The smartwatch market is about to heat up even further in the coming months, as Swatch will enter the arena with a smart gadget of its own.
The news comes from Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, who told Bloomberg that his company plans to launch its own smartwatch in the next three months.
"Swatch Group AG plans to start selling a smartwatch within the next three months, potentially pitting the Swiss maker of colorful plastic timepieces against the debut of the Apple Watch," Bloomberg reported on Thursday, Feb. 5.
"The device will communicate via a form of technology known as NFC and won't have to be charged, Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek said in an interview. The Swatch smartwatch will also let consumers make mobile payments and work with Windows and Android software, he said."
It's worth pointing out that the timing of this Swatch smartwatch release will coincide with the commercial launch of the Apple Watch, which is set to finally hit retail in April. The Apple Watch will come with fitness-tracking features and various applications, and will also allow users to take advantage of Apple's mobile payment platform. Apple plunged into the mobile payment arena back in October with its Apple Pay, and is working on expanding its mobile wallet service.
A Swatch smartwatch could give the Apple Watch some serious competition, and the smartwatch market is expected to become fiercer than ever.
"Hayek is ready to go head-to-head with Apple Inc., which has scheduled its smartwatch introduction for April. The market for such timepieces, which enable phone or data communication, will probably reach about $10 billion in 2018, Citigroup Inc. analysts forecast last year, with half of the market coming from traditional watch wearers switching to the devices," Bloomberg further points out.
The Apple Watch may be one of the most hotly-anticipated wearables of this year, but a number of reports have claimed that the gadget would deliver a poor battery performance. This aspect is very important in today's mobile-driven world, and Swatch could have a winning edge in this department. The world-renowned watch maker has extensive experience in developing technology that may be used in a smartwatch, and its long-lasting batteries would surely be a boon.
It remains to be seen just how much the Swatch smartwatch will cost when it makes its official debut, but we'll keep you up to date as soon as more information becomes available.
