14 DAY TRIAL // Not much longer now. The wearable industry’s top players have finished showing off their gizmos at CES 2015, but the company with the most potential didn’t put in an appearance. Not officially, anyway.
Last week, news broke out that Apple had sent just four people on the floor at CES (Consumer Electronics Show), and we know for a fact that none of them was tasked with showing off any new products. What we do know is that, despite not making an official appearance, the Cupertino company dominated the stream of news stemming from the trade show.
CES knockoffs
One of the biggest clues that the Apple Watch is already making waves is the fact that several smartwatch vendors chose to use their CES booths to promote clones. Not just devices that worked similarly to the Apple device, but actual knockoffs that aimed to replicate the look and feel of Apple’s wearable with great precision. Not surprisingly, they got quite a bit of attention.
The clones look exactly like Apple’s upcoming product from afar, but get a little closer and you’ll instantly spot the differences: fewer sensors, different charging methods (non-wireless), ordinary glass instead of strengthened glass or sapphire, and overall a poor build. The price tags also gave them away as blatant copies (mere tens of dollars apiece).
Apple’s does more than all existing smartwatches combined
No one really knows what it’s like to own an Apple watch, except for the people who are testing it in Cupertino. Which means you should reserve your judgments for when the thing ships. And don’t pay too much attention to nay-sayers’ rants.
Take any existing smartwatch today and you’ll soon realize that it doesn’t do anything extra compared to Apple’s bill of features. In fact, Apple’s device comes with such a huge array of functions – from tracking your physiology to assisting wireless communications and even contactless payments – that it can easily compete with everything currently available on the market, at once. And this doesn’t include the design.
$350 is really not that expensive
Think Apple sells overly priced hardware? Well, at least in the wearables department, pricing won’t be an issue. Considering how much money a good quality watch costs these days. Now, compare that to the price of the entry-level Apple Watch Sport ($350 / €350), or even the price of the steel version with a bigger screen, estimated at roughly $500 / €500.
People who really care what they put on their wrists spend way more than that for a good quality watch. Even the gold-crafted Apple Watch Edition has a market of its own. Don’t think for a second that Kim Kardashian and countless other celebrities out there will pass on the opportunity to own one. Even if they won’t know what to do with it.
Round one, fight!
Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions regarding the up-and-coming Apple Watch. Some say it won’t sell too many units because the market is saturated / the pricing isn’t right / the timing isn’t right / no one needs a smartwatch. Others are such believers in Apple that they simply can’t imagine it being anything less than a home run, regardless of what the media is saying. Finally, there are those who prefer the wait-and-see approach, and we imagine it’s these advisors who have the smartest investors as their clients.
Even if the aforementioned aspects aren’t enough to declare the Apple Watch a winner, it’s certainly advisable to sit put and assess the situation after you’ve seen it with your own eyes. History has shown that banking against Apple is more often than not a bad idea, even when the product is overhyped.
And let’s not forget that the iPhone only fully blossomed when the App Store stepped into the scene. Don’t think for a second that Apple hasn’t planned a similar move for its watch thingy.