

Who Cares about the Apple Watch Edition? - archagon
http://beta-blog.archagon.net/2015/03/08/who-cares-about-the-apple-watch-edition/

======
bluthru
>But I was under the impression that we were Apple fans in the first place
because they made best-in-breed products for everyone, not just the elite.

Which is exactly why there is an expensive tier for the Apple Watch: to sell
watches to _everyone_.

Apple is taking this product category so seriously that they're going after
the high-end heirloom watches while not leaving the teenage iPhone user market
behind. Hate the game not the player. This doesn't look like existing tech
markets because as of now it's not a tech market. If you want your apps to be
prevalent on wrists, you should be _thanking_ Apple for legitimizing smart
watches to the gold-watch crowd. Crowd-funded wrist watches could never do
that.

I would rather everyone just had $350 watches and the rest of the capital went
to... vaccination research or something, but Apple Watch Edition is how a 55
year old lawyer in the midwest gives up his Rolex.

~~~
mullingitover
> Apple Watch Edition is how a 55 year old lawyer in the midwest gives up his
> Rolex.

I have a really hard time buying this argument, because a Rolex will
appreciate in value, and that 55 year old lawyer in the midwest isn't stupid,
s/he knows this. Nobody in their right mind expects a consumer electronic
device to appreciate in value.

~~~
sjtgraham
A Rolex one buys in a store today does not appreciate in value at all. They
have a similar depreciation curve to cars.

~~~
gonzo
I'd point out that some cars retain value, just like some watches retain
value, but I think that's lost on you.

~~~
dang
> but I think that's lost on you

No personal jabs, please. This comment makes a fine point without that.

------
yatoomy
I still think Pebble is demonstrating more Apple qualities than Apple is atm.

1\. Sleek design (Pebble Time Steel looks better) 2\. Innovating new
markets/ideas (the new bands are doing to open the flood gates for hardware
devs) 3\. Keeping it simple (Apple watch wants to put a smartphone on your
wrist, Pebble focuses on what watches do best)

~~~
joshuapants
I hate the way the Apple Watch looks, but it definitely looks far better than
the Pebble Steel. I'll give you the other two, however.

------
YuriNiyazov
I care because I own AAPL and would like for them to double in value again.

------
skywhopper
The brilliant thing about the Apple Watch is that no matter which casing/strap
you buy, _you 're getting the same gear_. So if you don't care what the watch
is made of or how it looks, you can just buy the Sport model. If you want the
best durability, you get the steel/sapphire standard model. If you want the
blingiest thing, you get the Edition. But no matter how much you spend, you
get the same functionality. This isn't a matter of Apple selling an elites-
only product. This is Apple bringing a mainstream product to the elite market.

------
joesb
> "We loved our iPods and iPhones for their sleek design and smooth UI, even
> when people dismissed them as “expensive toys”. We knew our $2000 laptops
> were incredible for the price, even while people mocked us for not buying
> cheap, creaky Windows machines." > "An Apple that sells “bling” to
> billionaires is not a company that many of us could muster passion about. "

I think the author already has the answer to his question.

------
white-flame
In my opinion, Apple has been a fashion company ever since the iPod. Remember
the white earbud commercials?

They've positioned themselves as a luxury brand, where it is considered
fashionable among the general population to visibly own their devices.

Sure, Mac-owning techies have additional reasons, but I don't think they drive
the brunt of Apple sales.

~~~
minthd
True, but at that time it was a combination of fashion and design(especially
true for the iPhone's early years). But today the design arena is much
tougher, with Google becoming very capable in design, and a lot of good ux/ui
designers around(due to the difficulty of designing good apps and the
importance of that).

So now Apple is differentiating with what they can, which is fashion, and
their unique positioning in the market.

------
madeofpalk
While yes, the Apple Watch does kind of throw out the notion that the worlds
most elite and powerful are using the same (i)Phone as teenagers in school -
the author of this article seemingly forgot that there are two other Apple
Watches which will presumable be much cheaper - starting at $350.

------
supercoder
The Apple Watch starts from $349. You'll be able to buy one if you want one.

------
Animats
This is the company which made having white wires hanging out of ears a
fashion statement.

------
jeffehobbs
Right on, great piece.

------
Shivetya
Shark, meet Apple. Apple, jump shark.

------
serve_yay
I don't even think it really makes sense to talk about Gruber as a "techie"
blogger. He is interested in the way Apple designs and markets things, and the
movements of those markets generally. He almost never covers actual technical
topics.

If you don't have any interest in the manner in which technological goods are
sold to the public, that's certainly your prerogative. But some people do.

