Since it was announced, the Apple Watch has turned into one of the most talked-about personal electronic on the Internet and definitely the most anticipated gadget to be released in the near future. Even the UAE’s official Apple store already has a dedicated page to it! We all know how it will look, but can we see its functionality, based on what executives promise? Speculations of all sorts are flooding the Internet and while some are quite unbelievable, others are almost 100% true. If you follow up, you should know by now why to buy or not to buy the Apple Watch.
With the upcoming release of the Apple watch, the marketing campaign has become much more aggressive – the smart gadget has made its debut on a popular U.S. magazine cover. The March issue of magazine “Self” features Victoria’s secret model Candice Swanepooel, who wears athletic clothing and Apple Watch. Unlike last year’s magazine cover appearance of the Apple Watch – in Vogue China, now the shoot focuses on health and fitness, instead of style and luxury. It means Apple is targeting the techy, health- and fitness-oriented audience. But is it stylish? No, according to the fashion industry. Most of us, however, aren’t fashion professionals, and most of them would actually buy it – if it has good functionality and as most probably it will be affordable. And the success of the Apple Watch will depend solely on whether we, the ordinary consumers, will be convinced to buy it or not.
With its new product, set for release in April, Apple is targeting the health and fitness category of consumers. However, the company is now reportedly having trouble receiving accurate readings from the watch’s sensors – that is why heart rate monitoring and other similar options won’t be actually featured in the smartwatch. Some media observers say that Apple ordered between 5 and 6 million Apple Watches to be produced. Half of the order from Quanta Computer in Taiwan will be the base model, Apple Watch Sport, which will hit the stores with a price tag of $349. One third will be the more expensive Apple Watch, while another third will be the luxury model.
However, it is highly unlikely Apple to be able to sell 5 million devices in 2015 – the entire wristband wearables market isn’t as big tech companies would like to be. Or at least, not this year! According to data from Canalsys, 4.6 million smart wearables were shipped last year, with almost 3 million of them made by industry leader FitBit, which is fitness-oriented, and not a technology company. Only 720,000 Google Android Wear were sold. If Apple really debuts the device without half of its health-related options, it probably won’t be able to compete with FitBit. And it certainly won’t sell 5 million watches.
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So, if you are looking for a health-focused wearable device, you will probably find a better one than Apple Watch. In fact, activity tracking, reminders and fitness functions are also available in other, cheaper wristbands and other gadgets on the market. They may not be perfect, but the Apple Watch won’t be either. The thing that really makes it stand out and could win over its competitors is Apple Pay. If it looks pointless to you, you are like 95% of the people – you say you can use Apple pay with your iPhone, others say they can just simply take out their plastic card and pay for the product or service they are buying.
In both cases, you will need to stop, take something out, punch your PIN and wait for at least 30 seconds. But it’s believed that we’ll be able to skip all this with Apple Watch. Once the device is on your wrist and you’ve previously entered the PIN in it, you will make payments with a single click on the watch. If you use Apple Pay, this device will certainly make your life easier.
In fact, it can make your life a little bit easier, as long as you are an iPhone user – experts say you can run some of your phone apps on the watch. Actually, not the entire apps – just extensions of them, as the watch isn’t a computer device, which means you can use it as a remote control for your iPhone (sort of). And while for all tech enthusiasts this sounds amazing, it’s really complicated to regular people, who now wonder where to save cash for it, when it hits the stores in two months.
Well, if you plan to buy an iPhone or use Apple pay anytime soon, we would recommend that you consider owning the device. If you aren’t the biggest Apple fan, however, you will probably find great fitness gadgets on the market.
“However, it is highly unlikely Apple to be able to sell 5 million devices in 2015…”
It is highly likely that an initial 5 million would sell out the first weekend.