“Apple is gearing up to battle Nike, Fitbit and Jawbone in the health wearables space with its most innovative product since the iPad,” Jennifer Booton reports for MarketWatch. “If the iWatch is at the minimum announced on Sept. 9 or in October, an early 2015 ramp-up of deliveries would encroach on sales of popular exercise bracelets during the key holiday shopping season, as Apple devotees flock to Tim Cook’s first new product category as CEO.”
“Fitbit, Jawbone and Nike FuelBands accounted for the vast majority of wearable sales last year with a 97% share, though just 3.3 million fitness bands and activity trackers were sold in the U.S. between April 2013 and March 2014, according to the NPD Group,” Booton reports. “A device hasn’t emerged with enough authority to encourage mass-market adoption, analysts say. Data from Rock Health even shows a sharp decline in use after just six months.”
“However, downward trends are expected to reverse with the debut of the iWatch, as Apple brings marketability to a product that has struggled to take off in America. In the long term, it could revitalize demand for other types of fitness bands, particularly lower-cost ones,” Booton reports. “IDC in April projected that the wearable-computer market would skyrocket to 19.2 million units sold in 2014. Morgan Stanley in July told clients Apple could sell as many as 60 million iWatch units in its first year.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple won’t be battling Nike.
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