Students React to Apple Watch

On April 24, Apple’s newest product, the Apple Watch, was released. Like any new innovation, there have been different responses towards the watches, from the obsequious fans who devour everything Apple concocts to the those who had immediate complaints that Apple has “fallen off” with its marketing yet again.

Starting at $349 but reaching $17,000 for a deluxe model, the Apple Watch boasts a screen size of either 1.5 or 1.65 inches. In addition to these specifications, the watch also has an advertised battery life of about 18 hours Despite these positive features, some students have expressed displeasure in the watches.

Siva Prabakar, an incoming freshmen at Cal Poly Pomona said, “ The Apple watch is… too costly. By lowering the price, giving some needed benefits to the watch, the Apple Watch might really appeal to consumers. However, the cheapest one costs $349. If I had to choose between a Apple Watch and a regular watch, I would choose the latter due to its cost-effective features.”

“The Apple watch seems like a manifest cash-grab that affects only the most loyal of fans,” said Ben Wong, another incoming freshmen at Cal Poly Pomona, “I feel that [Apple’s] ambitious decision to capitalize on the digital watch industry will seem too problematic in the future.”

Apple has not revealed sales figures for the devices, but third party analytics firm Slide Intelligence has used e-receipt data to estimate that sales have significantly declined since the product’s launch. Yet some students say that the Apple Watch is going to be a success.

“Honestly, the Apple watch is something that is going to be tremendously successful, considering how other Apple inventions made so much profit for Apple,” said Kevin Kim, a student at Crescenta Valley High School.

“Despite the decline in watch sales,” he added, “I feel that the Apple Watch is something that may one day change the digital watch industry.”