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submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Apple will no longer fix the $17,000 gold Apple Watch::The original Apple Watch models, including the $10,000-plus 18-karat gold Edition that Beyoncé wore, are now officially obsolete and won’t get parts, repair, or replacement services.

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[-] VelociCatTurd@lemmy.world 144 points 1 year ago

Even before they were unsupported, how have they not been “obsolete” for some time. Cannot imagine how slow a gen 1 watch would be. I can see the appeal of a timeless heirloom watch, but this is such a brain dead purchase.

[-] M500@lemmy.ml 128 points 1 year ago

Well, it’s not a brain dead purchase when $20k doesn’t even register for you.

Got $500,000,000 in the bank? Who cares?

You family has billions and you just have an unlimited alllowance. Who cares.

That’s who this is for.

With that being said, Apple did it for one year and I think it was just a marketing stunt. Everyone talked about it and now people know what an Apple Watch is.

[-] DJDarren@thelemmy.club 30 points 1 year ago

Apple did it for one year and I think it was just a marketing stunt

That's exactly what it was. They never expected to sell many, just get the headlines for making a "luxury" watch that could "compete" with the likes of Rolex. That some ultra-wealthy people went out and bought one was just a bonus.

[-] MeanEYE@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

And now its built-in obsolescence is being paraded around pointing out why no one should buy such a thing ever again.

[-] M500@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

They didn’t even carry them at all of their stores.

I did get to wear one once, and only did so I could say I wore a watch that cost more than my car.

[-] VelociCatTurd@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

It is for those with more money than sense, 100%. No matter how much money you have, it’s not going to solve the problem of it being incompatible with a newer iPhone. And that makes anyone who bought this a clown.

[-] erwan@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

The point is that for them, it doesn't matter if the watch is obsolete and ends up in a drawer after a few years. They'll just buy a new one.

For them 20k is like $20 for you.

[-] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 year ago

You’re actually off by a lot more than you realize.

Average US income is about $31.2k, Beyoncé (who bought one) has an income of about $90m.

Meaning $20k to her is around $0.64 in relative wealth to the average person.

Literally pennies.

It’s all relative.

If I spend £1 of my last £5 on a bottle of water, I’m equally as dumb.

[-] Hackerman_uwu@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

That’s accurate I think but the departure point here is where Apple was making noises about delivering ‘premium jewellery’ or some such spiel.

Rolex, Omega, etc. all support their products for life and beyond. I’m still able to get my dads Speedmaster from the 60s serviced, heck my daily driver Seiko Pepsi from the 80s still has parts available.

Apple can easily afford this level of support which makes it kind of iffy that they don’t.

[-] korewa@reddthat.com 12 points 1 year ago

I wonder how much of that price is just the value of gold.

I’m seeing a 24k bracelet no watch and similar shape is $5k to $10k

[-] ArghZombies@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Very little of the price is the gold.

An actual gold watch case (excluding the bracelet and the movement inside it) weighs about 20g.

At about £50 a gram that's £1000.

And I doubt the amount of gold in the case of the Apple watch is anywhere near the same amount as in a traditional gold watch case.

[-] Jmdatcs@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

There is almost no gold in it. 18k gold is 75% gold by weight, not volume. Apple created an alloy that, in addition to the normal metals, is mostly lightweight ceramic.

At the time I was surprised there wasn't a class action suit. They were charging an amount that was in line with real gold watches and yeah the "gold" part was 75% gold by weight but it was such a departure from anything else ever called 18k gold it just seemed like a straight up scam to me.

[-] korewa@reddthat.com 3 points 1 year ago

I was talking about the bracelet, the watch itself is essentially e waste I think it’s only 18k gold anyway seems like the price of just branding/exclusivity

[-] pineapplelover@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

Cannot imagine how slow a gen 1 watch would be.

It's a fucking watch. I mean it can also monitor bpm and stuff like that but I can't imagine it's doing any complex scientific calculations on there.

[-] VelociCatTurd@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

And I’m sure you’re posting this comment from your eMachine? The Apple Watch is a computer. As applications become more demanding, any older computer will be “slower”.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

Gen 1 Apple Watch haver here

Yep it’s laggy and low FPS, but it does everything I need it to. I agree with you. Would I love a newer one? Sure, but do I need it? Hell no

[-] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

Sure, I mean if you want to use your apple watch to play Tomb Raider or something, go ahead. When the apple watch first came out, most of the buyers used it to track fitness and sleep stuff. It has now become a messenger device, phone, email client. Even with all these extra features, I can't imagine the consumer wanting much more from this tiny interface.

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
504 points (96.8% liked)

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