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How Apple Makes the Watch
- snowwrestler 12y agoAn interesting claim in this article is that Apple is not using its gold metal matrix patent for the gold Watch Edition, but are instead work-hardening a more standard/traditional 18k alloy.
- bidatzi 12y agoNot just a claim from the article. The description in the gold video itself is quite explicit.
- marze 12y agoSo does Apple make these videos more to attract customers or more to demoralize the competition? Hard to say.
- IBM 12y agoI think it's mainly to show consumers just how much thought they put into making their products and how well made they are.
- Steko 12y agoThey make the videos because Ive prefers to not go onstage and they need some visual porn becuase just a video of his talking head would get boring quick
- urda 12y agoIt's more about a demonstration of Apple's craftsmanship.
- mc32 12y ago"...or even occasionally hear that one of our supplier's process experts has been "disappeared" to move to Cupertino or Shenzhen." I really despise the coöpting of the word disappeared in this kind of context. It really cheapens the lives of and trivializes the deaths of people who get whisked out if their homes in the middle of the night, get murdered and abandoned in shallow graves, usually by corrupt and imploding governments. Shame on all reporters and bloggers who insist on doing that. See [1] These people, quite the opposite, are being handsomely rewarded and actually get to live. Apple are not Stalin or Argentine dictators. [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_disappearance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_disappearance
- sparkzilla 12y agoDo you need to buy a whole new case when the next version comes out, or will you be able to drop in a new module?
- bobf 12y agoI hope you'll be able to upgrade the module and retain the same case+band, but I haven't seen anything definitive from Apple to say that's likely.
- guelo 12y agoThe article explains that, at least for the aluminum watch, the "movement" (aka the electronics) are probably glued in.
- azernik 12y agoSure, but I think this is more of a concern for the non-aluminum models, where the case is substantially more expensive.
- DerekL 12y agoSince Apple hasn't said anything about upgrades, I think that means that there won't be any. Apple will replace broken or faulty electronics, but they won't upgrade you to the newest model. That really indicates that Apple Watch will evolve slowly. Maybe it will be three to five years before there's a new model. It doesn't really need upgrades, because it's mostly a fancy terminal for your iPhone, plus a fitness band and iPod shuffle. And I think that Apple will support it for a much longer time than iPhones and iPads. Ten years from now, today's Apple Watch will work with the latest iPhones and iOS. But they will introduce new cases and bands every year.
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y agoHmm, I doubt it would be ultra-slow. They'll probably bring out new ones somewhat regularly (maybe every second year).
- baddox 12y agoI don't know if it's accurate, because I know little about milling, but I found this to be the most interesting bit: > Apple chooses not to show us the manufacturing of the clasp components, processes that I think would be (in some respects) more interesting than how the watch case is made. Given the complex surfaces of the Modern buckle, this might be the first example of Apple using 3D surface tollbooth in order to machine a component (all Apple products have been created through the very skillful use of relatively simple, precise prismatic 2.5D tool path, with any complex curves being created from stampings).
- Animats 12y ago"surface tollbooth"? 4 and 5 axis CNC mills for watch-sized objects aren't overly expensive. Roland has some nice ones in the $8K range.[1] Their little desktop milling machines are often used to produce medical and dental replacement parts. Apple's use of laser deburring is a nice touch. That's likely to become popular. [1] http://www.rolanddga.com/products/3d/mdx40/ http://www.rolanddga.com/products/3d/mdx40/
- gak_pdx 12y agoThanks for the "tollbooth" catch! I've taken to typing "toolpath" as all one word, and autocorrect got me... (Author of the linked article). Also, ain't no way an $8k desktop mill will ever have the rigidity or accuracy to be building stuff that would even pass as a junky watch.
- zaroth 12y agoLink to the video?
- esusatyo 12y agoHere you go: http://www.apple.com/watch/films/ http://www.apple.com/watch/films/
- esusatyo 12y agoHere are the videos discussed in the article: http://www.apple.com/watch/films/ http://www.apple.com/watch/films/ The interesting thing is, Apple did not show the Gold video in the event at all. They showed all the other videos.
- zxcvgm 12y agomaybe they wanted to avoid people talking about how they managed to use less gold in the watches. http://leancrew.com/all-this/2015/03/apple-gold/ http://leancrew.com/all-this/2015/03/apple-gold/
- morcheeba 12y agoDo you mean like Hublot? http://www.hublot.com/en/craftsmanship/materials http://www.hublot.com/en/craftsmanship/materials stop trolling; they aren't trying to rip you off.
- jedrek 12y agoSpot on. A Rolex submariner weighs about 135g. Let's pretend that all but 35g of it is gold (it's less, but w/e). So we're at 100g of 18k gold. Now, 18k gold is 75% by mass, equal to 75g of 24k gold or $2900. The cheapest, non-gold submariner costs $7500. Buying gold watches to get the gold - or even considering the value of their alloys when buying them - is as dumb as doing the same with computers.
- bidatzi 12y agoIf you watch the gold video (or read the article), you'll see they're not using anything remotely similar to the process in that MMC patent. It's essentially a conventional alloy, mechanically hardened.
- Cookingboy 12y agoI don't know what you were talking about, I watched the event live and the gold video was definitely shown.
- frik 12y agoNothing that special from a technical point of view - but... Some years ago one would use a 5-axis CNC mill to produce car engine blocks, but not for mass production for consumer products - everyone would have used plastic for that. The iPhone was the first phone out of aluminium. Also the using a full block of aluminium to mill a Apple notebook body out of it in mass production, was never though before. (Sure higher quality traditional watches were always made of high quality metals)
- codecondo 12y agoI'm having a hard time taking this company seriously anymore, anyone else feel the same way?
- nfoz 12y agoWhat does that even mean?
- foobarge 12y agoHas a bit of "you're not worthy" feel that surfaced as satirical couple pages built in the mid 2000 (I don't think they are still around.) It was listing pumped-up exceptional characteristics of Apple products and mentioning that as not being worthy they probably wouldn't even take your order ;-)
- crististm 12y agoA little bit of building "exclusivity" on top of a very much off-the-shelf product.
- khet 12y agoI enjoyed reading the article a lot more than watching the Apple craftsmanship videos it was based on. The article was very easy to understand for someone with little knowledge about manufacturing processes and did a great job of explaining how much effort and engineering goes into making a great product. The Apple videos on craftsmanship were overly clinical and fancy, which for me took away from talking about the engineering and effort they put into the product.
- tajen 12y agoAren't you amazed that the richest billionaire who buys this watch from their palace or skyscraper has only access to the same promotional videos we have? Do they have a personalized purchasing experience? I thought the same when watching golden phone cases for iPhones: However rich you are, what's inside is still the same iOS, with the same usability perks and defects, with the same Flat UI, with the same Appstore apps as everyone. How mundane. I reckon it's excellent that Apple finally addresses the billionaire market with a gold experience. By taking the money where it is, it provides a revenue stream that can fund features that average people will use.
- codecondo 12y agoFanboy downvotes, can't face the truth.
- 72deluxe 12y agoI am always impressed that the same technology is accessible to everyone, well everyone who can afford it. Going out and buying an iPhone is an expensive experience, and likely out of reach for the very poor (I don't have one, I think it's too expensive for what it is), yet given how many I see wandering around here in the UK I am always impressed that the insanely wealthy and the not-so-wealthy get to use the same device. It's kind of reassuring that we all get access to the same software and hardware, even if we use basic Android smartphones instead. It's a bit like the wide access to low-cost flights to Europe; that would have been unthinkable in the 1980s. I always find it oddly refreshing to see! We haven't made the same progress in politeness and kindness to our fellow man, but at least technology is relatively cheap and easily available.
- pjc50 12y agoProducts are now cheap. Informational products are basically free^. What remains expensive? Property. You have people with iPhones living in cupboards. Food and energy are kind of on the boundary. I regard the increasing fripperyness of high-end dining as a sign that food is still affordable. Services that require an actual educated human in the West are still expensive, e.g. law, medicine. ^with advertising, piracy, privacy loss etc.
- crististm 12y agoYep, the watch is just a watch. They know it, I know it, you know it. Now, how do we make it look more like a "personal, exclusive, luxurious" experience? I wonder... The craftsmanship of a real watch is not something to be missed. But since Apple's watch is just electronics, they can't appeal to customers with a soul-less PCB. Instead, they make a Discovery how it's made movie about building a watch case.
- sschueller 12y agoThese apple craftsmanship videos are trying to appeal to the high end watch enthusiast but this is not going to work. Just look at the Patek Philippe 5175R grandmaster chime watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPjFFMD3c0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPjFFMD3c0 . You can't compare these hand made masterpieces with a mass produced item. It's like trying to get Pagani Zonda owner to buy a Corvette.
- mbel 12y ago> These apple craftsmanship videos are trying to appeal to the high end watch enthusiast but this is not going to work. I think they were rather created to appeal to people, who would like to be considered high end watch enthusiast, but not necessarily are able to afford the kind of high end watch that you mention.
- Mikeb85 12y agoPatek Phillippe's minute repeater watches are an extreme example, but you can find very nice, well made mechanical watches from every price point starting at around $1000, up to a million or more dollars.... Here's a video of a Nomos Glashuette watch being made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwpP_s8LV_Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwpP_s8LV_Y And their website: http://www.nomos-glashuette.com/ http://www.nomos-glashuette.com/ They've got an aesthetic that isn't unlike Apple's (minimalistic), and they're among the more affordable mechanical watch brands (while still creating high quality, in-house movements).
- dagw 12y agoIf you want to be considered a high end watch enthusiast then there are plenty of cool and interesting watched for less than $10k. Something like a "low end" Jaeger-LeCoultre, Zenith or IWC is far more likely to catch a watch enthusiasts eye. Or dig around the vintage market and try to find something there.
- Spearchucker 12y agoThe Corvette/Zonda compare demonstrates the point well. It doesn't account for Apple's target market though. The person that wears an expensive watch on the wrist, rather than the arm. The person that drives a Bentley convertible, or paints their Lamborghini matt black. These people don't buy a gold Apple Watch because they think it's beautiful. They buy an Apple Watch because they think other people think it's beautiful. They have an inherent need to parade their wealth to others. They're easy to spot, too. Expensive clothes, no sense of style. Usually loud, if not vulgar. Lack of empathy, coupled with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. They won't buy a Murakami because it appeals to them aesthetically, they'll buy one because their rich friend bought one "for the kid's room". And enough disposable cash to buy an Apple Watch for no other reason than that they can. In Europe they're often called nouveau riche, or even Euro-trash.
- mrcwinn 12y agoThe Apple videos are shot beautifully. They are quite a piece of work form a film-making perspective, and offer a glimpse at how much work goes into constituent pieces. I really enjoyed this article. Thank you to the author for putting together so much detail. Great work!
- dntrkv 12y agoThe steel watch video is the best promotional/informational video I've seen. The music, cinematography, and story telling is perfect. http://www.apple.com/watch/apple-watch/ http://www.apple.com/watch/apple-watch/
- coldcode 12y agoApple does all of this because Steve Job's father taught him the importance of craftsmanship even in the parts of cabinets no one ever sees. This stuck with him forever. When you have kids, what you teach them might someday affect a lot more than just your kid.
- oompt 12y agoInteresting. http://cl.ly/image/360H1Q47090F http://cl.ly/image/360H1Q47090F
- blackobelisk 12y ago?
- eitally 12y agoWhat really interests and fascinates, and impresses, me is that because of Apple's ludicrous scale and huge profit margins, they can actually afford to manufacture their products in the best way possible. They don't have to cut corners, they don't have to worry that their EMS partner doesn't have the absolute best and newest machines, they don't have to worry about contention in their supply chain (except perhaps at the macro level with things like Samsung chips and Corning Gorilla Glass). I work in high tech manufacturing and these kinds of things happen to normal companies all the time. An essential part of every BOM is the "alternates and substitutions" section, which lists the 2nd, 3rd, etc options for components if the first choice isn't available. Another is the potential inability of an EMS partner to build any given product at any given location because they literally do not have plug & play equipment at all of their facilities. And if a customer forces the issue, it could takes months to 1) spend the capex, and 2) wait for the machine suppliers (Fuji, Siemens, Yestech, Saki, Orbotech, Agilent, etc) to deliver it. To give you an idea of why Apple chose Foxconn as their premier partner, Foxconn owns their whole supply chain outright, and they operate at a scale similar to Apple, which allows them to drop a billion here or there on capital investments at Apple's request. Others have tried (Pegatron, Jabil), and failed.
- simi_ 12y agoWrt the first paragraph: it's almost as if Steve Jobs knew what he was setting up to do. :) I find it a very rare occurrence of respect towards your craft and your customers paying off in the long run.
- archagon 12y agoAs a counterexample, see the poor display quality of the iPad Mini compared to Amazon's offering. Apple bloggers were speculating that Apple simply couldn't manufacture enough of the good displays at their scale, whereas Amazon had no such problem.
- glasshead969 12y agoI think it has more to do with iPad Mini being differentiated from iPad Air as a entry level iOS device.
- gilbetron 12y agoAll that work to create one of the most boring looking watches I've ever seen. The craftsmanship is inspired, the design ... blah.
- unijoes 12y agoEven those interested are going to suffer with making a choice between all the various watches and straps. It's just rather absurd that on the premium "watch edition" apple watch, apple is charging around $7k just for the watch edition with the best strap. What I find a bit funny is the $350 apple watch is the most feature rich watch. It may be aluminum but it is water resistant which makes it more useful than the more expensive alternatives.