Edition price too low. Double it. And then double that for the price with the yet to be disclosed gold band. Or more.
Apple announces Apple Watch
- Thread starter Volotaire
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Edition price too low. Double it. And then double that for the price with the yet to be disclosed gold band. Or more.
$500 for an extra 4mm? You're crazy.
Princess Carl
Member
Sounds like Apple/tech to me.
infiniteloop
Member
special apple gold.
an extra 4mm in height means quite a lot of extra body material, though.
but what are we arguing. The price tiers of the gold model aren't any more determined by function or material as the price tiers of the various iPhone storage options.
They're all about "what's the biggest uptick in price that someone looking at SKU X will accept to upgrade to SKU Y".
infiniteloop
Member
wow, the comments. People get upset about positive Apple coverage.
DOWN
Banned
Source?
And am I crazy for thinking it is a tough sell to make a stainless steel watch w/ leather band cost more than the phone it goes with?
SuperPac
Member
That graphic was made by a Macrumors forum member based on Gruber's speculative pricing post. Some sites were passing it around as "real".
SuperEpicMan
Banned
If this ends up being the case, I will get a silver aluminium 42mm with a black plastic band and black leather strap separately.
Oh i know that's a speculation in fact i said that i expect that not that it's the confirmed official pricing
By the way i did not know until i saw that image that they were releasing space gray models for the normal and the sport edition, that made the sport edition a whole lot more attractive in my eyes.
jts
...hate me...
Fuck, and I was trying to make my own (except without the prices).
Well, it has a few inaccuracies though, regarding size options and bracelets. Gold and Rose Gold Link bracelets seemingly pulled out of thin air?
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
its not height. You're thinking case diameter.
$50 between sport sizes, $100 between steel prices, $X between gold prices (where X is about 15%)
It was a joke about Chinese labor practices and not a serious comment.
I don't get how Apple was able to get a patent for the gold when there have been metal matrixs in use for decades. From briefly looking at the patent they took a known method used with aluminum and used gold instead.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_matrix_composite
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20140361670.PGNR.
So, here are my thoughts on the Smart Watch market for 2015.
The Smart Watch market has not seen explosive growth or demand like other markets. The global tablet market in 2010 approached 20 million and then expanded to over 70 million in 2011 and more than 125 million in 2012. Tablet sales in 2014 now stand at over 230 million. It's estimated that Tablet shipments in 2015 will remain stagnant YOY.
The Smart Watch market can officially be started in 2013 with the release of Smart Watches from Pebble, Samsung and Sony. Samsung's global sell in exceeded 1 million units in 2013 giving them over 50% market share whilst Pebble took over 15% market share. In 2014 we saw Smart Watch shipments more than double to 4.8 million units fuelled by Samsung's Gear range which held more than 25% market share, Android's Wear platform which took almost 20% market share and Pebble who took 15% market share.
In 2015 the launch of Apple Watch as well as the expansion of Android Wear should see global sell in of Smart Watches increase by more than 440% YOY with Apple accounting for more than 50% of the total market. There is clearly a demand shown for the Apple Watch and so I'm expecting global sell in to approach 15 million units in 2015. I'm expecting global sell in of all Smart Watches to exceed 26 million in 2015.
These numbers for 2015 are based off hard and estimated data from 2012-2014. The figures below show my estimates for global sell in of Smart Watches (excluding health/fitness bands) based on vendor data and market research data.
I don't expect Smart Watch shipments to exceed 100 million units before 2020. Therefore I believe this market will be very small in comparison to say the Tablet market. I estimate that the total global sell in for the wearable market (including Smart Watches and Health/Fitness bands) was around 20 million units in 2014 and will approach 60 million units in 2015.
Comparison time:
Number of smartphones sold in 2014: 1301m (ESTIMATE 1,535m for 2015)
Number of PC’s sold in 2014: 316m (ESTIMATE: 325m for 2015)
Number of tablets sold in 2014: 230m (ESTIMATE: 250m for 2015)
Number of Smart Watches sold in 2014: 4.8m (ESTIMATE: 26m+ for 2015)
For those of you who are into the Smartphone market you can view my thread here on Smartphone market in 2014.
The Smart Watch market has not seen explosive growth or demand like other markets. The global tablet market in 2010 approached 20 million and then expanded to over 70 million in 2011 and more than 125 million in 2012. Tablet sales in 2014 now stand at over 230 million. It's estimated that Tablet shipments in 2015 will remain stagnant YOY.
The Smart Watch market can officially be started in 2013 with the release of Smart Watches from Pebble, Samsung and Sony. Samsung's global sell in exceeded 1 million units in 2013 giving them over 50% market share whilst Pebble took over 15% market share. In 2014 we saw Smart Watch shipments more than double to 4.8 million units fuelled by Samsung's Gear range which held more than 25% market share, Android's Wear platform which took almost 20% market share and Pebble who took 15% market share.
In 2015 the launch of Apple Watch as well as the expansion of Android Wear should see global sell in of Smart Watches increase by more than 440% YOY with Apple accounting for more than 50% of the total market. There is clearly a demand shown for the Apple Watch and so I'm expecting global sell in to approach 15 million units in 2015. I'm expecting global sell in of all Smart Watches to exceed 26 million in 2015.
These numbers for 2015 are based off hard and estimated data from 2012-2014. The figures below show my estimates for global sell in of Smart Watches (excluding health/fitness bands) based on vendor data and market research data.
Code:
[B]CY2013[/B] - 2.0 million units shipped
[B]CY2014 -[/B] 4.8 million units shipped
[B]CY2015 -[/B] (Estimate more than 26 million)
[I]*Numbers are estimated[/I]I don't expect Smart Watch shipments to exceed 100 million units before 2020. Therefore I believe this market will be very small in comparison to say the Tablet market. I estimate that the total global sell in for the wearable market (including Smart Watches and Health/Fitness bands) was around 20 million units in 2014 and will approach 60 million units in 2015.
Comparison time:
Number of smartphones sold in 2014: 1301m (ESTIMATE 1,535m for 2015)
Number of PC’s sold in 2014: 316m (ESTIMATE: 325m for 2015)
Number of tablets sold in 2014: 230m (ESTIMATE: 250m for 2015)
Number of Smart Watches sold in 2014: 4.8m (ESTIMATE: 26m+ for 2015)
For those of you who are into the Smartphone market you can view my thread here on Smartphone market in 2014.
Dreamwriter
Member
However, this would be something a third-party app could do, though I wouldn't expect it at launch since most app developers can't test voice input without an actual watch.9to5Mac said:
Byakuya769
Member
Who is the market for a 10k smart watch? I can buy a really nice watch that will actually maintain value and be worth handing down to future generations for those sorts of prices.
Yeah that's the issue with luxury Apple watches. Their value significantly depreciates as the hardware becomes more and more out of date.
jts
...hate me...
Same market who encrust their iPhones in diamonds and gold.
Bit of a shame Apple is going after it, but I guess it's money on the table.
Real gold iPhone to follow.
yet still worth selling to
Well if it's a status symbol, who is it a status symbol for? Why not 20, 50, 100k?
Their gold headphones started at 20k.
It's a market that seems to be growing and willing to overpay for things. Hard to find stats for 2014 but the luxury car and fashion markets have been growing. Apple will most likely be the only company to really make money on smart watches because of the ridiculous profit made on the steel and gold watches.
In revenue terms, it's far from a tiny market.
I really don't think Apple is targeting Russian oligarchs and Sheikhs with the gold Apple watch, but the growing middle-classes in Asia that value gold more than twenty-and-thirty-somethings do in the West.
I thought Ben Thompson, based in Taiwan, wrote a good piece on his blog, Stratechery, on how you should always factor in the Asian market when thinking of Apple's decisions now. I'm struggling to find it on the site, though, so maybe it was just him speaking on an episode of The Talk Show podcast?
edit: It was this podcast from around 2:14:00: http://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2014/09/28/ep-096
I thought Ben Thompson, based in Taiwan, wrote a good piece on his blog, Stratechery, on how you should always factor in the Asian market when thinking of Apple's decisions now. I'm struggling to find it on the site, though, so maybe it was just him speaking on an episode of The Talk Show podcast?
edit: It was this podcast from around 2:14:00: http://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2014/09/28/ep-096
Just listened to it, good episode. The watch being modular would definetly be very innovative and would justify those prices.
I can certainly agree that Asia will embrace the mid to high end smart watch devices due to the premium technology and design. The APAC market including China especially has seen huge growth with Apples devices with many of them buying it as a status symbol. iPhone shipments to China in the final quarter of 2014 increased by more than 50% over the previous quarter accounting for more than 16 million units.
Going back to the smartwatch, Gfk have estimated that sell through to end users of smartwatches in APAC will increase from 1.5m units in 2014 to 10.3m units in 2015 fuelled almost exclusively by the Apple Watch itself.
So yes, certainly APAC matters these days and especially for high end western brands APAC should be considered as almost the primary consumer now.
NYR
Member
1000 watches sold at $17000 each = $17 million in revenue
That thing will be marked up to fuck and back - Apple would make a killing selling just 1000.
Same market who encrust their iPhones in diamonds and gold.
Bit of a shame Apple is going after it, but I guess it's money on the table.
Real gold iPhone to follow.
It's not really about selling the edition itself. It's about the market and showing they understand what a watch is - that it's NOT just a technology piece, but a time piece and a fashion piece.
The options to personalise the device is absolutely the correct way to approach this idea. A gold option is merely the extension of this concept.
LyleLanley
Banned
Yes, probably.
infiniteloop
Member
If you spent $500+ on your smartphone, are simply expected to just upgrade when you're phone is made to be obsolete?
LyleLanley
Banned
Not a fan of the sport version?
But we've apparently established that the Apple Watch and iPhone are not in the same class of products. This watch is supposed to be fine jewelry in its more expensive models. Fine jewelry doesn't become "obsolete".
Byakuya769
Member
The Elite
BOSS
I hope they tackle this on Monday.
Not really, I do like the space grey with the black band but I'd really prefer the regular watch with leather band options. Definitely will be checking all the models out at the Apple store though.
Edit: can't wait for the conference, we'll finally have official confirmation of everything.
It works, but it has limited functionality. Supposedly fitness tracking and music playback still works (it has internal memory for music).
in most (if not all) smart watches currently on the market right now, only functions that require an internet connection would not work. so you can tell time, and all the tools the watch is equipped with (heart rate monitor), but no notifications that you would normally get from your phone. I can only assume it would be the same with this OS
Dreamwriter
Member
Most apps actually run on the phone, using the watch as a kind of external screen, so to use those apps requires a connection to the phone. I'm sure the time-telling bits will work without a phone nearby, but not much else. Apple did say you can store music on the watch, so you might be able to use it as a music player away from the phone.
Dreamwriter
Member
There's your answer...you don't replace it every year or two. A watch won't become obsolete nearly as quickly as a phone, because it's supposed to be something that supports phone apps more than being the main entertainment/productivity device. A faster CPU/GPU or more memory in the watch probably wouldn't make much difference in how the watch apps work (since it supposedly feels pretty peppy already), and people are already saying the screen is great. Better battery life would be nice, but wouldn't really be worth replacing the watch for unless it extended it to at least two whole days. Maybe more health options might be worth it, depending on how much you use that.
Silentium
Member
John Gruber just posted some interesting final analysis of the Apple Watch. I think he is spot on with almost all of it, but I guess we'll find out Monday (or Tuesday here in Australia).
I encourage peeps to have a read, even if he's off on pricing (and personally I don't think he is), Gruber always has excellent analysis and source access. Quoted his final pricing structure below (because I know that's what you all want to see
)
I encourage peeps to have a read, even if he's off on pricing (and personally I don't think he is), Gruber always has excellent analysis and source access. Quoted his final pricing structure below (because I know that's what you all want to see
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