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Seriously? $449 for a watch band. Is Apple crazy???

A

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,217
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This is the part that is really turning me off to the Apple Watch. After using the Pebble steel with a metal linked watch band (which as only $25 BTW), Apple has the audacity to charge $449 for a linked watch band:

http://store.apple.com/us/watch/watch-accessories/bands

Man, I hope 3rd party vendors come though because all of Apple's watch bands are grossly over priced.
 
That's the only reason I will hold up on buying the apple watch.

If 3rd party link bracelet bands come to market, I'll buy the Watch edition with plastic band.

Otherwise, no way. I have more than enough funds to buy any watch. But my priorities are clear.
 
Completely agree about the price of the bracelets. I'll wait until the third party bands show up.
 
AppleFan360 said:
This is the part that is really turning me off to the Apple Watch. After using the Pebble steel with a metal linked watch band (which as only $25 BTW), Apple has the audacity to charge $449 for a linked watch band:

http://store.apple.com/us/watch/watch-accessories/bands

Man, I hope 3rd party vendors come though because all of Apple's watch bands are grossly over priced.
Click to expand...

This is the band that takes 9 hours to make, is brushed by hand, features links that can be removed without tools... I'm not too surprised that this band is so expensive. You can tell Apple put a lot of time and effort into it's design.

But I'm definitely disappointed that the price puts it way out of my range.
 
czecho7 said:
This is the band that takes 9 hours to make, is brushed by hand, features links that can be removed without tools... I'm not too surprised that this band is so expensive. You can tell Apple put a lot of time and effort into it's design.

But I'm definitely disappointed that the price puts it way out of my range.
Click to expand...

Well I would have appreciated a lower end link band as well. Sorry but you can make both a special edition link for $449 and a less innovative one for $149 or something. I was surprised and saddened to see that the Milanese Loop 42mm is $699 but the Link Bracelet 42mm is $999. I thought the Loop would run more.
 
It still shocks me at how many people don't realize how expensive it is to make a high quality metal bracelet for a watch. It's not cheap. The bracelet and clasp assembly on the watch I'm wearing daily is $2200-2500 retail. And $1100 of it is just the clasp. The prices Apple has their bracelets and bands marked at are very reasonable for a higher end watch, which is what Apple thinks this is. I personally don't agree that the watch itself belongs in the high end watch category, but the metal bracelet is of high quality/design, from what I can tell.
 
roland.g said:
Well I would have appreciated a lower end link band as well. Sorry but you can make both a special edition link for $449 and a less innovative one for $149 or something. I was surprised and saddened to see that the Milanese Loop 42mm is $699 but the Link Bracelet 42mm is $999. I thought the Loop would run more.
Click to expand...

Yea I agree with you, I would've loved a lower end aluminum link bracelet to go with the Sport version I'll be getting.
 
Nope, they aren't. It will sell. It's clear you don't know how much time it takes to makes this specific band. I'm sure it's well worth the price.
 
Julien said:
So you are driving a Toyota and you say is Porsche crazy?:D
Click to expand...
In 2013, Porsche made an operating profit of $23,200 per car sold, giving the company an 18% margin. I'm assuming the parts/servicing department contributes to that figure, so the actual 'cost of car sale to Porsche less price paid by customer' is actually lower than 18%.

If Apple sold the $449 band at an 18% margin the sale price would be about twenty bucks.
 
It is beautifully designed. And I'm sure it's very innovative. However it's priced the same as an iPad... Highly doubt it's as innovative as that.
 
I read a lot about 3rd party bands in this forum. Now are you sure Apple is going to allow these to be produced. I was around when Apple was suing the pants off of people that made pieces and parts for their systems when they first started out. This is a new product and the band clasp is a new and I think a unique one, and I'm sure they have a patents for it. Also it looks like they could be their cash cow! Oh well we will have to see what happens, in any case you should expect to pay full or most of full price for other bands
 
camtechman56 said:
I read a lot about 3rd party bands in this forum. Now are you sure Apple is going to allow these to be produced. I was around when Apple was suing the pants off of people that made pieces and parts for their systems when they first started out. This is a new product and the band clasp is a new and I think a unique one, and I'm sure they have a patents for it. Also it looks like they could be their cash cow! Oh well we will have to see what happens, in any case you should expect to pay full or most of full price for other bands
Click to expand...


I feel this is probably going to be the case. Apple has put a lot of R&D into this quick change system, and I think they are going to very actively protect it.
 
This is why I'm just getting the most basic watch (42mm, sport) and waiting for a 3rd party band that I like. These band prices are outrageous.
 
alphaswift said:
Completely agree about the price of the bracelets. I'll wait until the third party bands show up.
Click to expand...

Go to a jeweler and compare prices of watches with leather straps to those with premium link bands. The band price is pretty reasonable. These aren't $20 link bands you'll get at the cheap shop in the back corner of the mall.
 
Julien said:
So you are driving a Toyota and you say is Porsche crazy?:D
Click to expand...

Does Porsche charge you 50% value of the car to change tyres?

His point is that there is no other watch manufacture that chargers almost 50% above the watch for a band upgrade.

So if the Watch edition is a porsche, what is the Edition with $7K band upgrade ;)

----------
KPOM said:
Go to a jeweler and compare prices of watches with leather straps to those with premium link bands. The band price is pretty reasonable. These aren't $20 link bands you'll get at the cheap shop in the back corner of the mall.
Click to expand...

I don't know many watches where the band costs almost 50% of the watch. Feel free to provide link.

Happy to see a $500 watch where the band takes it to $1000 in SS.

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apple.snapple said:
This is why I'm just getting the most basic watch (42mm, sport) and waiting for a 3rd party band that I like. These band prices are outrageous.
Click to expand...

Good call.

If Apple watch hits off, there will be some great option in bands.
 
AppleFan360 said:
This is the part that is really turning me off to the Apple Watch. After using the Pebble steel with a metal linked watch band (which as only $25 BTW), Apple has the audacity to charge $449 for a linked watch band:

http://store.apple.com/us/watch/watch-accessories/bands

Man, I hope 3rd party vendors come though because all of Apple's watch bands are grossly over priced.
Click to expand...
Did you read the description of the manufacturing process for the link bracelet on Apple's website?

Crafted from the same 316L stainless steel alloy as the case, the Link Bracelet has more than 100 components. The machining process is so precise, it takes nearly nine hours to cut the links for a single band. In part that’s because they aren’t simply a uniform size, but subtly increase in width as they approach the case. Once assembled, the links are brushed by hand to ensure that the texture follows the contours of the design. The custom butterfly closure folds neatly within the bracelet. And several links feature a simple release button, so you can add and remove links without any special tools. Available in stainless steel and space black stainless steel.
Click to expand...

Same grade of stainless steel as the watch.
Over 100 components.
Nine hours to cut the links for a single band.
Subtly increase in width towards the case.
Hand-brushed after assembly.
Toolless removal method for unneeded links.

I highly, HIGHLY doubt Pebble's $25 band is anywhere near as well-designed. You do realize that luxury watch bands cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, too, right? And that's exactly what this is positioned as.

It's like complaining how you could spend $20 on an analog watch with a quartz movement at Target, and yet some other company has the audacity to charge $500 for "what's basically the same exact thing" ... except it's not the same exact thing.

Just because their bands are more expensive than the bargain-bin trash you can buy does not mean they're overpriced, especially if the product Apple is selling has more in common with luxury watches and bands than they do with cheap stuff you can buy at any Target or Walmart.
 
I hope within a year or two, Apple will have more budget friendly bands, other than the rubber.

Perhaps "leather-ette" instead of fine crafted, hand stitched, 100% pure cowhide, reserved only for the queen of England.

Perhaps a metal link band that doesn't take 9 hours to make... just give me something that looks like the Moto 360 link band ($79.00), give it that Apple stamp of approval, and I'd gladly pay $100-$120, depending on the look and feel.
 
I hope that, if Apple changes the form factor of the watch every other generation, you'll still be able to use the same wristband you bought with your first watch. With the exception of cases, I stopped buying iPhone and iPad accessories that are dependent on the device's form factor, because I hate spending money on new accessories just because the old ones don't fit the latest iPhone or iPad. There's no reason Apple couldn't keep the wristband-attachment area the same, but will they, given the revenue-generating potential of wristbands?
 
MH01 said:
I don't know many watches where the band costs almost 50% of the watch. Feel free to provide link.



Happy to see a $500 watch where the band takes it to $1000 in SS.
Click to expand...


I certainly agree with you on every other point in the threads we are posting on, but I still believe the link bracelet Apple has made is a good value. Especially for the engineering put into it. I obviously haven't handled it yet, but I like what I see as much or more than the Oyster bracelet and Glidelock clasp on my Submariner. The tool less link removal seems extremely well designed.

I think what we/you are seeing in terms of the bracelet costing half the total cost of the watch isn't so much of the bracelet being overpriced, but more so an indicator that Apple can really keep costs low on the cheap electronics part of it (the watch head itself), but can't do that on the part more substantial part.
 
Ubele said:
I hope that, if Apple changes the form factor of the watch every other generation, you'll still be able to use the same wristband you bought with your first watch. With the exception of cases, I stopped buying iPhone and iPad accessories that are dependent on the device's form factor, because I hate spending money on new accessories just because the old ones don't fit the latest iPhone or iPad. There's no reason Apple couldn't keep the wristband-attachment area the same, but will they, given the revenue-generating potential of wristbands?
Click to expand...

I think this will become a "standard port" that Apple will keep for a while.
 
chris975d said:
I think what we/you are seeing in terms of the bracelet costing half the total cost of the watch isn't so much of the bracelet being overpriced, but more so an indicator that Apple can really keep costs low on the cheap electronics part of it (the watch head itself), but can't do that on the part more substantial part.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of that is coming back to labor costs/volume. I'm sure that hand assembly of the watch itself is pretty straight forward, easy to train workers for and is a relatively quick process. This particular band though is clearly too intricate for anything but hand assembly, is likely much tougher to train for and requires much more time from the laborer. Is the cost still inflated a bit? Probably, but nowhere near as much as people are speculating.
 
I would never consider that SS Link band unless I truly believed it will work with the next generation watch. And I do. The biggest thing holding me back is that I want to see one in person.

I'm curious if someone could somehow make a converter piece that slides into the slot and then lets you use any standard watch band with it but on second thought I cannot imagine that not looking like crap. Maybe it would be fine if they could hide the connector.
 
KauaiBruce said:
I would never consider that SS Link band unless I truly believed it will work with the next generation watch. And I do. The biggest thing holding me back is that I want to see one in person.



I'm curious if someone could somehow make a converter piece that slides into the slot and then lets you use any standard watch band with it but on second thought I cannot imagine that not looking like crap. Maybe it would be fine if they could hide the connector.
Click to expand...


On that though, remember Apple has likely patented the connector mechanism that allows these bands to hook to the watch body. And I foresee Apple enforcing those patents like a rabid dog.
 
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