Apple Watch Gets $100 Discount! Apple Watch 2 on the Horizon?
Apple Watch has a $100 price cut at Best Buy, Target, and B&H.
Some versions which got discounts are the 38mm Sport model, now at $249, and the 42mm variant, which can now be purchased for $299, TechCrunch reported. Best Buy, B&H, and Target have offered these sales before Feb. 14, presumably as Apple's way to take advantage of the Valentine's Day gift-giving.
The Apple Watch getting a discount doesn't mean that an Apple Watch 2 is on the way. Instead, this could be the tech giant's technique to "capture market share as quickly as possible," TechCrunch noted. It's highly likely that if you purchase an Apple Watch now, you'd get another one in the future.
Apple Watch is also a way to boost brand loyalty, the news outlet added. The wearable only works with your iPhone, so if you want to buy a new phone, chances are Apple Watch users will purchase an iPhone for it to complement the smartwatch.
The tech giant doesn't offer discounts for the Apple Watch in its own stores, and instead relies on third-party stores for the price cuts, TechCrunch wrote.
An Apple event is expected to take place on March 15, according to iDigitalTimes. There are speculations that the event will introduce a new 4-inch iPhone 5se, an iPad Air 3, and an updated Apple Watch, or Apple Watch S. The upgrade for the wearable will reportedly feature a front-facing camera for FaceTime purposes. New band designs for the Apple Watch are also expected in the event.
Apple Watch 2 -- Rumored Specs & Features
The Apple Watch 2 could allow users to adjust the volume of their iPhone alerts using the wearable.
A patent application titled "Volume Control for Mobile Device Using a Wireless Device" was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week.
"To achieve this, Apple would use the smartwatch's built-in microphone to grab a sample of the smartphone's ringtone and use this to adjust a paired iPhone's volume accordingly. For instance, if the iPhone's audible volume is too low, it would increase its alert volume. But in quiet settings, such as an office, the Apple Watch would detect that the notification is too loud and lower the volume of the iPhone's alerts and the strength of its vibration motor accordingly," International Business Times explained.
Other patents filed by Apple suspected to be intended for the Apple Watch is the Milanese band, which is a modern magnetic buckle to secure the device's straps and to enable quick release mechanism for the bands, the news outlet added.