Exclusive | Hong Kong smartwatch start-up gearing for friendly competition with Apple
Hong Kong-based Kairos Watches executive says the success of Apple's watch will keep the sector - and brands like his - ticking
Hong Kong-based technology start-up Kairos Watches is betting that the success of the new Apple Watch could prove a boon for its own ambitions in the global market for smart wearable devices.
“We love the Apple Watch,” Sam Yang, the founder and managing director of Kairos Watches told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview. “As more companies launch a smartwatch, this industry as a whole will only strengthen.”
On March 9, US time, Apple will officially launch the Apple Watch at a media event in California after the long-awaited product was first briefly introduced last September. It has already drawn attention from competitors and consumers all over the world.
Research firm Strategy Analytics last Friday predicted that total global smartwatch shipments will grow 511 per cent to 28.1 million units this year, up from 4.6 million last year. It estimated shipments of the Apple Watch will reach 15.4 million units to lead the industry.
Hong Kong businessman Yang's optimism also stems from the high interest generated by smartwatch purveyors at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, last week.
In particular, new smartwatch models exhibited at the event by the likes of Huawei Technologies and LG Electronics generated plenty of glowing publicity ahead of the formal launch of the Apple Watch collection this week and its expected availability next month.