Well, it turns out “from $349” might be just the start of it with Apple rumour-monger iGen.fr reporting that prices for the device will actually go up to $5,000 (£3,150) for the solid 18-karat gold model, while the stainless steel version is predicted to start at $500 (£310).
The authenticity of these prices its unknown (although iGen have had some hits in the past – including reporting the exact dimensions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus) but they do match what the experts are saying about the Apple Watch – especially if Apple wants to be the first tech company to never sell a smartwatch again: they just want to sell watches.
Long-time Apple watcher John Gruber even predicted prices like this back in September, pointing out that Apple was finally moving away from its long tradition of ‘accessible luxury’ where - to quote Andy Warhol - the “richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.”
The Apple Watch will be available in three models - Watch, Watch Sport, Watch Edition - and the only difference will be materials.
“You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too,” wrote Warhol back in 1975. “A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.”
This is true of the iPhone and the iPad – but it won’t be true of the Apple Watch. As Adam Fields summed up the situation on Medium: “There’s a gold version [of the watch] whose only substantial differentiating feature is that it’s more expensive. Because it’s “gold” and not “gold-colored”, it’s not just a style choice, it’s a lifestyle choice.
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