Apple is shifting its marketing strategy for the Apple Watch. From exclusive, by-schedule-only try-on appointments at the Apple Store, the Apple Watch is now available with a $50 discount if bought with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus at select physical locations.
Apple has confirmed to MacRumors that the Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Sport are available for a limited time with a $50 discount at select Apple Store locations in California, namely Burlingame, Chestnut Street, Corte Madera, Hillsdale, San Francisco and Stonestown in the Bay Area. The watch will also be available at Apple Stores in Boylston Street, Burlington, CambridgeSide and Chestnut Hill in the Boston metro area in Massachusetts.
The promo runs from Oct. 30 through Nov. 15. Customers may avail of the discount if they purchase the Apple Watch or Apple Watch Sport with a new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus in a single transaction. However, the more expensive Apple Watch Edition and Apple Watch Hermès are not part of the promo. Customers who buy from Apple's online store may not avail of the discount.
The deal is not exactly mind-boggling. The entry-level iPhone 6s with 16 GB storage costs $649, while the cheapest Apple Watch Sport is $349. That's only a $50 discount on a purchase that costs a minimum of $998. In fact, Target may launch a better deal next week by offering the Apple Watch with a 10 percent discount to customers who purchase it with one of the new iPhones.
However, Apple is not exactly known for offering discounts on its products, aside from the occasional Black Friday deals and student discounts. It's unclear why Apple would experiment with temporary price cuts on its newest products. While Apple's legion of haters might probably point out that a discount on Apple's "next big thing" is proof of its failure, Apple's quarterly financial earnings indicate the Apple Watch is actually doing quite well.
Although Apple has yet to reveal official figures for the Apple Watch, the company's 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission says the Apple Watch accounted for more than 100 percent of the year-over-year growth of its Other Products, where it is lumped with the Apple TV, iPod and Beats products. The Other Products grew from $8.379 billion in 2014 to $10.067 billion in 2015, which means Apple sold at least $1.7 billion during its five months since launch, a milestone that no other smartwatch can even come close to.
