Rumours have been heating up that Apple’s gold smartwatch could cost in the region of $5,000 (£3,150), according to senior company sources quoted by a French website. The 18-karat gold smartwatch priced on par with luxury Swiss brands marques such as Rolex and Omega, it illustrates Apple’s new focus on premium luxury buyers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook had said in September that the iWatch would retail starting at $349 when it goes on sale, but did not specify the price range of the luxury gold range. Cook had also said the company would release three watch collections — Sport, Watch and Edition (which is the luxury gold watch) — at different price points.
Speculation point to Apple is eyeing a Valentine’s Day launch for its official launch for the luxury edition. Apple says its new S1 chip, which will go into the Apple Watch, is more or less an entire digital ecosystem inside a single insulated enclosure.The Cupertino firm is set to launch the new luxury edition range in spring 2015, including a rose gold and yellow gold version, but details over how much each device will cost have been sketchy.
Now iGen.fr – which covers Apple developments – states that the high-end model with gold plating will cost premium costumers $5,000. The Edition Collection will be fashioned from 18K gold and have sapphire crystal. This variant of the Apple Watch will also come with several expensive strap options. Apple, however, has not disclosed whether the chassis of this variant of the Apple Watch is solid gold or simply gold plat. However the alternative stainless steel models will be much cheaper, according the site, costing $500 (£315).
The watch was unveiled by Apple chief executive Tim Cook in September. The company says it works as a health and fitness device with many of the same features as a smartphone – but crucially needs an accompanying iPhone to work. According to many technology sources, Apple is unhappy with the battery life and is working on extending it before it is released. One report said the battery will last a day on a single charge, while many rival devices last a week.
