Apple’s (AAPL, Financial) Chief Executive Tim Cook’s first ever endeavor to find footing in the smart-watch market is under the cloud of questions whether or not it will be fruitful. However, apart from just considering these as smart watches, Apple would like it to figure in the fashion milieu; therefore some of the chic boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo have been taken on board to sell the smart watches limited edition costing up to $17,000. Apple Inc. unveiled its long-awaited watch on Monday that includes rose gold models with sapphire faces.
Apple is having to share the market space with rather unsuccessful smart-watches by varied other companies that have failed to gain momentum because they could not compel the users of their possible usefulness whatsoever. So, the market seems to be a fertile field for Apple inundated with Apple brand loyalists who would grab anything that Apple comes up with. However, there are still certain speculations about whether the product will be able to match the expectations to be classified as a power product.
Price range
The company has launched a wide array of designs sporting different price tags for the Apple watches. The range starts from $349 and goes up to $17,000 that will engage gold-cased versions of the limited edition model, Apple Watch Edition. The variety determines the personal nature of each of the devices.
To emphasize more into the pricing, Apple said that the watches with a sticker price of $349 to $399 will have aluminium casing and those will be the Sport watches. The stainless steel Apple Watches would range from $549 to $599. The costliest and cutting-edge Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000 which makes it the most expensive product that Apple has ever sold.
Apple sales equation
Since this the first all-new product line from Apple after iPad which was introduced in 2010, there is a lot of pressure on Apple smart-watches to hit the sweet spot with the consumers. However, analysts feel that since the smart-watches enjoy the halo of Apple, considering the huge Apple fanfare across the globe, the new Apple in town will be able to rake in profit footing for the tech honcho.
Analysts also are hopeful that Apple will sell millions to fans, but it will need to power the smart-watches with equally versatile apps in order to appeal to a wider audience group. The stocks, however, didn’t show any budge, but shares of Apple rose 0.4% Monday to $127.09. The stock has risen 68% over the last 12 months. Apple previously divulged some of the tentative features in the watches that included many features that were showcased last Monday.
There are also speculations making the rounds that Apple will ship 1 million units of Apple Watch world-wide in 2015 to grab about 55% of the smart-watch market by the year end.
Fashionista Quotient
Much before Apple, there are companies who ventured into the smart-watch market and miserably failed. Among these the prominent ones are Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF, Financial) and LG Electronics Inc. (LG, Financial) to lesser-known startups like Pebble Time and Fitbit Inc. They deserve a mention, which throws light on the fact that the smartwatch market is still in its nascent stage if not new. So Apple’s bid is to launch the smartwatch as a fashion accessory than just merely as a gadget to conquer the fashionista hearts. Apple also plans to launch an advertising campaign with a 12-page insert in the March issue of the fashion magazine, Vogue. Apple is also thriving on apprehension whether it will successfully join jewelry and consumer accessory which will attract different types of expectations from the audiences regarding the quality, obsolescence and the buying experience.
Last words
Even though the smartwatch ride has not been a smooth experience for many players in the past, it seems the Apple watch will receive a warm welcome from a varied group of consumers. Considering the three different ranges of the new smartwatch it actually targets almost all strata of the society and has a piece to offer for everyone. The budget sporty version would find more acceptance with the youth with low spending power while the limited edition would satiate the fashion requirements of the segment who would not really bother to take a look at the price tag. This makes the new Apple wonder stand apart from the rest in the market and hence should serve as the USP to attract more eyes and profits for the company.
