“According to JMP Securities technology analyst Alex Guana, Apple’s slow launch into the wearables market has left a large opening for competitor Fitbit,” E. Werner Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “Guana claims Fitbit is the ‘clear leader in the market with over 11 million units sold last year.’ Guana continued by saying that Fitbit is currently ahead of Apple Watch as far as price points, battery life and GPS tracking. However, he did concede that long-term, Apple can bring a lot of ‘power’ with iOS and versatility. These Apple advantages will give Fitbit some serious competition.”
“When asked whether the current wearables market is like the smartphone market in years past, like Blackberry being the leader in an emerging market until Apple and Google stepped in offering far more versatility and power to smartphones,” Reschke writes, “Guana said that will be Fitbit’s challenge going forward, not to be ‘Blackberried.'”
“We believe this ‘challenge’ to Fitbit starts now, not in a year or two as Guana thinks,” Reschke writes. “Apple Watch is now in retail Apple Stores…”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple Watch vs. Fitbit is no contest because Apple Watch can simply do so much more (already, even without native third party apps). This is just going to get worse for Fitbit, not better.
That said, Apple should really focus on social networking and fitness. Let people compete with each other as much as possible via the Apple Watch’s Workout and Activity apps. A good “Fitness Center” for Apple’s Workout and Activity apps and third-party fitness apps would be a welcome addition for fitness-minded Apple Watch users.