This Apple Watch x Rolex crossover concept puts the real thing to shame

Apple Watch Ultra concept with Rolex Daytona design
(Image credit: 4RMD)

The Apple Watch Ultra is hugely popular right now and for good reason, but did you ever think that it could be even more popular if it looked a little bit more like a Rolex Daytona mechanical watch?

You probably didn't, no. But now you are. And the answer can be found in this new concept that takes the iconic Rolex Daytona chronograph and makes it all smart.

The only thing that really worries us about this concept? Could Apple really sell an Apple Watch that would likely cost more than its $50,000 Mac Pro?

Two iconic watches combined

The Apple Watch Ultra has become a hit since it was released at the end of 2022, but few watches can compare with the Rolex Daytona. It's about as iconic as these things get, and few brands are as recognizable as Rolex. A collab between the two would make all kinds of sense, but it seems highly unlikely.

Apple seems to have learned its lesson after the Apple Watch Edition farce that saw it try to sell $17,000 models in solid gold. And while it sells Hermes Apple Watches and bands, they're still far from the premium that anything with the Rolex name would demand, even if it would be the best Apple Watch ever made.

But ignoring boring things like costs and whether anyone would buy it, we can probably all agree that this concept has an intriguing look, even if it might not be your thing.

The concept imagines a circular 1.5-inch Retina display encased in a titanium body with orange accents. In addition, we'd get a sapphire crystal for added scratch resistance and 100m water resistance.

Inside, concept designer 4RMD imagines an Apple Watch powered by an Apple S9 chip with 32GB of storage and a 60-hour battery. Of course, all the usual sensors are included, with the much-maligned crash detection also present and correct.

With all that said, and considering the pros and cons, there's only one real question left. Would you buy the "Daytona Ultra" or not?

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.