The Apple Watch made its fashion editorial debut on the cover of Vogue China’s November 2014 issue, featuring supermodel Liu Wen. Now in the March issue of Vogue´s American edition, the device will get a 12 page advertisement mainly based on images.
As if we had not known so before, this ad placement confirms that the Apple Watch will be more about Fashion than Function. In less than two weeks we will know the launch plan for the device.
Earlier this week, Apple issued invites for a media event on March 9, with the tagline “Spring Forward”, which likely refers to time, hence the Apple Watch is a good guess for the star of the show. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 9 and it will be broadcasted live on Apples home page.
We already know the Apple Watch will come in three distinct lines, with a variety of options within each. The Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition will be priced lower and higher in that order.
We also know the Apple Watch will be a touch device, with a new kind of haptic feedback and a digital crown, and apps that essentially run remotely from an iPhone. It is also thought to have a battery that can last approximately one day.
I think we can expect the Apple Watch to be a huge success, and the first disruptive innovation from Apple since the launch of the iPad five years ago. In true Apple style and like fine timepieces of the old times, the Apple Watch is designed to be admired while remaining unobtrusive.
Below is a video from Bloomberg TV with some interesting dialogue about what to expect.
However the Apple Watch will be priced for the mass market and not only for the fashion elite. Once the initial hype about design is over, the Apple Watch´s attraction to the main markets will be about software. As an interesting comparison, you can watch the video below from Wall Street Journal, about what makes a luxury USD 229,000 mechanical A. Lange & Söhne watch tick.