Apple (AAPL) is expected to finally release its iOS take on the smartwatch, the so-called “Apple iWatch” in October. The anticipation that the smartphone and consumer electronics juggernaut would enter the wearables market has already had an impact.
Nike (NKE) wound down development of its Nike Fuelband — one of the better-known wearables — in favor of software development in a move that was widely attributed to getting while the getting was good.
But the Apple iWatch is going to have a lot more competition in October than it would have had earlier this year.
Google (GOOG) is pushing for smartwatch domination with its new Android Wear operating system and smartwatches from its hardware partners are on sale now, or will be in coming weeks. The iWatch will face much tougher competition for consumer dollars.
Here are five of the smartwatch alternatives likely to give the Apple iWatch a fight come October.
Apple iWatch Competition: Moto 360
If there’s one smartwatch that has been the subject to anywhere near the anticipation of Apple’s iWatch it’s Motorola’s Moto 360.
To date, almost all smartwatch entries have been square or rectangular in shape. The Moto 360 takes full advantage of Android Wear’s support for circular displays to offer a high-tech wearable that could pass as a traditional wristwatch.
With pricing expected to be in the $249 ballpark, the Moto 360 could be a hot seller and real competition for Apple’s iWatch.
Apple iWatch Competition: Samsung Gear Live
Samsung (SSNLF) has four significant advantages with its Gear Live smartwatch.
- This is the company’s third major round of wearables released in 12 months (last year’s Galaxy Gear, followed by the Gear 2/Gear 2 Neo several months ago), so it’s had time to tweak designs.
- Along with the LG G Watch, the Gear Live was featured at the Google I/O conference Android Wear reveal, gaining valuable exposure.
- The Gear Live is designed to be paired with Samsung’s smartphones like the Galaxy S5, making this smartwatch the natural fit for Android’s largest customer base.
- The price is now $199.99, making it one of the least expensive smartwatch options.
Apple iWatch Competition: LG G Watch
One of the first two Android Wear smartwatches released — and probably the better looking of the two — the LG G Watch (reviewed here) is also one of the first smartwatches to specifically target women in its advertising.
While the $229 G Watch offers all the functionality of Android Wear and is offered in a traditional Black Titan case, LG is marketing the smartwatch’s slim design and place among fashionable accessories. It’s also available in a white-and-gold case, and was made to be compatible with standard replacement watch straps.
Other smartwatch manufacturers are pushing the tech aspects of their wearables, but LG is hoping to take on the Apple iWatch by emphasizing the fashionable design of the G watch.
Apple iWatch Competition: Pebble Steel
Pebble is the Kickstarter darling whose first smartwatch was a big part of the wearable tech’s first wave.
Faced with the reality that every consumer electronics company in the world would soon be releasing a smartwatch, Pebble introduced a new, more grown up-looking version of its smartwatch in 2014, the $249 Pebble Steel.
Some people might be tempted to write Pebble off in the face of Android Wear and the soon-to-arrive Apple iWatch, but it remains popular for features like its thriving app store, weeklong battery life (most smartwatch competitors last just a day), a display that’s easy to read in full sunlight, and compatibility with both Android and iOS.
Unlike the Nike Fuelband, it looks like Pebble will stick around to take on the iWatch.
Apple iWatch Competition: HP’s Michael Bastian Smartwatch
One of the things the Apple iWatch is bound to have going for it is looks — after all, Apple products are known as much for their design as their functionality.
Apple’s smartwatch is going to have competition in that respect from an unexpected source: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).
In the fall, the company is releasing a smartwatch featuring design by Michael Bastian, available through Gilt, an online luxury goods retailer.
Details are scarce on HP’s smartwatch but it has the looks to compete with an Apple iWatch, it’s obviously being positioned as a premium accessory (not necessarily something aimed at the tech-crowd), and TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington says it will support notifications from both Android and iOS devices.
Call the HP smartwatch a dark horse, but by going after the same iPhone owners AAPL counts on to buy an iWatch, it might actually throw a wrench in Apple’s plans.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
