What is The 10$k apple's question For Share ??
Apple's $10,000 question: How to stop Apple Watch from becoming obsolete
Apple enters the high-end watch market with the 18-karat gold Apple
Watch Edition. But CEO Tim Cook stays mum about how to keep the
smartwatch relevant a year or two down the line.
Apple expects some iPhone owners to shell out more than $10,000 for a
smartwatch.
And it hopes they don't care if it becomes outdated in a
year.
The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant on Monday revealed pricing for the three models of Apple Watch, which will be available April 24 in nine countries. The device starts at $349 for the basic Apple Watch Sport version and goes up to $17,000 for the premium Apple Watch Edition.
That
huge price gap comes from the use of the materials in the watches --
18-karat gold for the high-end Edition versus aluminum for the Sport --
but not for any of the actual features. iPhone owners won't be able to
do any more with the expensive gold number than with the entry-level
model -- beyond showing off their ability to afford a wearable device
that costs more than some cars.
By pricing its smartwatch that high,
Apple, one of the world's largest makers of smartphones and tablets,
is setting itself up as a luxury watch seller. But the transition could
be tricky. The computing world is moving faster than ever before, as
technology executives like to tell us, and what's new one day may easily
be outdated a few months later. Spending $10,000 to $17,000 on a golden
gadget that could become obsolete in a year is a risky proposition,
especially since we don't yet know if Apple will have a trade-in
program, how it will support older devices in the future and whether any
of the components in the device are replaceable.
"Although the watch's
features are exceptional, almost all activities can be done with an
iPhone, rendering the watch a completely discretionary gadget, highly
dependable on disposable income, price and recent expenditures," noted
Sarah Kahn, an IBISWorld technology analyst.
Apple declined to comment for this report beyond the comments made Monday by CEO Tim Cook.
"Apple
Watch is the most advanced timepiece ever created,"
he said during a
press event in San Francisco. "It's a revolutionary new way to connect
with others and a comprehensive health and fitness companion."
History
has shown that buying the first generation of a new Apple product often
isn't the smartest move. Apple tends to update its products in short
order -- usually within a year and sometimes even earlier. And it
incorporates new features in each update that make the prior model less
attractive. Consider the bigger screens and Apple Pay
mobile payments in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, introduced in September
2014, the TouchID fingerprint sensor for the iPhone 5S the year earlier,
and the Siri digital voice assistant for 2011's iPhone 4S.
And then there's Apple's fluidity with pricing.
When Apple
started selling the first iPhone in June 2007, it offered an 8GB version
for $599 and a 4GB model for $499. But in September of that year, it
discontinued the 4GB model and slashed the price of the 8GB model by
$200. After early iPhone buyers complained, they got a $100 gift card to
use at Apple retail or online stores.
But they still paid a cost for being an early iPhone adopter.
It was the second-generation iPhone,
the 3G, that really attracted consumers in high numbers. Apple sold more units of the iPhone 3G in the first quarter
it was on the market (6.9 million) than it sold of the first-generation
device in its first five quarters combined (6.1 million), Apple
reported in April 2009. That's partly because it had more wireless
carriers on board, partly because the second generation was just a
better device and partly because the app store, then one year old,
offered iPhone customers thousands of apps that extended the
functionality of the phone.
When you're spending more than $10,000
for a watch,
you expect it to last. Typically, high-end watches that
retail at the levels of Apple Watch Edition are worn for years. Some
become heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. Old iPhones
may be treasured, but more often than not, they become a hunk of metal
and glass you "store" in a drawer when you buy the new model.
Junking
a $200 phone or a $300 to $500 smartwatch is one thing. A $10,000 piece
of gold is an entirely different matter (though the cash-for-gold
stores may be pleased).
Apple will likely will redesign the Apple
Watch many times over the years, making it thinner and lighter. But it
may not be able to update the sensors, processors, batteries or other
hardware components in the device -- all things that likely will improve
with the future generations.
source:
http://www.cnet.com/news/apples-10000-question-how-to-stop-apple-watch-from-becoming-obsolete/
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