launch day

Apple Watch Prices in Singapore

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These are the official Apple Watch prices. All prices are in Singapore dollars. As previously revealed, prices are off from the rumored ones by $40 to $50.

Apple Watch Sport

38mm – $518
42mm – $598

Apple Watch (Stainless Steel)

i. Stainless Steel Case with White/Black Sport Band

38mm – S$798
42mm – S$878

ii. Stainless Steel Case with Milanese Loop/Classic Buckle/Leather Loop (42mm only)

38mm – S$948
42mm – S$1018

iii. Stainless Steel Case with Modern Buckle (38mm only)

38mm – S$1088

iv. Stainless Steel case with Link Braclet

38mm – $1388
42mm – $1458

v. Space Black Stainless Steel case with Link Braclet

38mm – $1528
42mm – $1598

Wondering which watch to buy?

Here is my review of the Apple Watch after wearing it for two months.

Which Apple Watch to buy – Sport or Stainless Steel?

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This is not a article on whether you should buy a Apple Watch or not – there are already plenty of those.

This is about the difference between the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) and the Apple Watch Sport, and if the difference is worth the extra money.

Note: When I talk about the “Apple Watch”, I am referring to the stainless steel model. The Apple Watch Sport will be the “Apple Watch Sport” or just simply the “Sport”.

I am not going to talk about the Edition. If you are in the market for a gold watch, you should just get the Edition. Otherwise, for the rest of us mere mortals, our only choices are the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel).

Having had a stainless steel model (with Black Sports Band) since the launch day in April, and having prolonged exposure to the Space Grey Sport model (as my brother has one), it is obvious to me the difference between the two, and you slowly get to appreciate the benefits of each model.

The reflective look of the polished stainless steel body gives the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) a much more refined look

The stainless steel body of the Apple Watch gives it a refined, polished high-end look, not unsimilar to many of the expensive watches out there, even with the cheapest black or white sports band.

On the other hand, the silver aluminium models make the Sport models look like Swatches (which is not a bad thing in itself), and have a obvious sports-look that may not be as presentable at formal events or in certain lines of work.

The Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) has heft

The heft of the Apple Watch compared to the (comparatively) weightlessness of the Sport actually gives it a better feel, especially if you are the type who prefers watches with decent heft, like many chronograph models. That said, if you are the kind of person to be bothered by a heavy piece of metal weighing you down throughout the day, the Sport will suit you better.

Sapphire > Ion Glass

The difference of the Sapphire cover “glass” on the Apple Watch can actually be felt, and it really is indestructible. Several knocks on the sapphire cover glass have produced zero scratches, while according to the rest of the Internet, the Ion Glass cover glass on the Sport, while strong (same glass as the iPhone 6), is still prone to scratches.

However, the Stainless Steel body of the Apple Watch is more prone to scratching than 7000-series aluminium used in the body of the Sport. If you are interested in purchasing a silicon cover/protector for your Apple Watch/Sport’s body, there have been reports of millions of micro-scratches on the stainless steel models resulting from the trapped dust rubbing against the stainless steel body, so these silicon covers will work better on the Sport models than the stainless steel ones.

That said, it is relatively enough to buff the scratches out on stainless steel, as watch repairers have done for as long as stainless steel have been used to make watches.

With the exception of the Sport bands and the Leather Loop, all other bands are fit to look right only with the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel)

As the lugs for bands like the Classic Buckle and the Milanese Loop are stainless steel, they will look most right on the stainless steel models as compared to the Sport models, even though there are no physical restrictions to swapping stainless steel lug-equiped bands onto the Sport, they just look better on the stainless steel body of the Apple Watch.

Then of course there are the niceties like the nicer jewellery case that comes with the stainless steel models, as well as the metallic magnetic charger as opposed to the plastic ones that comes with the Sport models, all of these makes having the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) a slightly nicer experience as compared with the less-expensive Sport. (But with the Sport you get to save quite a bit of money!)

Of course, the Sport models are no slouch, and they function exactly the same (even though the internal construction of the Sport models and the stainless steel models are different, thanks to the dismantling pics from ifixit) with no difference in capacities and speed compared to the more expensive stainless steel models.

Besides, like many others on the various apple forums who have regretted their original purchases and decided to upgrade to stainless steel models, so long you purchased the Apple Watch from the Apple Online Store, there is a 14-day return policy which you can make use of to swap to a model that you prefer. Of course there’s the enhanced wait for the replacement, but it beats getting stuck with the remorse of buying the less than perfect model.

You can take a look at the (pretty amateur-ly done) unboxing video that I have done here.

Regarding the Apple Watch – Before the Apple Event

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I have been physically writing down drafts of blog posts on premium paper lately due to a newfound interest in fountain pens and the respective inks, and as dumb as that sound I thoroughly enjoy the process of writing after a multi-year hiatus from physical writing (I graduated from Media Studies “Communications and New Media” in NUS). However I do not share the same enthusiasm when putting those blog posts to Byword, so most of the content remain in my trusty notebook, with some of them already expired (as events happened and stuff gets introduced). But I thought I will at least get this out before the event next Monday, so here goes my Apple Watch rumbling.

Regarding the prices of the Watch, the speculation is rife (on every single tech blog and news outlet) on the Edition models being ridiculously expensive and starting at 10000usd, after factoring in the price of the raw gold in the watch body.

I say 4999usd for the cheapest Edition model, and 14999usd for the gold link bracelet model.

What obviously is more important but less speculated on is the starting price of the stainless steel models, as well as the price of probably the most popular model with tech geeks – the Apple Watch with stainless steel link bracelet.

499usd for the stainless steel model with sport band, and 999usd for the link bracelet model.

I want the Apple Watch Stainless Steel model (42mm), with link bracelet, in regular steel/silver finish. The Space Grey finish looks absolutely sweet on paper, but as I am interested in getting spare straps/bands for the Watch I am not so sure the silver Milanese loop will look nice on the Space Grey model.

The Sport models might be cheap, but like any iPhone owner I know how Aluminum looks when knocked against a hard surface, and unlike a phone, the possibility of a watched getting banged up through daily use is way way higher.

I own several Seikos and Casios, and I know how well steel watches stand up to abuse, especially if they have sapphire cover glasses.

Seriously speaking, as I really want the link bracelet model myself, I really hope that it will end up being cheaper than 999usd, but 999usd is absolutely the limit on how much I will spend on a watch. If the link bracelet model ends up being more than 999usd, I might possibly skip the stainless steel models all together and get a Sport model instead, since it is a first generation model and first generation Apple stuff is never flawless.

The naming of the various Apple Watch lines is also weird, with the cheapest “Sport “models and the most expensive 18K gold models getting the “Edition” name, but the stainless steel models being called just regular “Apple Watch”. It is obvious Apple wants the stainless steel models to be the regular line, but just calling it “Apple Watch” will confuse consumers who are less than well-informed on the differences between the three lines besides pricing.

I fully expect Apple to correct that oversight by suddenly calling the stainless steel line by another name during next Monday’s event, be it “Apple Watch Steel” or “Apple Watch Premium”.

Details about battery life have leaked out in the last few days, and I fully expect all the leaks to be accurate – be it the 5-hour on high use or the power reserve mode, charging is essentially going to be a daily thing.

What I am more interested in will be the kind of portable charging solutions announced, or if there will be any of them.

It is pretty normal to be charging your iPhone with mobile power packs connected to Lightning cables these days, and cables are very portable and relatively affordable.

The Apple Watch, with its magnetic charging, and the cable with its charging plate, does not really look very portable, nor affordable enough to purchase separately from the Watch to use while you are on the go. And it will be a pain to carry two cables when you are out. I wonder if there will be a Lightning to Watch magnetic charging adapter for sale.

Availability is another question. Since the telcos that are involved in iPhone, and to a lesser extent, iPad distribution during the various launches, will Apple with its distribution channels be able to launch in the same set of countries as they do for iPhone launches? It is however unlikely that the Watch will be sold in the same ridiculous numbers of the iPhone, as demand for a new category of products is always likely to be lower than one for a mature popular product line, so the stress on the distribution channels will be much lesser than typical iPhone launches.

In this case, if the distribution of the Watch follows the same channels as Singapore will most likely be in the first wave of countries the Watch will launch in, to simplify the logistics involved by shipping Apple Watch through the same channels. And that will be great news. For I will really really want to have an Apple Watch on Launch Day.

Unlike the iPhone and the iPad, there are many who are not convinced of the utility of the Apple Watch, some of whom are long term Apple fans. I wish all of these people will not be swayed by the event to preorder the Watch for Launch Day – I do not want to fight with others for the chance to have my Apple Watch the very first second they go on sale.

Oh please let it be April already. Cannot wait. Argh.