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Apple Watch lands on its first US magazine cover

Apple Watch lands on its first US magazine cover

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The Apple Watch has made its first appearance on the cover of a US magazine, with a shoot for fitness, health, and style publication Self. The March issue of Self features Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel as the cover star, with Swanepoel appearing in exercise gear, the Apple Watch Sport on her wrist.

The shoot for self is all about attainable health and fitness

So far, the marketing for the Apple Watch has been fairly restrained, but this cover likely marks the beginning of increased activity from Apple's ad team. Although the device already had its global magazine debut on the cover of Vogue China last year, that particular shoot was focused on fashion and luxury, while this shoot is all about attainable health and fitness.

This geographic-specific highlighting of the Apple Watch's different aspects makes sense. In China, the super-rich love to give each other Apple products, but the affluent middle classes are only just getting on board with iPhones in general. In America, meanwhile, Apple can still target luxury customers, but it will also be hoping to appeal to a broader section of the market with the cheapest, $349 Apple Watches. Targeting our perpetual desire to look fit, healthy, and happy is a good way to do this.

Candice Swanepoel sporting the Apple Watch for the March issue of Self Magazine. (Self)

"Aside from all the overall productivity the device offers, we’re zeroing in on the health aspects," says the magazine about the decision to feature the Apple Watch. "Considering Swanepoel's athletic prowess, it was an ideal accessory for her sporty cover shoot." The Watch itself is even showing the Activity app, Apple's built in app for tracking movement and calories.

The magazine is going to be making it clear the Apple Watch is "on our wishlist," and although this teaser has no detail about the content of the feature, it will be interesting to see if Self goes out of its way to explain the device's appeal to a non-techy audience. Our colleagues over at Racked have discussed the difficulties of making the Apple Watch appeal to the fashion world, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Apple is aiming at the fitness market too.