Apple Watch Edition In The Real World
Ariel Adams from ABlogToWatch writes another insightful piece on the Apple Watch, this time focusing on the Apple Watch Edition. The whole piece is worth reading, but I found a few paragraphs particularly interesting.
It is impossible to discuss anything Apple produces without at least mentioning some of the things others have said about them. From my vantage point, I’ve noticed that people have written far more skeptical things about the Apple Watch than pretty much any other modern Apple product. The tech journalism landscape is deeply opinionated and also deeply influential. Apple gets a lot more lip service than most technology brands, and that’s because of the company’s late great leader, Steve Jobs, as well as the company’s ability to capture the heart of mainstream consumers with technology products in ways that many other technology companies fail to do. Apple also happens to be an extremely rich company, and when a company is in such a position, it is often the target of criticism and speculation. It seems as though people are never more excited than to report on something negative about the company. This isn’t unique to Apple, and it is a common phenomenon when it comes to how certain portions of a population talk about leaders, leading companies, and leading products.
I couldn’t agree more with Ariel’s here. And to be honest, this is all to be expected when you’re “on top.” Today, people’s voices are louder than ever and for the first time in history, we can essentially hear those voices through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
People reporting negative on Apple has been around for a while, but this product seems to have taken it to new levels. Why? My bet is that fashion + technology is relatively new to them and many don’t realize that this is going to become the norm. Apple hinted at this years ago with the gold iPhone 5S and people went nuts right before it came out. Today a gold iPhone is normal, but just a few years ago some people thought it was stupid.
What about the Watch itself? How do people feel about it? Two interesting observations from Adams.
I will tell you who is quite surprised that Apple made a gold watch: mainstream consumers who simply don’t follow technology news enough to be aware of it. For a few years now, Apple has been producing iPhones and other products with gold-toned accents. My iPhone 6 Plus’s gold color isn’t, of course, real gold, so when I show people the Apple Watch Edition, they certainly don’t initially suspect that its case is actual gold.
This makes a lot of sense to me. Apple has spent decades building itself into a company that makes nice products that many can afford. The gold iPhone, iPad, or MacBook is no more expensive than the silver or space grey versions. To see a gold Apple Watch and know that it’s 20x or more the price of a stainless steel Apple Watch throws people off. Even I was thrown off at first, until I realize that for some people, $10,000 is essentially what a few hundred dollars to us. That’s who the Edition is for.
What about watchmakers? What do they think of the Edition?
Wearing the Apple Watch Edition, I traveled to a few watch making facilities in Switzerland – just to see what would happen. I half expected people to boo at me and throw decomposing produce. None of that happened. In fact, I got a lot of compliments and positive attention. What surprised me so much is that even watchmakers seemed to appreciate the Apple Watch even more when it was in gold. I heard statements such as “Very impressive; nice choice; they make a beautiful gold watch; the design is really top notch; great job on construction; Apple isn’t screwing around; I love it; this feels better than many traditional watches; because it is gold, we can accept it.” Yes, I did hear that latter comment, and it really amused me.
This is amazing to me. It proves that Apple really did take the time to make beautiful product if its competitors are essentially praising its design and use of materials. Do you really think these comments would have been made if Adams are an LG G Watch R or a Moto X? Probably not. It proves that the Apple Watch can co-exist in a world where analog watches are loved and used by many.
Ariel concludes that the Edition is simply a well-designed gold watch meant to serve people who simply like wearing gold. It serves its purpose in a way that most of us probably don’t understand since most of us probably don’t wear gold watches. In the end, the Edition was made for a certain type of demographic. If you aren’t part of that demographic, chances are you’re less likely to understand the appeal of it.
By the way, how badass does this Edition with the blacks steel band look?
