The Competition Posts An Apple Watch Unboxing

We’re nearing the three week mark of Apple Watch in the wild, and the reviews are just now starting to really come pouring out of the tech sites. Curiously, Android destination Droid Life has purchased one of the competition’s wearables, and they’ve posted an unboxing. It all seems to be on the up and up, but the blog made a questionable call when selecting their point of comparison:

In case you were wondering, we picked up the 42mm Apple Watch version, which is the stainless steel model that runs $599. We didn’t go with the low-end Sport version or the Edition edition. This way, should the Apple fankids come running to tell us how uninformed or biased we are, they at least can’t say, “You went with the cheap one!”

That sounds judicious enough, but I think it’s actually pretty sly. There are no Android Wear watches anywhere near the $600 price range, and I find it hard to believe that a site like Droid Life cares about “Apple fankids” more than it does their own audience. In reality, this move seems designed to underscore the “greater value” of Android Wear devices, particularly those heftier models composed of stainless steel. “Yeah, this Apple Watch feels like its build quality and steel is slightly better, but it’s also $300 more expensive than the LG G Watch X. Advantage Android!” and so on.

Apple Watch Sport is already as pricy as the newest mainstream Android Wear featurewatches, and I think that version — which performs all the same functions and offers all the same services and specs as its more expensive siblings — represents Android Wear’s only real “competition” from Apple (as the other two tiers are well out of Android’s historical bracket, this thing notwithstanding). It doesn’t do either house any justice at all to present anything less than the most dollar-for-dollar matchup possible.

Of course, had the outlet gone with Apple Watch Sport, maybe they’d complain about how toy-like the cheap Apple Watch feels or how it ought to have a more substantial presence on the wrist like similarly-priced Android devices do. Maybe they’d say, “Wow, this thing is made out of aluminum and plastic, and Apple charges $400 for it? Talk about iSheep!” And all that would be exactly as dishonest, too.

Maybe there’s just no good way to compare Apple to Android at all, regardless of device category.

But I’m still looking forward to Droid Life’s complete Apple Watch review, and I really hope they pit the thing against Tag Heuer’s Android fiasco. That should be fun.