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Apple downplaying the Apple Watch Edition in both online and retail stores

At a time when Apple has just launched its cheapest ever iPhone, and when Phil Schiller caused a few raised eyebrows over what some interpreted as an elitist remark, Apple seems to be aiming for a more egalitarian image where the Apple Watch is concerned.

Apple has quietly revamped the Apple Watch section of its website, rendering the Edition almost invisible unless you specifically go looking for it. In addition, we’re hearing reports that Apple’s most expensive Watch is also being removed from some retail store displays …

Go to the main Watch page of Apple’s website, and you can scroll right to the bottom, with not an Edition to be seen. Click on the Interactive Gallery and it’s again completely missing. Finally, click on Personalization and Apple seemingly denies the existence of the Edition, stating that there are just two materials to choose from, not three.

Models: There’s an Apple Watch for everyone.

Start with a case made from strong yet lightweight anodized aluminum. Or go with elegantly durable stainless steel. Both come in two different sizes and a variety of finishes. And since every model is paired with its own beautifully engineered band, you have many unique combinations to choose from.

Indeed, the only point at all at which I could see references to the Edition was on the Buy page – and even there, it is tucked away below straps. All you see at the top of the page are the aluminum and steel models.

It’s also notable that while the Sport and stainless steel ranges saw significant changes, the Edition didn’t see any update love from Apple.

Of course, it could simply be that the Edition is selling in even more limited numbers that Apple had expected, and the company has merely decided to stop pushing something that isn’t moving, but the timing certainly seems interesting.

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Comments

  1. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    The best businessman can afford his mistakes.

  2. Grayson Mixon - 8 years ago

    I can see them dropping the Edition entirely. Especially with all the comments on how complicated their product lineup is now, I think some simplification is in order. I can see them going with only aluminum.

    • galley99 - 8 years ago

      Many folks, like myself, prefer stainless steel.

    • Smigit - 8 years ago

      I don’t really get those complaints. It’s a broad lineup…but it’s hardly complicated. The Edition gets ruled out instantly for 99.9% of people anyway. From there there’s really four choices…38mm or 42mm in either aluminium or steel.

      Everything else is just a choice of colour. It might be hard to decide on a colour, but thats not because the lineup is complex…it’s just because some people are indecisive.The same people probably go back and forth a dozen times when picking their iPhone or many other devices that offer more than one colour option.

  3. chrisl84 - 8 years ago

    Once the 50 celebs who received theirs free from Apple no one else was left in the market for an over priced device with a 2 year shelf life.

  4. PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

    So, in short, the Edition has been edited out.

    I don’t think the Edition is a very expensive watch, when compared to other, regular, watches for this particular audience. But it will become an expensive one if people upgrade it every few years. And that is something this targeted audience doesn’t do; do buy more watches so it matches their clothing or taste for that day.

  5. This is somewhat of confusing post, when you go to the site and click on buy there are two panels, the top one shows the screen shot above and then literally right below it has another panel showing the hermes and  Watch Edition pricing and configs, so it’s not as buries as this post leads on.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      “Indeed, the only point at all at which I could see references to the Edition was on the Buy page – and even there, it is tucked away below straps. All you see at the top of the page are the aluminum and steel models.”

      • alethomas - 8 years ago

        But why would Apple directly advertise it? It’s not a product that is marketed toward the majority. I don’t see it as Apple downplaying it, it’s still visible… it’s not tucked away at all.

      • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

        Its still is not as hidden as the iPods, I don’t see how they see any buried at the bottom of the Music section.

        I don’t see the Edition being tucked away on the buy page.Most people will scroll down since the straps are in the middle of the screen. What is more interesting is how Hermes is presented as a 4th line of Watches.

  6. Andrew Messenger - 8 years ago

    Smart move for Apple. Maybe they’ve realized the elitist perception isn’t in their best business interest.

  7. AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

    They don’t run TV commercials for Maseratis. The Edition will likely stick around, just not be heard about. It was wrong for Apple to play it up as much as they did, but if someone out there still wants to give them $20,000 for $4,000 worth of gold (or silver, or platinum, or whatever) then they would be stupid not to take it. Perhaps those devices can be built to order, and they can actually make an official gold iPhone too.

  8. Lawrence Krupp - 8 years ago

    I don’t think an Edition customer would be buying online. What I do see from the carping about Phil Schiller’s remark is a bias against wealth, the wealthy, and premium products in general. It’s easy to criticize something you don’y really have the ability to acquire. It’s easier still to criticize those who have achieved wealth and status by claiming they got there by nefarious means or by oppressing their fellow man. Hence all the political rhetoric about soaking the rich and making them pay their fair share, etc. Who gets to decide what a fair share is anyway? If 15% is fair for me why isn’t 15% fair for everybody? Who decides how much wealth is enough, who decides that I don’t need anymore wealth and it’s okay to take it from me?

    Just look those implications by comments in this thread. The word “elitist” is tossed around. Hate the rich apparently, until you become one of them I guess.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      I haven’t seen anyone saying any of that …

    • flaviosuave - 8 years ago

      Assuming you are rich, it seems like you could afford to be less sensitive. Maybe you should hire someone to constantly fawn over you to partially soothe the sting of scorn by the masses.

  9. vandy75 - 8 years ago

    Do you REALLY believe someone seriously considering an 18k gold watch is buying from a website? LMAO. As an owner of several from Rolex to Cartier to Van Cleef, I also have a bridge over the Sahara I can let you have really cheap…give you a great deal LMAO

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      I do seriously believe people buying 18k watches research them online before going to look at one, yep.

      • Benjamin (@NSbenjamins) - 8 years ago

        most people who buy $18k watches doesn’t really do research. They go into one of those fancy watch stores, tell them the price range, who the watch is for, and pretty much walk out with a watch.

      • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

        Some subset, sure, but far less likely to apply in the case of a smartwatch.

    • David Nine (@pairof9s) - 8 years ago

      The Apple website would be beneficial to have information pages on the Edition version. It would provide potential buyers with specs, images, accessory options before they proceed to a brick & mortar for purchasing. The fact that the only remaining element for Edition users is a Buy option page is perplexing in lieu of informational pages. This is what the author is conveying and really the point of your post.

  10. bdkennedy1 - 8 years ago

    Maybe people are wising up to buying a $15,000 watch that does the same thing as a $300 watch, which I’ve always thought of as stupid.

  11. modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

    Maybe Apple should offer an online configurator for the Watch like they do for Macs etc…there they could offer gold as an option together with Aluminium and Stainless Steel as well as any strap that’s available. That way the gold ‘Edition’ would just be another (rather expensive) option like any other and would avoid the stigma of being ‘elitist’.

    • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

      I don’t know how many they are selling, but I think they should offer gold plated stainless steel versions for a lot less.

      • xp84 - 8 years ago

        There’s that company (or several) that will plate it for you for like $100, or you can DIY I saw on YouTube. Or your local jeweler may be able to do so as well.

  12. Simply going to the “buy” page brings up the Edition. Didn’t even have to go searching for it?

  13. alexandereiden - 8 years ago

    Well they did say the edition watch was limited in quantity when they first launched it. But obviously it wasn’t meant to be a huge seller in the first place. But I have no doubt that they sold about 10k of them (not s lot in comparison, but in value, yes)

  14. rogifan - 8 years ago

    Apple didn’t create the Edition because they were expecting to sell a ton of them. And someone buying an Edition would probably not be using Apple’s website personalization page to figure out which one they wanted. Has the Edition ever been heavily marketed by Apple? I don’t think so.

  15. CranApple (@MoreCran) - 8 years ago

    I don’t think this is really a “moving out” of the Edition, it is simply more space required for huge number of other watches. Looking at those display cases, where else were they going to go? While the Edition was fun to talk about and see, most stores didn’t even sell them so when so many new models were created this seems like a very obvious step (both in the physical and web world). It’s not a hiding of the gold, it’s a spreading out of the rest.

  16. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    Looking through the 4 editions of watches i see 62 skus which is nuts.Couldn’t Apple go with 40 mm cases and instantly cut the number of skus in half?

    • xp84 - 8 years ago

      I feel like it would be more effective to just cut out the practice of selling straps in the same box. That would cut the number of skus by a lot without forcing people to get a different size watch.

  17. jedimindtrick99 - 8 years ago

    Or the Edition may just carry over exclusively to the Apple Watch 2
    i.e. gold iPhone 5S then they discontinued made the iPhone 6 with available Gold Exclusive(which I called the discontinued gold models the ‘Unicorn iPhones’) then discontinued that and iPhone 6s became exclusive gold, catch my drift

  18. ninjadude99 - 8 years ago

    To those that think that the Apple Watch Edition isn’t selling, keep in mind that Apple did say from the get-go that they will only sell a limited number of units. On top of that, I have only seen about two people wearing an Edition (I can clearly see the gold on the case). In Toronto.

    So I highly doubt that no one’s buying one. It’s probably selling just as well as the regular watches in a jewellery store (and I’m pretty sure those stores don’t sell a lot of anything per day).

    • Peter Hillman - 8 years ago

      Are you sure about that? There is a company that will gold-plate your Apple Watch so it looks like a Gold Edition.

    • xp84 - 8 years ago

      Must have been Drake (and Drake’s girlfriend?) ;)

  19. Peter Hillman - 8 years ago

    No one looks at the Apple Watch case in the Apple Stores. I have seen maybe three people wearing one around Los Angeles, and it has been a year since the release. The funny part was watching those people with an Apple Watch using their iPhone instead. The entire Watch line sells in limited numbers, especially compared to the number of compatible iPhones that people do own. Maybe that is why you haven’t seen an Apple Watch 2 yet because 1) they are not selling as much as Apple thought, 2) no one really wants one, including those who own an iPhone.

  20. slimhim - 8 years ago

    It’s really quite simple… Apple said from the onset that the “Edition” edition of the watch would only be sold in limited quantities. Maybe those quantities have been met. One thing’s for sure, Apple, as a company, is not an idiot operation. They have methods behind everything they do. *drops mic*

  21. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    i like the new interactive gallery when you to the Personalization and click on explore interactive gallery. It lets you choose cases, bands and watch faces to see what your watch would look like.

  22. Steven Ketch - 8 years ago

    The pricing on Edition watches is bizarre when it comes to the bands. Example: A 38mm Edition watch with the sport band is $10,000, but with the modern buckle it is $17,000. You are paying an extra $7,000 for the modern buckle! Meanwhile, you could just buy a modern buckle band for $249.

    • xp84 - 8 years ago

      Haha I never noticed that! $6,750 just to make the buckle itself be gold does seem excessive. At that price you could buy 10 non-God Modern Buckles and have them all gold plated, and that way you’d either have all the color options, or backups in case your playing ever got scratched! Heh.

  23. Jacob Allan May - 8 years ago

    The only thing I see here is Apple is keeping their priciest model in that luxury setting. For example they want to make it a high end experience and service. Which plays well to how they treat the Watch Edition in stores, which is you make an appointment and are shown to a back area. While they have made more of a spotlight on the website previously, I feel they are just keeping all marketing in line to it’s exclusive feel. This practice also coincides with a price drop on the cheapest Watch, nearly “delisting” the priciest model attracts the new price point customer.

  24. David Kaplan - 8 years ago

    I wish they didn’t pull it because now you can’t see it or try it on in stores. I never got the chance to try it out. Then again, probably the reason they’re pulling it from stores is because most customers trying it on are a waste of time for Apple.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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