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The $10,000 Apple Watch could let you spend $1,000 on extended AppleCare

The $10,000 Apple Watch could let you spend $1,000 on extended AppleCare

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Vertu, a former subdivision of Nokia, was at one point the obvious option for anyone looking to burn tens of thousands of dollars on ridiculously ostentatious and quickly obsolete personal electronics. You weren't just buying a mid-tier Android phone swaddled in leather, gold, and precious stones. You were getting access to things like a 24-hour concierge service, "exclusive access to cultural events," and, at the particularly surreal end of the spectrum, newly composed "exclusive ring tones" recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The $10,000 (at minimum) gold Apple Watch Edition smartwatch skimps on most of these features. Instead of a "personal lifestyle manager," buyers will get to skip the line at Apple's stores and spend an hour getting acquainted with a dedicated watch expert. Fortunately, 9to5Mac reports that luxury Apple Watch buyers will be able to show off their status with an extra year of technical support and repairs, for the appropriately luxurious price of $999. It's no symphony ringtone, but it'll do.

The Apple Watch Edition actually does come with better free support than just about anything in Apple's present catalog, including other watches. It includes two complimentary years of AppleCare, compared with one year of hardware repairs and 90 days of phone support for its high-end Mac Pro computer. The $999 AppleCare+ subscription will bring that up to three years. 9to5Mac notes that Apple charges a roughly similar percent of the base model for the Mac Pro, which costs around $3,000 for the base model and includes three years of care for $249.

If you're the sort of lowly peasant who would rather buy Apple's Watch or Watch Sport models, Apple will reportedly offer a second year of support for $79 and $59 respectively. Exclusive symphony ringtones will presumably not be included.