AppleInsider Staff
The Apple Watch will arrive in at least three new countries next month, Apple revealed on Friday, as consumers in The Netherlands, Sweden and Thailand will be able to purchase the company's newest gadget beginning on July 17.
Apple made the reveal quietly via updates to its official Dutch, Swedish, and Thai websites. The 38-millimeter Apple Watch Sport will start at €419 ($468) in The Netherlands, 3,995kr ($481) in Sweden, and ฿13,500 ($399) in Thailand.
The announcements came on the same day that Apple kicked off its second wave of Watch launches, bringing the wearable to Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Industry estimates place Apple Watch unit sales at around 2.79 million since the device's launch, though the company has yet to confirm any figures. Fewer than one out of every five buyers are believed to have purchased extra bands, though that number doesn't take into account sales that may have occurred after the initial Watch order.
Still, demand for the Watch is generally categorized as "healthy," and Apple chief Tim Cook recently said that developer interest is higher for the Watch than it was for the iPhone or iPad at similar points in their lifecycles. Apple has already revealed plans for watchOS 2, which will include a new nightstand mode among other enhancements.
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
15 Comments
It's already expensive, why is it higher in other countries?
[quote name="Curtis Hannah" url="/t/186935/apple-watch-sales-will-expand-to-the-netherlands-sweden-thailand-on-july-17#post_2740920"]It's already expensive, why is it higher in other countries?[/quote] Currency fluctuations? Tariffs? Protectionism?
I know that in Europe the price that an item costs in dollars was the same number in euros. So if it cost $1000 in the U.S. it would cost €1000 in euro zone countries. This used to mean around 35 - 40% higher prices in those countries. But the euro has come very close to the value of the dollar since last year.
[quote name="Fred1" url="/t/186935/apple-watch-sales-will-expand-to-the-netherlands-sweden-thailand-on-july-17#post_2740925"]I know that in Europe the price that an item costs in dollars was the same number in euros. So if it cost $1000 in the U.S. it would cost €1000 in euro zone countries. This used to mean around 35 - 40% higher prices in those countries. But the euro has come very close to the value of the dollar since last year.[/quote] Don't forget to subtract VAT, too. That's typically 15-20% in Europe, and it's included in the price.
I find it amusing that some of the early foreign countries to get the Apple Watch included South Korea, and Switzerland. It almost seemed as if Apple was like, "Neener, neener Samsung," and "In your face,: Swiss watch industry." Apple will build the High end watches and Europe can have the coo coo clock segment.