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With a $10K watch, Apple is preparing for a future of inequality
- aetherson 12y agoApple has arguably been living (and thriving) in a present of inequality for its entire modern existence. It is, after all, a company of 30% unit margins and a persistent unwillingness to price-compete. It's never been "products for everyone," it's always been "products for the top quintile or so (of Americans)." But the idea that the $10k aWatch is some kind of new strategy of abandoning the middle and selling only at the extreme upper end doesn't take the realities of the consumer electronics world into account. Apple Watch is going to live and die based on the success of the $350 and $400 models, because only those models can generate enough population for app developers to actually care about the aWatch, and only apps can turn the aWatch from "a really bad traditional watch" to, potentially, "a good smart watch." If every Edition edition of the aWatch sells immediately, but the $350 edition doesn't sell to expectations, the aWatch will be a failure. If not a single Edition edition sells, but the $350 edition is a hit, then Apple will have another hit product on its hands. The high-end versions of the watch are, clearly, a reliable way to get people talking about the watch, and perhaps a low-volume, high-margin product that will serve as price-discrimination, but the bread and butter of the aWatch is going to be the Sport edition.
- melling 12y agoDoes the $10,000 watch do something that the $350 watch doesn't do?
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoIt probably offers increased positive signalling during mating and social rituals, but nothing technical. I attended Basel World (the luxury watch exhibition) once, where the lowest price watch was like 40k CHF (~40K USD). They didn't really do much more than a normal watch, but attracted plenty of attention anyways.