When Apple introduced its first smartwatches in 2015, the company announced that entry-level watches would sell for $349 and up. But there was also a fancy Apple Watch Edition with an 18 karat gold case and prices ranging from $10,000 to $17,000.
This week Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 2, with a faster processor, a waterproof design, and a starting price of $369. But the company also marked down the original Apple Watch Series 1, allowing you to pick one up for $269.
And that’s not the only price drop: the 18k gold models are gone. Apple still sells some premium models, but they’re priced at around $1299 to $1499.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the prices for Apple Watch models:
- Apple Watch Series 1 with aluminum case and sport band for $269
- Apple Watch Series 2 with aluminum case and sport/nylon bands for $369 and up
- Apple Watch Series 2 with aluminum ase and Nike sport band for $369
- Apple Watch Series 2 with stainless steel case for $549 and up
- Apple Watch Edition with ceramic case for $1,249 and up
- Apple Watch Hermes for $1,149 – $1,499
Prices vary depending on the material and style of the watch bands. But basically an Apple Watch will now set you back somewhere between $269 and $1,499, which is a heck of a lot less of a range than $349 to $17,000.
I still have to wonder why you’d spend thousands of dollars on a watch that might be obsolete in a few years, though. Sure, the first-gen Apple Watch is getting the same watchOS 3 software that will run on the Series 2 soon. But now that Apple has released a new watch with a faster dual-core processor and improved graphics, how long do you think it’ll be before we start to see apps that only work on the new models?
