Friday, September 09, 2022

More on Apple Copying Rolex...

 

More on


Apple Copying Rolex...


Ever since my coverage of the Apple Watch 8 launch Event earlier this week, I can't seem to stop thinking about how blatantly Apple appears to be going after Rolex with the advent of their Apple Watch Ultra model. I'm not surprised as I originally predicted this moment would come when Apple first launched the Apple Watch back on September 11th in 2014. I mean, why wouldn't Apple aim for the top!?!! And I realize, Apple would defend by saying, "We are NOT trying to emulate Rolex per se. We are seeking what Rolex has sought from day 1". After all, Apple pretty much spelled it all out at their 2017 Apple Watch Keynote.



I was looking at this image of the new Apple Watch Ultra, and for some reason it resonated with me as I had a deja vu moment, like I was certain I had seen it before. It took me a few moments to contemplate, but I figured it out. Particularly, after rotating it 90 degrees counterclockwise...



That being said, I could not help but notice how remarkably similar Apple's Ultra Apple Watch model image above is to Rolex's Explorer ad from 1964 which is seen below. Hmnnn...Basically, Apple is copying a Rolex Ad from 58 years ago, or at least 'borrowing' the vibe/mojo...



So does Rolex have anything to worry about with Apple? This is the metaphorical $64,000 question. Maybe NOT today, but ten years from now, things could change dramatically...In other words, todays quotient is not tomorrows...

To my way of thinking, one of the greatest advantages wearing a Rolex has over an Apple Watch, is if you wear the same Rolex every day, you will pretty much NEVER have to wind or charge it. With an Apple Watch it's a pain as you have to charge it every night...but with the advent of the Apple Watch Ultra, since it is so much thicker and larger, they have double the battery, so now a user can go 36 hours between charges, and if they put the Apple Watch Ultra into a lower power mode, which turns off of the always on screen, it can last 60 hours on a single charge. 

What if Apple continues on this trajectory and figures out a way to create a perpetual energy source, like Rolex's Perpetual movement features? In other words, an Apple Watch that no longer needs to be charged, but somehow charges itself, using light, or kinetic energy, or wireless energy? What if Apple figures out a way to charge your Apple Watch while you sleep with it on your wrist???

One could argue Rolex is in the Luxury Jewelry business, and Apple is in the high-tech computing/gadget business...The flip side of the coin suggests, what is good for the goose is good for the gander, and one could easily argue Rolex is far more successful today due to the advent of the Apple Watch as it called a tremendous amount of newfound novel attention to the wrist. As they say, only time-will-tell...

Hmmmn!?!! I'm pretty sure I've seen this somewhere before???? I mean, the thickness, the crown guards...



1964 Rolex Explorer Ad v. 2022 Apple Explorer Ultra Ad