The Apple Watch vs. the iPhone

It’s quite interesting to speculate about the pricing of the various Apple Watch models. Later today, we’ll know if we’re right or wrong.

One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that a lot of people are pricing the Apple Watch as though it were a standalone device. John Gruber, on Daring Fireball, posted his final, revised pricing predictions a few hours ago, and he thinks the Apple Watch (without modifier) will start at $749.

I would be surprised if it costs this much for the basic model (i.e., without a fancy watchband). We need to remember that the Apple Watch is a slave device; you can’t operate it on its own. It also needs an iPhone. For the base price of a slave device to cost more than a master device – and, one that can make phone calls, surf the internet, and much more – would be illogical.

I think that, no matter what, the Apple Watch (steel) will be cheaper than the base price for an iPhone 6, which is $649 (for the unlocked model, of course). And it can just be a bit cheaper, which is one reason I think that the $499 price point makes sense.