????本文為與《時代》雜志的合作內(nèi)容，原文發(fā)表于Time.com。

????用蘋果公司CEO蒂姆?庫克的話說，蘋果手表“美得驚人”，但也有人說，蘋果手表“沒用得驚人”。

????果粉們紛紛唱衰蘋果手表。坊間充斥著大量負(fù)面評論（諸如“又厚又丑的破玩意兒”、“非常愚蠢的理念”等等），分析師們認(rèn)為蘋果手表的第一年銷量或?qū)⒎浅K淡。投資者也不是非常樂觀：在蘋果手表發(fā)布會次日，蘋果股價應(yīng)聲下跌了2%。

????但人們卻忽視了一點：蘋果還有一個面積達(dá)960萬平方公里的龐大市場——中國。

????中國消費(fèi)者喜愛蘋果產(chǎn)品并不是什么秘密。去年秋天，中國二道販子和狂熱果粉奔襲全世界，排上幾天長隊只為搶購iPhone 6的場景至今令人記憶猶新。有些水客為了逃避關(guān)稅，在內(nèi)衣褲里都塞滿了iPhone 6。一名男子甚至用99部iPhone 6向女友求婚（女友拒絕了他。）

????現(xiàn)在，鑒于蘋果手表將于4月24日正式登陸中國大陸，中國果粉們已經(jīng)開始制造各種荒誕不經(jīng)的頭條新聞。本周，一名廣州男子因販毒被捕，而他鋌而走險的動機(jī)竟然是為了賺錢買蘋果手表——顯然他看不上近來各地紛紛涌現(xiàn)的“made in 華強(qiáng)北”的山寨貨。但對蘋果公司來說，山寨的泛濫其實是個好消息，這說明中國市場對正品蘋果手表的需求極其旺盛。而此前的可穿戴設(shè)備，比如三星的Galaxy Gear，則從未享受過被山寨廠商仿冒的待遇。

????因此，蘋果很可能要指望中國果粉大軍來給它刷全球銷量了。然而中國并不是蘋果手表的“備胎”，事實上，由于中國有這么多忠實的果粉，蘋果手表很可能就是一款專為中國設(shè)計的產(chǎn)品。

????蘋果手表在中國的優(yōu)勢也很簡單：當(dāng)蘋果稱該設(shè)備是一款奢侈品時，中國消費(fèi)者聽了很少會發(fā)笑。2015年，蘋果成為中國的頭號奢侈品牌，其排名超過了LV和Gucci。近來，隨著中國奢侈品消費(fèi)者從單純地炫富（連國家主席習(xí)近平也譴責(zé)中國精英愛買勞力士等奢侈品炫富的心態(tài)“不健康”）轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楦⒅貙嵱眯裕O果在中國奢侈品消費(fèi)者心目中的地位也再度提升。

????對蘋果來說，另一個利好消息是，中國消費(fèi)者非常重視奢侈品的品牌。瑞士奢侈品研究咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)DLG公司2014年發(fā)布的報告顯示，有73%的中國人在線搜索名貴手表時是按品牌名稱搜索的，這個比重幾乎是美國人的兩倍。單是蘋果的品牌認(rèn)知度，就足以使很多中國人心甘情愿地掏錢——不過品牌問題反過來卻會影響蘋果手表在美國的銷量，因為蘋果在美國一般被認(rèn)為是個科技品牌而不是時尚標(biāo)簽。

????所有這些都有利于緩解高昂的售價給人帶來的痛感。美國人會把349美元到1.7萬美元的價格拿來與其它消費(fèi)電子產(chǎn)品進(jìn)行比較，但中國消費(fèi)者則會把它與其它名貴手表作對比。根據(jù)DLG公司的數(shù)據(jù)，全球奢侈品牌腕表的中間價格是1.07萬美元。相比之下，起價349美元的Apple Watch Sport和起價549美元的Apple Watch都不算特別貴，而購買一款包金裹銀，起價1萬美元的Apple Watch Edition也不算特別瘋狂的舉動。另外，中國的奢侈品手表市場一直在迅速增長，這一定程度上要?dú)w功于近年來中國女性人均收入的上漲。

????This post is in partnership with Time. The article below was originally published at Time.com.

????In Apple CEO Tim Cook’s words, the Apple Watch is “incredibly beautiful.” But some are saying it’s “incredibly unnecessary.”

????Apple followers haven’t been shy in arguing that the upcoming Apple Watch will be a flop. Dismissive reviews of Apple’s first wearable are plentiful (“a thick, ugly clunker,” “a very stupid idea“), while analysts’ fresh estimates of first-year sales have trended on the low side. Investors haven’t been too optimistic either:Apple’s stock fell 2% Tuesday, a day after it unveiled more Apple Watch details.

????But what few realize is that Apple has a 3.7 million square mile ace up its sleeve: China.

????It’s no secret that Chinese consumers love their Apple products. Chinese resellers and admirers alike traveled the world and lined up for days to sweep up Apple’s latest iPhone last fall. Some constructed iPhone 6 “undergarments” to bypass customs duties on the way home. One man even used 99 iPhone 6 units to propose to his girlfriend. (She said no.)

????Now, with the Apple Watch heading to China on April 24, the country’s Apple fans have already begun generating outlandish headlines. A Guangzhou man was arrested this week for selling drugs in order to finance his Apple Watch, clearly unwilling to settle for one of many cheap knockoff Apple Watches fresh on China’s black market. Those counterfeits are good news for Apple—they’re an indication demand will be high for the real thing. Previous wearables, like Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, had never been popular enough to make it into China’s counterfeit market.

????Apple, then, is likely counting on its legions of Chinese fans to scoop up Apple Watches to help boost worldwide sales. But China is no back-up plan. In fact, given Apple’s loyal following in China, the Apple Watch could very well have been made for China.

????The Apple Watch’s biggest advantage in China is deceptively simple: Few Chinese consumers laugh when Apple touts the device as a luxury item.Apple became China’s top luxury brand for 2015, outranking labels like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. More recently, Apple’s status has risen as Chinese consumers of luxury goods prioritize functionality overostentatiousness—a taboo that China’s President Xi Jinping deplored as “unhealthy,” criticizing Chinese elites’ obsession with status symbols like Rolex watches.

????Even better for Apple is how much Chinese consumers value brand names in luxury goods. According to Digital Luxury Group’s (DLG) 2014 report, 73% of online searches for luxury watches are about brand names, almost twice the rate of Americans. Apple’s brand recognition could seal the deal for the Apple Watch in China—but it could also hurt sales in the U.S., where Apple is seen as a tech brand rather than a fashion label:

????All this will help ease sticker shock, too. While Americans will compare the Apple Watch’s $349-$17,000 price tag to the cost of consumer electronics, Chinese consumers are more likely to stack it up against luxury timepieces. The worldwide median price of a luxury watch is about $10,700, according to DLG. That means the Apple Watch Sport (starting $349) and Apple Watch (starting $549) are inexpensive by comparison, while the gold and silver Apple Watch Edition models that start at $10,000 aren’t crazy purchases. China’s luxury timepiece market is also growing rapidly, partially thanks to the rise in Chinese women’s incomes: