nouveau riche) who will buy them to show off their wealth, and their being obsolete in a few short years will only add to this desirability for displaying such wealth.

When did anyone at Apple say this? Apple has said zilch about what might be upgradeable. All we know from some of the tech press at the event is Apple confirmed the battery can be replaced and when Ben Bajarin asked an Apple rep about upgradeability all they said is "we're not prepared to talk about that right now". He also said Apple designers at the event were talking up the modularity of the device. Outside of the interchangeable bands I'm not sure what they could be referring to besides the S1 SiP.

 

[MisterMe]

So would I, but that's not the market Apple is after with the Edition models. They're targeted a very small segment of the population (the nouveau riche) who will buy them to show off their wealth, and their being obsolete in a few short years will only add to this desirability for displaying such wealth.

The only flaw in your logic is that there are watches that cost more than 10 times as much as the most expensive Watch Edition. No one who owns or has even seen a $170,000 watch is going to be impressed by the price you paid for a $17,000 Watch Edition. They may be impressed by the functionality, but to impress anyone on price you will have to restrict yourself to showing off on the schoolyard.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The only flaw in your logic is that there are watches that cost more than 10 times as much as the most expensive Watch Edition. No one who owns or has even seen a $170,000 watch is going to be impressed by the price you paid for a $17,000 Watch Edition. They may be impressed by the functionality, but to impress anyone on price you will have to restrict yourself to showing off on the schoolyard.

Yes, but those $170,000 watches last for years. $17,000 knowing it'll quickly become obsolete is also good for showing off wealth.

 

[bunnicula]

Yes, but those $170,000 watches last for years. $17,000 knowing it'll quickly become obsolete is also good for showing off wealth.

Agreed.

I think people will be very surprised at how well these do in China, the Middle East, and India.

I suspect that yellow gold edition with the red leather band will sell out quickly.

 

[adammull]

No one on here understands the logic about the Edition and its laughable reading the comments. A $17,000 watch is not a Bugatti. It's not only billionaires who are buying this. Jeez. Why do people have no concept of money? This reminds me of when I had a hand-me-down BMW in high school and a guy asked me why I didn't get a Ferrari. Yes because a used $18,000 BMW is the same as a $250,000 F355.

Apple has NEVER said that it won't be upgradeable. Heck they may not even know at this point. But until they do I will continue to believe that it WILL be upgradeable. I will wait on Apple to inform me of this, not guys on a forum.

 

[cmChimera]

Yes, but those $170,000 watches last for years. $17,000 knowing it'll quickly become obsolete is also good for showing off wealth.

Technically, the Apple will last for years too since it can be put in a mode to just tell the time.

 

[Ries]

No one on here understands the logic about the Edition and its laughable reading the comments. A $17,000 watch is not a Bugatti. It's not only billionaires who are buying this. Jeez. Why do people have no concept of money? This reminds me of when I had a hand-me-down BMW in high school and a guy asked me why I didn't get a Ferrari. Yes because a used $18,000 BMW is the same as a $250,000 F355.

Apple has NEVER said that it won't be upgradeable. Heck they may not even know at this point. But until they do I will continue to believe that it WILL be upgradeable. I will wait on Apple to inform me of this, not guys on a forum.

Apple has NEVER said that any of thier other products won't be upgradeable! Number of upgradable Apple products in the last 10 years, that could upgrade to next gen -> ZERO.

 

[Arran]

They're targeted a very small segment of the population (the nouveau riche) who will buy them to show off their wealth, and their being obsolete in a few short years will only add to this desirability for displaying such wealth.

Does anyone personally know anyone like this? Serious question.

 

[Ries]

No one on here understands the logic about the Edition and its laughable reading the comments. A $17,000 watch is not a Bugatti. It's not only billionaires who are buying this. Jeez. Why do people have no concept of money? This reminds me of when I had a hand-me-down BMW in high school and a guy asked me why I didn't get a Ferrari. Yes because a used $18,000 BMW is the same as a $250,000 F355.

Would you pay $17,000 for a for a gold android wear? What would you think of a person with such a item? You think people think differently about a person with an Apple version?

 

[maflynn]

Apple gives life time warranty and life time upgrade of innards. Then I would actually view Edition in the same league as the traditional timeless luxury brands.

Even if apple did do that, I'd not be paying thousands of dollars for a watch.

 

[Arran]

No one on here understands the logic about the Edition...

I don't think logic enters into it, frankly.

 

[Rogifan]

Apple has NEVER said that any of thier other products won't be upgradeable! Number of upgradable Apple products in the last 10 years, that could upgrade to next gen -> ZERO.

And? Apple's never sold a $17K watch either. Just because they've done certain things in the past doesn't mean every new product in the future will follow that same path. When's the last time Apple introduced a new product with this many style options out of the gate? The original iMac was one color. Same with the iPod. Very little about Watch is like past Apple products.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

Agreed.

I think people will be very surprised at how well these do in China, the Middle East, and India.

I suspect that yellow gold edition with the red leather band will sell out quickly.

Yeah I got a feeling that in Saudi Arabia and Dubai they will be selling more Gold Watches than the sport model.

 

[Ries]

And? Apple's never sold a $17K watch either. Just because they've done certain things in the past doesn't mean every new product in the future will follow that same path. When's the last time Apple introduced a new product with this many style options out of the gate? The original iMac was one color. Same with the iPod. Very little about Watch is like past Apple products.

It's a mass producible item that they hope they can sell you over and over an over again. It is like every other thing they have on their sales list.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

Does anyone personally know anyone like this? Serious question.

I don't personally know Kanye West, or other people in that business, but I would think that is the target, and probably pro athletes as well.

 

[adammull]

Would you pay $17,000 for a for a gold android wear? What would you think of a person with such a item? You think people think differently about a person with an Apple version?

I think that this watch will change the way watches are worn by people who have nicer timepieces. I'm going with the Sport. But if it really does change the way I live my life then how do I go back to a "dumb" Panerai?

This puts me into the next bracket of the SS Watch or possibly even an Edition model. And I have a theory that that will somehow be either upgradeable, or trade-in, or something. My Panerai lasts, theoretically, forever. So does a car. So does a purse. So do almost all luxury items. I don't think they can just sell things like this without some sort of long term roadmap. It's not a bottle of wine you drink once as an experience.

 

[Rogifan]

It's a mass producible item that they hope they can sell you over and over an over again. It is like every other thing they have on their sales list.

But they can charge you over and over again if the insides are replaceable. iPhone is different because in many cases it's tied to a carrier contract so you're not paying full price upfront. I'd maybe agree with you if all Apple was selling was the $349 Sport watch. But no way Apple thinks someone is going to spend $1K on a SS watch with link bracelet and do it again in a year or two. So either the innards will be upgradeable for say, $300 or whatever or this product will follow Mac/iPad and be replaced less frequently. It's not like the device will stop working after a year and Apple reps did confirm to some at the event that the battery will be replaceable.

 

[gorkt]

I think even if I could afford it, I wouldn't get one. I don't really like the look of gold. I suppose if they made a white gold or platinum watch, but then it would look a lot like the SS, and then at that point why spend $9000K more?

 

[bunnicula]

Yeah I got a feeling that in Saudi Arabia and Dubai they will be selling more Gold Watches than the sport model.

Would not surprise me at all.

----------

I think even if I could afford it, I wouldn't get one. I don't really like the look of gold. I suppose if they made a white gold or platinum watch, but then it would look a lot like the SS, and then at that point why spend $9000K more?

This is pretty much my logic. I could afford one, but why buy a watch that can be had for 9K less that looks great and does exactly the same thing? I'm not overly image conscious and I prefer platinum/white gold to yellow gold. I never wear yellow gold.

I do like the rose gold, but not enough to spend 17k dollars on a watch.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I think even if I could afford it, I wouldn't get one. I don't really like the look of gold. I suppose if they made a white gold or platinum watch, but then it would look a lot like the SS, and then at that point why spend $9000K more?

That's exactly why they didn't bother with a platinum version.

 

[MisterMe]

Yes, but those $170,000 watches last for years. $17,000 knowing it'll quickly become obsolete is also good for showing off wealth.

I have addressed this issue in other posts. However, it bears repeating here:

The part of the Watch Edition that will become obsolete are the electronic internals. Neither the gold case nor the leather bands will become obsolete. Knowing that the same internals are used in the $350 Watch Sport, their retail price must be in the $200-$300 range. This is rounding error in the price of the Edition. Suffice it to say, there are probably larger variations in local sales tax on the Edition.

The internals are the least expensive part of the Edition. We cannot know for certain until Apple makes it official. However, it makes absolutely no business sense for Apple [or any business] to obsolete a $17,000 device on the weakness of a $200 component.

Therefore, I fully expect that the Watch will be upgradeable via a swap of its interchangeable internals. It would not surprise me at all if the upgrade for some or all models were free. Don't forget that the OS upgrades for iOS and OS X devices are free. It behooves Apple to keep its installed base as simple as possible. Free upgrades will encourage owners to maintain their hardware in a like-new state.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I have addressed this issue in other posts. However, it bears repeating here:

The part of the Watch Edition that will become obsolete are the electronic internals. Neither the gold case nor the leather bands will become obsolete. Knowing that the same internals are used in the $350 Watch Sport, their retail price must be in the $200-$300 range. This is rounding error in the price of the Edition. Suffice it to say, there are probably larger variations in local sales tax on the Edition.

The internals are the least expensive part of the Edition. We cannot know for certain until Apple makes it official. However, it makes absolutely no business sense for Apple [or any business] to obsolete a $17,000 device on the weakness of a $200 component.

Therefore, I fully expect that the Watch will be upgradeable via a swap of its interchangeable internals. It would not surprise me at all if the upgrade for some or all models were free. Don't forget that the OS upgrades for iOS and OS X devices are free. It behooves Apple to keep its installed base as simple as possible. Free upgrades will encourage owners to maintain their hardware in a like-new state.

This is purely wishful thinking along the line of hoping that Apple would sell the Edition models for $1200-1500 or that the SS models would be cheaper than Sport models. Apple would have stated this at the Watch event if it were true.