Apple Watch Not Likely To Offer Component Upgrades
iFixit has already torn down the Apple Watch, only to discover that the S1 chip that powers the watch has soldered connectors, which means it’s extremely doubtful you’ll be able to upgrade the first-generation Apple Watch at any point.
It’s about time this silly little line of illogical reasoning was body-slammed out on its cauliflower ear. Frankly, I can’t believe so many people actually held out genuine hope for a user-upgradeable Apple Watch in the first place. It goes against everything Apple — and its coffers — stands for.
Besides, I’m unconvinced that such an untraditional upgrade path (the untradition of which being the first clue of the unlikelihood of all this) would actually prove ideal for consumers anyways.
For one thing, it would gimp the used market by preventing folks from funding the purchases of new kit in the timely fashion they’re used to. Secondly, it would raise the cost of entry for users who traditionally wait and buy previous-generation technology on said used market (or for a deep discount in stores as old stock is phased out). Apple makes a lot of money off of these sorts of shoppers, remember.
But more pragmatically, upgradeable components would limit Apple’s ability to improve upon Apple Watch in any meaningful way from generation to generation. Nobody expects the thing to stay the same exact size through the years, and that means that — at the very least — internal components will need to shrink down as more new sensors are added to an ever-more-slender overall package. If Apple had to design future fitment to be compatible with its 2015 Apple Watch offering, there’d be no room for progress. Literally.
Also consider the theory that “new” sells better than “better.” Mobile technology is to the point now that the majority of users aren’t upgrading their devices every one to three years because of computing advanvements or necessary increases in pure processing power. Most folks just want the new thing — provided it looks new enough — as soon as they can reasonably justify the expense. They get bored with using the same stuff day after day, and a change for change’s sake moves more hardware than anything else, by far.
But everybody already knew that.
Instead, the first mistake so many analysts and fans made in taking the wrong side of this particular “upgrade” debate was that they bought into Apple’s whole “modular” marketing presentation re: the insides of Apple Watch, believing that the choice bit of advertising was a nod to easy parts swapping instead of what it actually was: a simple (if slightly haughty) tip of the Cupertino cap to the clever manufactory processes it put together for the brand new platform. At the end of the day, Apple touting component modularity was about as meaningful as the company’s Apple Watch “Metallurgy” videos.
The second mistake everyone made here was in their attempt to understand Apple Watch in the context of the luxury watch market. The “outlandish” prices of the Edition editions (and they are outlandish, as I personally consider them to be too low) were perhaps most responsible for fostering this idea of piecemeal replacement and inbuilt longevity. But even taken in that context, the idea’s wrong. People outside of the target market for Edition were trying to justify its existence based on their own personal finances and attributions of value and worth. That’s pointless, and it always will be. For those who can actually afford the expensive gold tier, it’s old news that the segment goes through high-dollar items at the same disposable pace as the rest of us go through our low- and mid-range affairs.
I’d like to believe that, in retrospect, everyone understands that there was never any valid reason to believe Apple would intentionally and artificially put a ceiling on its revenue stream in favor of some feel-good gesture of putting customers first. Profits are first. Always. That’s how Apple got to be where it is, and that’s how the brand’s going to climb even higher.
Look, your Apple Watch will probably be dated in two years and obsolete in four. Enjoy your time together.
Then sell it to some chump and buy a new one.