The Apple Watch will be available on the 24th of April, but somehow the boys and girls over at Apple have thought that clients who want to buy their device need to make an appointment. Now, I don’t really know if this is the worst decision a company has ever made, or just pure brilliant.
It’s an incredibly risky thing that Apple is trying to pull here – everyone wants to try out the product before buying it, and what company that is set out to make profits doesn’t want their customers to buy something just out of sheer impulse?
I bought an iPod once out of impulse because I loved how it was designed. I already had an mp3 player back home.
Now, let’s look at the bright side for a bit. Maybe Apple wants to be sure that every store has sufficient devices in stock for purchase on release day – but it doesn’t make any sense. History has taught us that people have stood in humongous lines before with the goal to buy their devices only to find out that they were too late for the party, and the stock was no more – they didn’t riot, they didn’t even complain, some of them whined, but in the end they came back and bought the device. You can’t ensure that everyone will have a chance on buying the product.
Another possible reason, that seems more probable, is that Apple employees will instruct each and every single customer that buys the Apple Watch on how to actually use the device. Guiding customers through the process of customizing their new gear, selecting which band they want, and if they prefer the Sport version or the standard Apple Watch, doesn’t seem like a bad idea – but the question here is why? Why go through all the hassle of explaining such details? Isn’t Apple known for its simplicity, and incredibly user-friendly design?
Buyers of the Apple Watch, or any smart watch, will consist of individuals that have already made their research regarding the product. You’ll not see Mark, my room mate, who doesn’t know the difference between a CPU and GPU, buy a first hand edition of the Apple Watch. Of course, there will be buyers that will acquire the smart watch only because it’s made by Apple, and it’s something new, but those aren’t in the target demographic.
In the end, we know that the Apple Watch will sell like crazy – crazy millions actually. In the last few months, Apple has plastered cities with billboards and commercials for their new device, ads on TVs, and of course articles on well known tech blogs.
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