Skip to main content

Don’t blow $17,000 on an Apple Watch Edition, buy this tech instead

The majority of tech is priced to appeal to the mass market. It has to be affordable for the average Joe without requiring a second mortgage. Apple has always positioned itself as a premium brand at the top end of the price categories, but the Apple Watch reaches new heights. Pricing starts at an affordable $350, but Apple has clearly taken inspiration from the luxury watch market, because the Apple Watch Edition can cost as much as $17,000.

The exclusive Watch Edition starts at $10,000 and features 18-Karat rose and yellow gold cases. The most expensive of the bunch are the 38mm versions with matching solid gold buckles on the straps and they cost $17,000. Far be it from us to point out how risky it may prove to drop that kind of cash on a first-generation piece of electronics that could be obsolete in a couple of years, but we would like to point out some of the other tech wonders you might snap up for around the same amount of cash.

Recommended Videos

If you want to stick with Apple then $17,000 would buy you 26 iPhone 6s, 34 iPad Air 2s, or 13 of the new MacBooks.

LG E65EC9700 4k Ultra HD TV ($10,000)

LG-E65EC9700_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If we had $17,000 burning a hole in our pocket, then a big screen TV would be near the top of the list. How about LG’s world-beating, curved OLED, with a 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution, and “infinite contrast?” It’s also super slim and sexy, and it’s packed with every feature you can think of, as well as a few more you can’t. Our review summed it up nicely with the line, “If you’ve got the cash and you want the best TV money can buy today, this is it.”

Read our review

Vertu for Bentley ($17,100)

Vertu-for-Bentley_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’ve got a Bentley, then you can afford the $17,100 price tag for this luxury, Android smartphone. You won’t find the value in the unremarkable specs with a Snapdragon 801 under the hood, driven by 2GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch, 1080p display, a 13-megapixel camera, and last year’s Android 4.4 KitKat. This is more about the use of Newmarket Tan quilted calf leather and titanium materials in its construction. It does also have a Bentley app offering remote features for your car. Of course, there’s the prominent Bentley badge, as well. You’ll even have enough change left over to snap up an Apple Watch Sport.

Read our hands on review

Sony VPL-VW600ES 4K projector ($10,495)

Sony-VPL-VW600ES-SXRD-4K-projector_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you want to set up a real home cinema, this projector can output 4K content and upscale from normal HD onto a screen that’s between 60 and 200 inches in size. It has a brightness of 1,700 ANSI lumens, boasts 200,000:1 contrast ratio, and it’s HDMI 2.0 compatible, so you can get 60 frames per second at 4,096 x 2,160 pixel resolution. Shop around and you’ll find it cheaper, which will leave you some money to buy a cinema sound system that can back it up, maybe something like the Pioneer Elite Dolby Atmos-enabled speaker system.

Local Motors 3D-printed Strati (~$17,000)

Local-Motors-3D-printed-Strati_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You could buy a new car for less than $17,000 or a nice second-hand model, but how about something even more techie? Local Motors used a 3D printer to make a full-size, drivable, two-seater car from less than 50 parts. It has a top speed of 50 mph, an electric engine with a 62-mile range, and it only took 44 hours to print off. The total cost to print a car is around the same as that gold Apple Watch, but they’re working on reducing the cost right now.

BeamPro Robot ($16,000)

BeamPro-Robot_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You could have your very own “telepresence” robot for $16,000. That sounds way cooler than a watch right? Well, you might change your mind when you see it, because it’s one of those iPad’s on a stick with a set of wheels. The BeamPro is designed to give you a physical presence in the office even when you can’t be there, and it allows you to huffily storm out of a meeting, or arrive late in a more dramatic fashion than your disembodied head on a meeting room screen could ever hope to achieve.

Bionic Bopper Cars ($17,000)

Bionic-Bopper-Cars_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A motorized boxing robot that you can sit in could be hard to pass up, we’re not scraping the bottom of the barrel here at all. It’s powered by a Honda gas engine, the cockpit is a steel cage, and it can carry up to 300 pounds in weight. The top speed is a disappointing three miles-per-hour. It’s like a bumper car that can punch, and you’re supposed to square up to the other robot and try to knock his block off. They’re like life-sized “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” and they’re … well, actually, they’re seriously lame, maybe we’ll take that watch after all.

If you had $17,000 spare and you had to spend it on tech what would you buy?

Simon Hill
Former Associate Mobile Editor
Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all things tech. He is currently the Associate Mobile…
The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Read more
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more