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What Could Make or Break the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is expected to make its big debut on Monday.
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/ Source: CNBC.com

The Apple Watch is expected to make its big debut on Monday, and both Silicon Valley and Wall Street will be eyeing the much-hyped wearable for imperfections.

Max Wolff, chief economist and tech expert at Manhattan Venture Partners, had a laundry list of concerns about Apple's entry in the wearable tech scene, chief among them water resistance, battery life and screen size.

Apple showed off its watch design last September, but it didn't provide several vital details that many consumers would use to determine whether to buy one. Many gadget lovers are looking to find out whether the watch is water resistant, Wolff said.

"Nobody wants to pay $500 for something, then wash their hands and have it be a very expensive paperweight," Wolff said. "Also the battery life. It's also fun to have a watch that's alive on your wrist."

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Another point of concern for consumers will be how apps work on the device, Wolff said, especially given the watch's small screen. Apple announced last November that developers were starting to design apps for its watch and start battling that challenge.

The watch will only be compatible with the iPhone 5 or newer, running iOS 8, according to Apple. The price was also a concern for Wolff.

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The lowest-priced Apple Watch will cost about $350, but anything beyond the base model will cost significantly more, with the average unit costing more than $500, according to Wolff's estimates. Apple plans to offer three lines of the watch, each with two different sizes.

"So there will be some folks who want it and have to aspire to it, and need to upgrade their phones to get it, and probably from a sort of profit perspective for Apple, getting more people excited about getting the phone or upgrading their phone will probably make them more money in the short run than the watch," Wolff told CNBC.