Got a lazy twenty five thousand dollars (or thereabouts) doing nothing? Both Samsung and Apple have the product for you! But which should you buy?
At last night’s Samsung SUHD TV launch (which I’ve written up over at PC Mag, if you want the actual specifics), Samsung revealed just how much you’ll pay for the company’s top of the line JS9500 SUHD Television set.
To get specific about it, the top model this year will set you back a rather hefty $24,999. Although Samsung are throwing in six months of the top tier Netflix Australia 4K package in with the deal, so you’re at least saving $89.94 there.
In the interests of fair reporting, I should note that top-line TVs do, in fact, typically go for those kinds of prices. Still, this got me thinking, because a very similar sum had been rattling around in my head (but sadly not my wallet) for some time.
You see, in Australia, the very top of the line Apple Watch Edition costs $24,000. I’d initially thought they were price equivalent, and was a little annoyed that they’re not, but it strikes me that it shouldn’t be too hard to haggle a $24,999 TV down by a little on the shop floor, especially if you’re willing to pay cash. That’s only around a four per cent discount. Should be a doddle.
So if you had around $24,000-$25,000 burning a hole in your wallet, what could you buy?
Sadly for me, I don’t have that kind of cash, so all I can do is compare the specifications as they stand. Something tells me that both Samsung and Apple will be a little reluctant to loan either out for review purposes. Call it a hunch.
[table]
Product,Apple Watch Edition,Samsung JS9500 SUHD TV,,,,,,
Australian RRP,”$24,000.00″,”$24,999.00″,,,,,,
Models Available,Two (38mm 18-Carat Yellow Gold Case with Bright Red Modern Buckle/38mm 18-Carat Rose Gold Case with Rose Grey Modern Buckle),One,,,,,,
Screen Size,1.7 Inches,88 Inches,,,,,,
Resolution,272×340 pixels,3840×2160,,,,,,
Dimensions,38.6×33.3×10.5mm,1134.6×1963.1×1217.2mm,,,,,,
Weight,93 grams,59kg (without stand),,,,,,
Connectivity,”Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)”,”4xHDMI, 3xUSB, 1xEthernet, Wi-Fi (802.11ac)”,,,,,,
Estimated Battery Life,Up to 18 Hours,Zero Minutes,,,,,,
Smart TV Features,No,Yes,,,,,,
Heart Rate Sensor,Yes,No,,,,,,
Water Resistant,Yes,No,,,,,,
Netflix Compatibility,No,Yes,,,,,,
[/table]
Now, the JS9500 is going to be a little bit hefty on your wrist, and conversely the Apple Watch won’t be great to huddle around with the family to watch the latest Hollywood Blockbuster on. Unless, that is, you happen to be, say, Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, or your family is entirely made up of fleas. Again, I feel confident in saying that’s not many of you.
But it’s only in compiling this (admittedly silly) table that I realise that if you did have 24 grand to drop on either device, the chances are pretty good that you’d have fifty grand to drop on both, and you might not even notice the gaping hole in your wallet. I’m not in that kind of tax bracket, and the chances are you’re not either.
But for the sake of argument, if you were handed the money and told you had to buy one or the other, which would you buy — and why?