Now that Tim Cook has outlined the full range of what the Apple Watch can do and how much it will cost, his next challenge will be proving high-tech can be high fashion.
In addition to laying out its uses, Apple has been careful to market the device as stylish. The company paid for a 12-page advertising spread in this month’s Vogue magazine. On Monday, Cook unveiled a version laden with gold that retails for $10,000 or more.
With sleek design and easy-to-use interfaces, Apple has turned products such as smartphones into must-have accessories. Now, the company’s task is to persuade style-conscious consumers that its watch is both useful and chic. “The question is, can they really sell this thing as a fashion item?” said Jan Kniffen, CEO of J Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, a retail consulting and equity-research firm in New York.
The watch comes in two sizes, with the Sport model priced at $349 and $399 and the midrange version starting at $549. The high-end Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000. Its battery will run for 18 hours with typical use.
Links to iPhone The timepiece links to a wearer’s iPhone, and can display messages, alerts and appointments, among other things.
An array of apps can track fitness, arrange a car with Uber, and even open a garage door remotely.
The rectangular watch face display can be changed by the user to feature a range of styles, from Mickey Mouse pointing his hands at the time to a simple digital clock.
Cook said thousands of app developers have been at work building products for Apple Watch.
Apple is counting on such apps to help define those must-have services for customers who have so far shrugged off smartwatches made by Samsung Electronics, Motorola, LG Electronics. and Sony.
Fashionistas not convinced Some luxury-watch buyers are not interested. Kevin Rolle, an investment banker, said: “The Apple Watch does not stand out as a must-buy. I prefer high-end watches — it’s not really high end.” He added: “I think Apple is more of an electronics company.” Up-and-coming Dutch model Julia Van Os dismissed the new device in an interview with Reuters. “I haven’t heard anyone talking about it,” she said. “It’s a different world; it’s more technology. People don’t wear that kind of watch in fashion.”
A salesman at the famed department store Printemps agreed, saying his store won’t carry the watch, not even the high-end Apple 18-karat gold edition, priced at $10,000.
“You have to understand. We are luxury brands, and [the Apple Watch is] more technology,” he said. Printemps carries brands such as Rolex, Montblanc and Longines.
New York-based Luxury consultant Robert Burke said the Apple Watch simply “hasn't resonated strongly” in the fashion world. “The tech world and the watch world are very different,” he added.