A rumor released on Tuesday claims Apple's upcoming Watch device will be priced at $500 for the mid-teir steel version and up to $5,000 for top-end gold "Edition" version, which is much higher than previous estimates.
French website iGen reported on Tuesday that Apple is looking to release the Apple Watch at a proposed retail cost of $500 for versions with stainless steel cases.
Apple Watch Edition models will be available for around $4,000 to $5,000, according to the report, which leaves the Apple Watch Sport version as Apple's lowest-priced option.
Apple said the Watch Sport would come in around $350.
"Apple has adopted a lot of the watch industry terminology," Ariel Adams, who writes for aBlogtoWatch, said to Yahoo Tech in September. "If something is marked 18-karat gold, that tends to mean that it's not gold-plated. Otherwise they would say 'gold plated.'"
Previous estimates from jewelers and industry analysts listed the high-end Apple Watch Edition models at $1,200. Edition versions are made from 18-karat gold and come with sapphire crystal and a number of different luxurious strap options.
Apple has not said if the entire chassis is solid gold, or merely gold plated, but the company supposedly developed a version of the metal tice as strong as the standard.
Before the Watch announcement, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo accurately predicted that the device would come in two different sizes and multiple models spread across a wide range of price points. At one point, Kuo speculated the wearable could cost "thousands of dollars."
During his interview at the Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference last month, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said he believes Apple Watch users will have to charge the device daily since they will be using it so much.
"You're going to wind up charging it daily," Cook said, according to The Wall-Street Journal.
His comments are in line with estimates made by multiple publication..
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
