It is not always that Apple Inc launches not one, but two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and still some other device gets all the eyeballs. But it has happened this time and it is a device called the Apple Watch.
By Nandagopal Rajan
Yes, Apple finally launched the much anticipated smartwatch which everyone thinks will be the biggest boost to the wearables industry.
If the first glimpse of this $349 device is any indicator, it might just.
The tech giant from Cupertino also launched the iPhone 6, but there were two of them in the end. A 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Both are large screens, showing they had to go with the tide and bite the phablet after all. Despite being larger, the two phones will be thinner than all the previous iPhones with the iPhone 6 being just 6.8mm thick, and the Plus being 7.1 mm. Compare that to the 7.6 mm on the iPhone 5S. As expected the two phones will have better processors, better cameras and screen quality.
Near Field Communication has been available on phones for years now. But the technology that initiates conversations between devices might have just got its biggest push with the new Apple Pay feature being debuted on the new iPhones. This allows customers to pay for anything with a “blink-and-you-miss” tap on the counter or online portal. Apple says the feature will launch with top banks in the US covering 83 per cent of the credit card volume. It has also lined up big retailers like Staples to join the Apple Pay bandwagon.
But the star of the Apple Keynote this time was its Watch, something CEO Tim Cook says Apple has been “working on for years”. And it shows. For the company has again been able to rethink the device from scratch. This means it will also work with Apple Pay and the company has used regular winder on the side to zoom in and out, as well as to switch between apps and features. It will, like other wearables in the market, keep a tab on your health as well.
Apple had indicated its intention to launch a smart device like this when it added the health features in iOS 8, announced earlier this year. The new phones and the watch will feature fitness and workout apps to help users live a better life.
The smart watch market is also a bigger growth opportunity for Apple. According to Canalys research the wearable band market grew 684 per cent globally in the first half of 2014 compared with the first half of 2013, while the smartphone market is growing by around 25 per cent. With no one one company really dominating the market, Apple would have a twinkle in its eyes looking at this segment.
On the flip side, all of Apple’s successes have been devices it pioneered in the market. But with the large screen phone as well as the smart watch, it has been considerably late. Now it remains to be seen if it can get it this time as well. We can only wait and watch.
The iPhone 6 will have prices starting $199 for 16GB, while the iPhone 6 Plus will start $299. The costliest of the two phones will have a $499 price tag, while the iPhone 5S will have cheaper $99 price point now. The new phones will be available for pre-order from September 12 in the US and will start shipping a week later. We can expect the phone to be available in India by end of the year. iWatch will be hitting stores only in 2015.