When Apple first launched the Apple Watch, it presented the wearable more as a fashion accessory than a smartwatch which was understandable from the Apple Watch Gold edition. A few years later, Apple has all but given up on the Apple Watch as a fashion accessory and is now focusing more on its fitness aspect. A New York Times report highlights that all the notable executives Apple had hired to help push forward its ambitions have all but left the company.

When Apple first launched the Apple Watch, it made the wearable available at selected fashion stores as well. Over the years though, Apple has all but pulled the plug on Apple Watch availability in third-party fashion stores.

“The Venn overlap is not as great as anyone thought,” said Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business and the founder of the digital think tank L2. “Technology is essentially about creating utility and spreading it over billions of people. Fashion is about creating a moment, a trend, a romance and spreading it across a small amount of influential people.”

While Apple may not be promoting Apple Watch as a fashion accessory now, it continues to offer some fashion-oriented Hermès bands for it. The company also updates Apple Watch bands twice a year with its spring and fall collection to ensure the wearable goes along as a perfect fashion accessory with whatever you are wearing.

Our Take

Since its launch, Apple has switched from promoting the Apple Watch as a fashion accessory to a fitness wearable. The move has gone hand-in-hand with the Apple Watch fitness tracking aspects improving notably over the years. Despite the switch though, Apple has also improved the Apple Watch from a fashion viewpoint with an improved design and watch bands. The Apple Watch Series 4, in particular, looks great with its edge-to-edge OLED display.

[Via New York Times]

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