Apple has just unveiled the $79 official Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock about a week before Black Friday, which will challenge third-party smartwatch chargers. Leaked photos of the Apple charger showed up on the Web a few days ago. This circular wireless accessory juices up the wrist wearable by using two methods and its upgraded operating system.
The new product appeared on the online Apple Store on November 18, Wednesday, and will likely be available in the company's retail stores this week, according to Time. It is just in time for the holiday shopping season.
One method of powering up the wearable is to lay down the watch flat on the charger. The other technique uses the new "Nightstand mode" in which the Apple Watch is placed on its side.
While the wearable is in Nightstand mode the digital watch's time, date, and alarm settings are shown in a green font for a couple of seconds. Tapping the wrist wearable or even bumping a nightstand it is on can cause the time to show again, according to ZDNet.
The new Apple Watch charging dock is much larger than the wireless charger bundled with the smartwatch. It is around 3-inches in diameter, which provides some wiggle room when charging the smart watch.
Apple's official charging dock also includes a Lightning port and USB cable. No power brick is required.
Alternative third-party chargers include the Qi-compatible charger that is much cheaper. Some critics argue that the Apple charger's nearly $80 price tag is even high based on the company's standard mark-ups.
It is quite possible that the new Apple Watch charging dock costs around $20 for materials and labor, which would result in a $60 profit margin, according to ZDNet. However, it might be worth the price for smartwatch owners who believe the new accessory is a must-have for personal use or as a stocking stuffer.
Apple's cash cows are its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch units. However, for the first quarter of 2015 it also reported $2.6 billion in revenue from accessories.