In addition to predicting an all-new Apple Watch 2 with a GPS, barometer, larger battery, and more, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo 2016 today claimed that upgraded first-generation Apple Watch models with faster TSMC-built processors and superior waterproofing will likely launch in the second half of 2016.
For several years, Apple has kept old iPads for sale at lower price points, demoting them when a new device is announced.
This rumor is different from even that strategy. Kuo is saying that the Apple Watch as we know it today will be updated and kept on sale.
Either this would allow Apple to drop below the $299 price point, or leave a product in that slot if the Apple Watch 2 can’t hit that price.
I think Apple’s done a pretty good job at being upfront with customers that their lower-cost products are often older products.
It’s still a little confusing, though, and any time there’s a cheap option, that’s what a subset of uses will automatically buy. Just look at how many “free on contract” iPhones have been purchased over the last six or seven years. I think that’s hurt the iPad ecosystem a little bit from the nerd perspective, but without a doubt lower costs allow more people to become customers. That’s a good thing, and something the Apple Watch would benefit from having.