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
Comment on Apple will no longer fix the $17,000 gold Apple Watch
VelociCatTurd@lemmy.world 11 months 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.
korewa@reddthat.com 11 months ago
ArghZombies@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Very little of the price is the gold.
An actual gold watch (excluding the bracelet) 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 11 months 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 11 months 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 11 months 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 11 months 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 11 months 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 11 months 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.
MossyFeathers@pawb.social 11 months ago
Is there really a reason to need faster smart watches? I can understand shrinking the internals to pack in a larger battery, but I’m kinda confused about what newer smart watches do that requires a more powerful processor (I don’t own a smart watch).
It seems like you could support backward compatibility pretty easily by having basic software running on the watch with a program-agnostic API to send and receive info from the watch (kinda like midi or osc). I doubt the processor necessary to send, receive, decode and display information in this format would require that much power. If smart watches honestly get slower over time, the only thing I can think is that the software itself is getting less efficient at doing the same tasks it previously did.
sbv@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Software is a gas: it expands to fill the processor and memory you give it. That’s a goofy way of saying that, as manufacturers cram faster processors and more memory into devices, software developers will use the extra facilities.
If you’re on an old device with limited CPU/RAM, you’ll be forced to upgrade to a newer OS that was built with newer devices in mind.
fartsparkles@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Andy and Bill’s Law
kobra@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Mostly new sensors rather than larger battery I think. For instance, newer Apple Watches can monitor temp and oxygen (at least in some capacity).
DJDarren@thelemmy.club 11 months ago
I have a S3 Apple Watch, and while it’s stuck on an older version of watchOS, it serves my purposes perfectly. Sends me notifications, lets me control my music and tracks my exercise. That’s pretty much all I need from a smart watch at this point. The battery isn’t amazing, but if I charge in the evening when I’m watching TV, it’ll last me through the night. I give it a little bump while I’m drinking coffee and reading in the morning and it’ll still be on 40/50% when I get home from work.
Neve8028@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Good one lol. I’m sure apple will think about it haha