Smartwatches: Wither Samsung in the pack?
Samsung has apparently been supplanted by competitors, particularly Apple, Inc. in the smartwatch business. In fact, the reviews of Apple Watch Series 3 launched 12 September 2017 were written as if Apple pioneered this line of high tech gadget, even though the market was actually dominated by Samsung as recently as mid-2015.
What smartwatches were already out there when Apple hopped on the bandwagon? Well, you had Samsung in the lead, with over 1.2 million smartwatches sold between October and December 2014, according to data from the Smartwatch Group. For the same time period, you also had Pebble (700,000), Fitbit (600,000), SONY (550,000), Lenovo (500,000), LG (420,000), Garmin - the navigation people (400,000), Withings (170,000), Polar (150,000), and Asus - the computer-manufacturing company (120,000). (The numbers in parenthesis indicate the units sold within the stated time period.) Where is Apple in this list?
The answer is: Nowhere to be found, for the 25 April 2015 offer by Apple was the company’s very first foray into this line of product. Where are all these other companies in the above list in last week’s review of smartwatches by many? I guess, not a chance, apparently. The question then is: What has Apple been doing to its watches that got Samsung toppled apparently so quickly and easily? I mean, when Apple Watch Series 3 came out two weeks ago, very few reviews mentioned Samsung, as if the company was irrelevant in smartwatches, barely two years on. In some recent reviews, Samsung doesn’t even make the Top Five list, giving way, not just to Apple, but to Huawei, Fitbit, and, in some reviews, to Xiaomi.
Apple is for image: The Series 3 watches launched 12 September 2017 are simply a tasteful mix of high tech wizardry, engineering, beauty and fashion statement, plus time-telling and LTE capabilities. (LTE stands for Long-Term Evolution, or the G4 or better Wireless Mobility standard. Here, it simply means you can connect to the Internet via the cellular technology - and without the need for the watch to piggyback on your iPhone.) In fact, Apple Watch Series 3 is so fashionable that GQ - the men’s magazine Gentlemen Quarterly - did an article on it a few days ago.
When Apple came out with its first watch, it was more or less a case of tech brag ado that had the appearance of bullying - basically commanding Samsung to give way. It was an undisguised attack with full force, which you could glean from the range of price points. The products began at $349 apiece for the Apple Watch Sport with an aluminum casing. The version with stainless steel casing went for $549 to $599, depending on the dimensions. The high-end Apple Watch Edition started at $10,000; with the luxury brand (18-Karat gold casing) reportedly being sold for as high as $17,000. (At least Apple was considerate to include products that cost under $350, providing some sliding-scale pricing, sort of; and giving many of us the chance to find our niche in this rather wide price spectrum.)
How are the prices now? Well, Apple Watch Series 3 has 4 models: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Nike+, Apple Watch Hermès, and Apple Watch Edition. The lowest-priced is advertised for $349; the next, $399; while the most expensive is $1,299, for the basic bare bone versions of the respective models. The $17,000 watch of 2015 is nowhere to be found in the new release. In addition to the features mentioned above, the new gadget doesn’t require a sim card. And you can in principle text, call, email, and stream music with the device; although it’s been reported that the latter two features don’t seem to be working as advertised! Also, there is not much talk about apps in recent reviews.
A motive for Apple watch is fashion, as well-suggested by the bling-bling. Or, is there a better way to make a fashion statement than to wear a watch that costs you $17,000? There is also the motive of convenience. The “coolness” factor of the products an Apple staple - is obviously also in the fore.
Is economic factor a motive for the watch? I am not sure of this. As a device to tell time, watches can get pretty cheap in deed, such that $10 can get you a nice watch that tells time fairly accurately. Thus, by and large, a buyer’s motive for Apple watch is mostly life-style - not as an essential device. Apple’s smartwatch will never have the same economic impact on Apple as iPhone does. Yes, the high-end watches will have takers, from the small pool of the world’s super rich, but you know that it was not the superrich that bought iPhone 6S en mass that led to the phenomenal capitalization of Apple in 2014.
A potentially sore point with Apple’s smartwatch is the relatively short battery life - 9 to 10 hours; which is definitely a show stopper. It is also important to note that Apple Watch cellular service doesn’t yet work internationally. Like I said in the 23 March 2015 article on this topic, Apple Watch is still work in progress.