Apple Watch vs. Android Wear - will smartwatches catch on?
On the eve of the release of the Apple Watch, we compare it with some of its competitors
- isn't that the one that only comes in gold and costs HK$130,000? When Apple announced its latest device in March after months of speculation, it was careful to mention a special custom 18-carat gold alloy Apple Watch Edition. The gadget since has grabbed headlines both good and bad (OK, mostly the latter), and has helped insert into everyday conversation the idea of a smartwatch as "trophy tech".
Luckily for most of us, the price for the "normal" Apple Watch is far lower - it starts at HK$2,728. The positioning of the Apple Watch as a luxury status symbol does beg the question: does anybody actually need, or even want, a smartwatch? Available to pre-order in Hong Kong on April 10 ahead of availability on April 24, Apple Watch comes a full decade after many people abandoned their wristwatch to rely only on a smartphone as a timepiece. But smartwatches are not about telling time. Linked to a phone via Bluetooth, they're about controlling a phone hands-free. On a smartwatch, new emails, messages and texts can be seen at a glance, music can be controlled, and apps like a compass, activity tracking and weather data are all made wrist-ready.
The smartwatches that are hitting store shelves are the first salvo in a battle to replace the pocket phone.
"We expect sales in wearables to go up by 38 per cent in 2015," says Annette Zimmermann, research director at analyst firm Gartner, which has offices in Hong Kong. For now, the smartwatch and the smartphone will co-exist. "We don't see these devices replacing the smartphone in the next five years, rather they are a complementary device," she says, but adds that the latest high-profile smartwatch should help popularise the concept of wearable devices.