Apple are considering slapping a $400 price tag on its upcoming “wearable” tech.
According to re/code, Apple executives have considered retailed the flagship iWatch at $400, and will offer a range of prices for the other models.
If the information is accurate, then this places the iWatch in the high end category price wise.
Samsung’s Gear 2 watches currently cost about $300 and Pebble’s smart watch about $150. There is one upcoming smarth watch that will also cost about $400, namely, Timex’s upcoming Ironman One GPS+.
The iWatch, or whatever the device will be named when it is released, will be Apple’s first entry into the “wearable” market, and its first new device since the iPad in 2010.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook knows that the Cupertino company are late to the party, but he still feels that Apple still has room to maneuver in the “wearables” market
“There are lots of gadgets in this space right now, but there’s nothing great out there,” Cook said last year at the D: All Things Digital Conference.
“But none of them are going to convince a kid that hasn’t worn glasses or a band to wear one … There are a lot of problems to solve in this space. … It’s ripe for exploration.
“I think there will be tons of companies playing in this space,” he added.
Apple is expected to demonstrate the iWatch alongside the new iPhone 6 at a launch event on September 9.
AP: Apple to Unveil Next Products at Sept. 9 Event
SAN FRANCISCO—Apple’s latest product launch will be in a setting that holds a special place in its history, signaling how big this event is for the company.
The Sept. 9 launch, which is expected to feature a larger iPhone and possibly a computerized watch, will be in the same Silicon Valley venue where Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, took the wraps off the original Maccomputer 30 years ago. That machine was hailed as a major breakthrough that helped bring personalcomputing to the masses.
These events have become an annual rite since the 2007 release of the iPhone, but this year’s may be the most highly anticipated since the iPad came out in 2010.
A “smartwatch” or other wearable technology would mark the company’s first foray into a new product category since the iPad came out.
True to its secretive nature, Apple Inc. isn’t giving any clues about what’s on the Sept. 9 agenda. “Wish we could say more,” Apple said in a succinct white invitation mailed Thursday to reporters and others.
The company scheduled the event at an auditorium about 3 miles from its Cupertino, California, headquarters. It seats about 2,300 people, a far larger capacity than the places that Apple usually uses to show off its new products.
Apple watchers expect an iPhone with a larger screen than the 4-inch display on the previous two generations of the device. The iPhone 6 is expected to feature a 4.7-inch screen to make it more competitive with larger smartphones made by Samsung Electronics and other rivals relying on Google Inc.’s free Android software. There also has been speculation that Apple may release another iPhone model with a 5.5-inch screen.
A bigger-screen iPhone could unleash a surge of sales among Apple fans who own iPhones with smaller displays. Some analysts think Apple could sell at least 70 million units of the iPhone 6 within the first few months after the device hits the market.
Although the iPhone is Apple’s biggest moneymaker, much of the intrigue around this year’s event surrounds the possibility that the company may release a long-awaited smartwatch that could help monitor people’s health and serve as control center for Internet-connected appliances and electronics in the home.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated that he is intrigued with wearable technology devices, but hasn’t provided any concrete clues about what the company is working on. Cook has only said he is excited about whatApple’s latest inventions, a sentiment echoed by one of his top lieutenants, Eddy Cue, who earlier this year hailed the company’s product pipeline as its best in 25 years.
Apple has just been redesigning and adding features to its iPhones, iPads, iPods and Mac since the release of the iPad, raising concerns among investors that the company had run out of new ideas after the October 2011 death of Jobs, who served as its chief visionary.
Those worries have subsided during the past four months as the excitement has built for Apple’s new products. Apple’s stock hit a new high of $102.78 in Thursday morning’s trading before falling back to close at $102.25, up 12 cents for the session. The shares have risen 25 percent in 2014.
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