Business Insider:

The wording here makes it sound as if there's a chance that Apple would be able to remove the S1 and replace it with, say, the S2 or S3 in the future. After all, Apple has the entire computer on one chip. It just has to rip out that little computer and replace it with a new one.

As Apple upgrades the computing power, it could replace the chip for, say, $500, Gruber suggests. This sounds high, but this is what it costs to service a high-end luxury watch every few years. If this were to happen, it would solve the problem of turning the watch into an obsolete brick after a few years.

This is only speculation but the potential for this is truly fascinating and it's the kind of innovative thinking I expect from Apple.

Every year, Apple proudly boasts how its latest iPhone is the thinnest, most powerful, and most power efficient iPhone ever. And every year, most of us yawn at it.

But what we're seeing now is the very best of Apple, using everything they've learned from compacting the iPhone to miniaturize an entire computer into a single chip. That alone is a huge innovative achievement. If the S1 chip ends up being swappable? Man, that would be a game changer for smartwatches.

Whatever Apple ends up doing, it's already pretty clear that Apple is approaching this as a modern, fashionable timepiece for the future, not a disposable $300 wannabe mini-smartphone for the wrist.

A Blog To Watch:

Apple actually made clever use of the Apple Watch's relationship with the iPhone. Apple Watch users will install an Apple Watch app on their iPhone, which will be used to download apps onto the watch as well as likely manage Apple Watch settings. A user's iPhone is also used to help with computational demands. Apple cleverly pushes a lot of processor needs to the phone in order to preserve Apple Watch battery life. Thus, the Apple Watch is snappier, with longer battery life because a lot of tasks can be off-loaded to the host phone.

Smart way to handle Apple Watch apps for the first few generations until the Apple Watch can stand on its own. Reminiscent of how the iPod first required iTunes and a computer until it evolved into the iPhone and iTouch.

My biggest doubt for the success of the Apple Watch stems from the replacement cycle. How often does Apple want consumers to upgrade their Apple Watch? Why would a high-end consumer spend over $1,000 on an $18k Apple Watch if its technology will be outdated within two years?

But Nicolas Schobinger brings up an interesting idea:

How often does one need to buy an ‘eternal’ product? How often would you buy ‘ephemeral’? Look at iPod, iPhone, and even computers in general. Technology advancements and rapid innovation cycles make you lust for the newest gadget. And that’s just it: Ephemeral product lures customers to the next best thing.

I can easily imagine, that Apple could extract a higher lifetime customer value with its iWatch Edition, than the ‘eternal’ brands of Swiss watchmaking.

I could imagine that the Apple iWatch Edition will generate a lot of repeat buyers. A good trade-in program would recycle your precious metal and refund that to you. You could keep the straps. The price for your repeat purchase could be then a fraction of your initial buy. You could constantly renew your statement with the Edition line and stay current. Ephemeral disrupting Eternal.

Now this would be an awesome strategy for disrupting the timepiece industry.

In my mind, I've been telling myself that I won't spend over $400 on a first-gen Apple Watch, no matter how badly I want the polished stainless steel model on black leather. But if Apple can guarantee some sort of trade-in program that'll make it easy to upgrade, hell yes, I'll consider spending over $500 on launch day.

Buzz around the fabled "iWatch" has really hit fever-pitch levels since 9to5Mac's big scoop. Here's an overview of everything that we know, what we should expect, and what I think could happen.

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