On Wednesday, Apple is expected to unveil the “Apple Watch Pro,” a new high-end, ruggedized, larger Apple Watch that will take aim at Garmin, the current market-share leader for smartwatches that cost $500 and up.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The most significant new product coming will be the company’s first Apple Watch Pro. It’s designed to go straight after Garmin Ltd.’s high-end, rugged watches — a lineup aimed at heavy-duty athletes like mountain bikers, hikers and marathon runners.
While Apple held about 36% of the smartwatch market in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research, here’s a statistic you may find surprising: Even though Apple is known for premium prices, Garmin is the market-share leader for models that cost $500 and up. With the Apple Watch Pro, that could change.
The new high-end Apple Watch will have a noticeably larger display, so users can view redesigned watch faces and more fitness and health-tracking statistics at the same time. It will also have a larger battery, along with a low-power mode, and a rugged titanium casing. Moreover, it features an all-new design that revamps a form factor first introduced with the Series 4 in 2018.
Given the new capabilities, I expect this watch to come in at least $900 to $1,000, topping the current Apple Watch Edition. For comparison, Garmin’s high-end watches cost between $1,000 and $1,500.
MacDailyNews Take: Garmin’s lead in the premium smartwatch market begins to rapidly evaporate tomorrow!
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