In anticipation and controversy, Apple officially released the Apple Watch in the early hours of March 10, using a new pressure touch screen and sapphire mirror, the minimum price of 2588 yuan, 18K Gold version of the highest price 126800 yuan. It is noteworthy that the Chinese market has become the first market for Apple Watch, will be on April 10 to accept the purchase, April 24 official sale.
Since 2013, a number of companies have released smart watch products, but so far no one has achieved real market-level success. International companies such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola, Pebble have launched a variety of smart watch products, according to market research Institute Canalys Data, 2014 global based on the Android Wear wearable products sales of 720,000, And if you add all wearable equipment (including a large number of smart bracelet) total shipments (not actual sales) is only 4.6 million. Clearly, wearable products, including smart watches, have very limited user acceptance worldwide.
Apple Watch is expected to change the situation. Lenovo Group chairman and CEO Yang, Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu, Tcl Communications coo Wang before receiving the "one observation" interview clearly said, bullish 2015 years of smart wear market, especially the smart watch market, one of the important reasons is that Apple is finally determined to enter this field. Analysts also expressed optimism that the company would sell Apple Watch to 11.8 million this year, accounting for half of all wearable equipment. The CSS Insight predicts that Apple Watch's sales will reach 20 million in the first year after it is released, possibly the best-selling smart watch ever.
So, what makes Apple's appearance not outstanding, and even the controversial products just came to the market, but has been recognized by the industry sector? In addition to the basic timing features of traditional electronic watches, Apple Watch also relies on Apple's complete ecosystem to create a platform for multitasking and future-oriented systems, including health, payments, social networking, and so on.
Health: Apple Watch's most compelling task scenario is intelligent health, which connects the heart rate, Jibu, and other user information via HealthKit to the appropriate health system, allowing users to understand and control their own data, while opening up to third-party developers to expand more health applications. Compared with the intelligent hand ring, smart watch has better computing performance and scalable platform, and 24-hour day uninterrupted detection, the user's health status of more accurate recognition, in favor of doctors more accurate judgment of the user's condition, and even help patients with emergency medical warning.
The company's chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, announced at the press conference that the new ResearchKit component would become a software infrastructure designed for medical research. The first batch of apps based on ResearchKit has been used for research on Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Payment: Apple Watch offers NFC capabilities. Through near-field communications, Apple Watch can use the Apple Pay function, users in the payment process, you can not take out the phone, use wrist watch touch pos machine to complete payment.
In addition, Apple has greatly expanded its NFC applications via Apple Pay, such as a video showing Apple's watch access to a hotel room at a conference. In the future, Apple users can start the car via Apple Watch and even start and control Apple smart home products through HomeKit.
Social networking: As an important social function of smart hardware products, Kevin Lynch, vice president of Apple Technology, at the press conference demonstrated Apple's watch built-in micro-letter applications, users can check the circle of friends at any time, and received a micro-letter alert to select text or expression reply.
This shows that Apple Watch is not necessarily the best hardware design and workmanship, but relies on Apple's complete ecosystem and industry integration capabilities, Apple Watch is by far the most powerful smart watch in the application extension and platform system. So, when Apple Watch China as the first selling market, what is the layout of the domestic smart watch companies? Is Apple Watch a lifesaver or a lethal poison?
Huawei: Huawei has just released its first smart watch product, 2015 MWC, the Watch, with a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen (dial size 42mm), sapphire glass surface, heart rate sensor, motion sensor, pressure sensor, tactile motor, and magnetic suction charging, Equipped with a High-pass 1.2GHz processor, the memory combination is 512MB memory +4GB fuselage storage. Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu in the press conference with a lot of space to introduce the design and workmanship of the watch, and said to rely on wearable app to make Huawei Intelligent Health open platform. The watch is expected to be listed in China this June.
ZTE: ZTE has launched three smart watch products on 2015 MWC to running, fitness tracking and business people. But these three products are less bright and different than their rivals, more as accessories to smartphones, rather than open platforms or system services that target the product itself, and are expected to go public in the two quarter of this year.
Lenovo: By acquiring Motorola Mobility, Lenovo Moto 360 into its own product system. Moto 360 set in the Motorola's excellent product design and manufacturing process, and built-in heart rate sensor, pedometer, ray sensors and other necessary accessories, with such as phone calls, receive SMS messages, detection heart rate, navigation, Jibu and other traditional functions. Moto 360 is expected to enter the Chinese market in the second half.
Cool faction: Cool in September 2013 Beijing Communication exhibition during the display of its first smart watch products, using a 1.25-inch sharp screen, does not support touch control, the work is relatively simple, the bright spot is full of electricity can be standby for 8 days. But the cool smart watch has not been officially marketed since it was released.
Nutshell: As the domestic launch of Intelligent watch earlier shell electronics, the latest product for Geak Watchⅱ, using the 1.26-inch tf screen material, the standard version of the price of 1999 yuan. It is noteworthy that Geak Watchⅱ works well, the main round dial, and uses the shell based on the Android developed Geak Watch OS system, as well as Geak Watch Shell Assistant, enriched Geak Watch mobile applications, and mobile applications and content synchronization.
Inwatch: Shenzhen Technology in 2013 released its first Inwatch products, but also early in the domestic smart watch industry manufacturers. At present, its latest product Inwatch Fusion provides the daily functions including sports record, sleep record, information reminder, drinking water reminder, and can use Inhealth to record the movement consumption of walking and running on the mobile end, the current product price is 1299 yuan.
In the world's most complete electronic supply chain and manufacturing base, domestic manufacturers at the hardware level does not lack the ability to challenge, including Apple Watch. It is also the reason for Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu to tease Apple Watch's square screen at the Watch press conference, as well as the "ugly to the crack" of the shell Electronics Smart dress CEO Xu Peng spit Apple Watch.
However, "one observation" that Apple watch most attractive users is not only the appearance of the product "more like the table", or work "more upscale", for domestic intelligent watch enterprises, need to pay attention to the following issues:
1, Brand. The current domestic smartphone market for example, the real online can generate a premium capacity of the apple, millet and Huawei. Why do the same thousand-dollar machine products, red rice and glory will be increased to sell? Why are Apple's new customers willing to go sky-high? One of the reasons behind this is its ability to build brands. Domestic smart phones in the initial market to win users, we must pay attention to brand building.
2. Ecology. Apple Watch has just officially released its claim to rely on the store and its huge developer team, and there are already nearly thousands Apple Watch apps available for users to choose from. On the contrary, even if the shell, Inwatch this market for a long time the application of manufacturers is not much, to attract limited users.
3, Android Wear localization program. such as Moto 360, Huawei Watch, etc. because of the use of Android Wear, in Google does not allow OEM manufacturers to Android Wear customization, its products are currently not able to quickly enter the Chinese market. Looking for Android Wear in the domestic alternative service program, become the use of Lenovo, Huawei and other enterprises to solve the problem as soon as possible.
4. Open. Android itself is an open platform, and smart watch products built on it should also follow an open attitude. Only with their own mobile phones and other hardware products bound smart watch products, will be discarded by users.
5. Industry integration capability. Compared with Apple's powerful bargaining and integration capabilities for operators, banks, healthcare, and internet giants, domestic manufacturers face a lower premium capability across cross-industry and even single giants. Therefore the organization establishes the unified organization or the standard, forms the cross-industry conformity ability, becomes the domestic enterprise to ponder next question.
6. Channel. Compared with the popularity of smart phones, the vast majority of users of smart watch products are holding a wait-and-see attitude, and the sales of electric dealers can not give users an intuitive purchase impulse. Huawei Consumer BG Vice President Xu Qinsong to "one observation," said Huawei hopes to use the current domestic offline channels to sell smart wear products, the target single sales more than millions.
7. Avoid price war. Price war is an important competitive way in the Red Sea market, but for the initial market, product quality and user experience will determine the degree of consumer recognition and the future of the industry. In February this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple's success in the Chinese market was "a strategy of selling high-end expensive handsets and never playing low price cards". Huawei Consumer BG Yu also said that at this stage, the price war for consumers or the entire industry is detrimental to the benefit.
Combined with the above information, like defeating Nokia is never a traditional function of mobile phone manufacturers, the revolutionary watch industry will certainly not be a traditional watch business. And Apple Watch gives users a new understanding and a chance to try. From this perspective, a real revolution in wearable equipment has begun.
(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)