The near-saturation of the handheld smartphone market is ushering in a new era of wearable devices, with top tech companies neck-and-neck in the race to debut the latest and greatestpersonal mobile product. Doing so could potentially lock-in customers to the brands' range of smartphones, tablets and TV platforms. Unfortunately for struggling Apple, it looks like Samsung is going to beat it to the finish line.
Samsung's executive vice president of mobile, Younghee Lee, confirmed that the company would be "introducing a new wearable device concept called Galaxy Gear" at the IFA Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin on Sept. 4.
The "Gear," arguably a smartwatch powered by Android, has a 2.5-inch non-flexible display, 320x320 resolution, a dual core processor and is designed to complement the mobile experience.
“It will carve a niche for sure as this is an initial product in the market,” Chung Chang Won, analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Seoul, told Bloomberg. “Wearable devices could be one of the trends in the smartphone market, but I’m not sure yet whether watches or glasses will set the trend.”
Either way, September will be a busy month for tech companies. Samsung is also debuting its Galaxy Note 3, part smartphone, part tablet, while Apple reportedly plans to unveil its latest iPhone on Sept. 10. It's rumored that Apple's own smartwatch, dubbed iWatch, will also make an appearance at the events. Consumers can also likely look forward to the public launch of iOS 7, which the company unveiled in June, after Nuance, a voice recognition software firm,leaked an internal email citing the release.
In dire need of some innovation, Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S is rumored to have an improved camera, fingerprint sensor, and come in a variety of colors, including gold and a slate grey. To entice consumers further, Apple is reportedly launching a trade-in program that will allow consumers to exchange their older-version iPhones for a credit towards purchasing a new one.
“I see channels doing it, and I like the environmental aspect of it, and so that part of it really is encouraging to me,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a June quarterly earnings call, according to 9to5Mac. “The reason that is so attractive around an iPhone is that the residual value of an iPhone stays so high. That makes the trade-in programs a win-win from many points of view.”
Apple hopes the latest iPhone will be a 'win' with consumers, too.
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