The French website infoiGen.fr says it has obtained the “official” Apple Watch pricing schedule, but it doesn’t reveal anything we haven’t heard before: The Apple Watch Sport version will retail for $350; the Stainless Steel Apple Watch Standard will go for $500; and the 18K gold Apple Watch Edition will run you between $4,000-$5,000.
This website is supposed to be very reliable concerning Apple leaks, so we’re more inclined to believe these Apple Watch pricing rumors than say others posted by various tech blogs. However, their post does claim the Apple Watch will be released in February in time for Valentines Day, and we’re now pretty sure that is not the case.
More Leaks About Apple Watch Pricing
Obviously, there’s not likely anything “official” about these Apple Watch pricing numbers, but they are in line with previous speculation. If anything, we had heard that the stainless steel version was going to go for about $550 — so $500 looks pretty good in that context.
As for the high-end solid gold models, speculation has been anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000, so we figure that $5Gs represents a reasonable mid-point. There’s no doubt at this point that Apple wants to position the high-end wearable as a luxury item, seeing as they have it popping up in places like the high fashion runways of Paris.
Does it make any sense for Apple, the people’s tech company, to jump into the luxury marketplace? We’re not so sure. Fortune Magazine says that global luxury spending will rise by 5 percent this year, a trend that is supposed to continue until at least 2017. So in that sense, it doesn’t surprise that Apple would want to dip its toes into that.
On the other hand, we are talking about a company that produces electronic devices which become obsolete every six months. Sure, some people have no qualms replacing their iPhone every year, but what about a $5,000 watch? How are they ever going to convince consumers that the Apple Watch won’t also become obsolete in six months? In that case, these rumored Apple Watch pricing numbers are a bit alarming, to say the least.
Via: ingoiGen.fr