Since the Apple Watch launched, it hasn't sold quite as well as some people thought it might. Here's my quick take on the key reasons why the sales for the Apple Watch might be lower than expected. From what I've read it sounds like it hasn't been as big of an initial success as the iPod, iPhone, or iPad. I wonder if the low sales could be boiled down to just one or two reasons, even though reviews focus on so many technical specifications and cool features.
The Apple Watch Is Simply Too Expensive
Like any tech product or gadget, the Apple Watch has been reviewed and analyzed excessively and in-depth. Every review has a different opinion about what features should make you want to get yourself an Apple Watch. Or conversely, reasons why it isn't worth buying or isn't selling well. Things like battery life or features that don't work perfectly.
And with a typical price of about $600 US, and a low price of $400 US, I think it is likely much too high of a price to reach any kind of mainstream adoption like we saw with the relatively low-priced iPods, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
But often in the end, I think the large majority of regular consumers focus on price first. And the price of the Apple Watch might simply be too high over competing products, even in its lowest price version. So it might not matter that much if you need an iPhone to use all of the Apple Watch features, or how great the interface is, or even that the battery might not last long enough. While Apple can get people to pay a certain premium for their products, they also may need the price to be in the same vicinity of the products it is replacing or competing with.
And with a typical price of about $600 US, and a low price of $400 US, I think it is likely much too high of a price to reach any kind of mainstream adoption like we saw with the relatively low-priced iPods, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. While the smaller size is $50 less, it doesn't actually hit a significantly lower price point. Which leads me to the other reason why I think the sales of the Apple Watch haven't been as great as previous products.
Too Much User Choice With Too Many Bands And "SKUs"
I think Apple may also be trying to sell too many different Apple Watches, with way too many different bands. And I think that even the two different sizes might have been a bad choice for the first release, and maybe even at all. Apple has had success in the past with simplifying not only the amount of products they have, but also limiting the amount of options you can choose from for a single product. This decreases the chance that people will look elsewhere because of choice overload. But it seems to me that Apple is getting further and further away from focusing on simplifying their products and product lines.
One example of Apple not focusing their product choice is looking at all the different versions of iPads and iPad Minis they have had for sale at the same time somewhat recently. In the past, they would come out with a new version of a product, and the old version would simply be dropped, having been discounted in the months leading up to the new release. Then with the iPhone they started keeping around a previous generation at a lower specific price point.
But however you look at it, it's far more options than a single size iPad where all you had to choose was how many GB of space you want and if you were getting the WiFi or cellular version.
But now there is a dizzying amount of different iPads and iPad Minis, all with different storage amounts and wireless connection options. You got your iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini, Mini 2 with retina display, and Mini 3. All with different options and so many different prices. Too many options I think, and they are not differentiated enough to help the consumer know exactly what you should buy with how much money you want to spend.
And now, with just the first release of the Apple Watch with its two different sizes and all kinds of different bands, Apple seems happy to continue the trend of offering lots and lots of choices. They even advertise their large amount of choices above all else on their website. Right at the top the Apple Watch highlights that it is "Available in 20 models", the Watch Sport is "Available in 10 models, and the Watch Edition is "Available in 8 models". That's got to be something like 50 different models. OK, hopefully your math is better than that.
But however you look at it, it's far more options than a single size iPad where all you had to choose was how many GB of space you want and if you were getting the WiFi or cellular version. With each set of options segmented into clear and distinct price points. Making those decisions wasn't hard for the consumer as they knew exactly what they were or weren't getting.
Could It Really Be This Simple?
So I'm guessing some of you will read this and say "Well yeah. Of course." I hope that's the case, as then I'm probably onto something if most people agree. But many of the reviews don't seem to mention the price or the fact that there are so many different options and price points to choose from. Yet they go into amazing depth with different features.
What I'm saying is that we have so many exhaustive reviews about features, and specifications, and cool things the Apple Watch can do. And I have read different reviews suggesting those are the reasons why people don't need or won't get an Apple Watch. But when it really comes down to it, I think there are more obvious and much more important deciding factors. While there are many factors, I think three key ones in this case include price, user choice, and desirability.
Unlike the original release of the iPad, the price point of the Apple Watch is just too high compared to competing products. And there are too many options at different price points, which doesn't give the buyer a clear idea of what they are getting and why.
Desirability we know Apple is awesome at. While I'm not the best one to evaluate how the marketing for the Apple Watch has gone and how well they did to influence people's desire for the product, I think it's safe to assume it was done extremely well. That is what Apple has always been good at as far as I can tell. Part of its success has been their marketing and ability to get you to really want and desire something. They packed a lot of cool new features into the Apple Watch and have most likely done an amazing job marketing them and selling the Apple Watch.
I think it is likely just those other two factors that are stopping large numbers of people from buying an Apple Watch. Not really what specific features it has. Unlike the original release of the iPad, the price point of the Apple Watch is just too high compared to competing products. And there are too many options at different price points, which doesn't give the buyer a clear idea of what they are getting and why.
A number of years ago Apple had seemed to focus so much more on reducing and simplifying both the options and price points for their products. And I don't think they have done that as well with the Apple Watch. So I really do think the possible low sales is as simple as that; the price is too high and there are too many options.
Conclusion
So I just don't think Apple has been able to hit the right price points for the Apple Watch. And they have made the buying decision too complicated with too many choices. I think those are the real deciding factors that stop people from buying the first release of the Apple Watch.
Apple had been simplifying the amount of products and product versions it released in the past. But now with the release of the Apple Watch, they offer a dizzying amount of options, and advertise it as being a plus. They also had been hitting price points that were closer to mainstream adoption with new products like the iPod and iPad. But now with the Apple Watch, they have come out with a product that seems way too high above the price points it needs to be at.
I should mention I don't even have an Apple Watch. So I might not be the best person to have an opinion about this. However, I was considering buying one before it was announced, yet I didn't get one. Do you think you can guess one of the reasons why I didn't get one? Yes, you nailed it. I was hoping that a different font would be used for the UI. Either that, or I think that paying more than $299 for a watch might be a little excessive. Especially when you consider smart watches won't last nearly as long as analog or digital watches which people often payed a premium for. And I also feel like I might be missing out if I get the small version and the cheapest band. So a buyer starts off feeling like they might have made the wrong choice when they should be happy about their buying decision and their cool new gadget.