Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Winning Smartwatch War

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Winning Smartwatch War

The battle for the wrist is heating up as major tech giants but now luxury good makers have started to show interest in the smartwatch market.

In less than half a year since the debut of its first wearable Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch, California-based Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has dethroned Samsung Electronics as the king in the global smartwatch industry.

Samsung Electronics` Samsung Gear S. (Samsung)

Apple reportedly received 7 million orders in total for the Apple Watch, 4 million of which were shipped in the April-June period, while Samsung shipped approximately 3.5 million units of its six smartwatches, including 400,000 units this second quarter, for two years since 2013.

The second-quarter figures indicate a market share of 75.5 percent for Apple and 7.5 percent for Samsung.

Some critics argue the future of smartwatches is not all rosy due to sub par features including poor battery life, and lack of applications, but many still say the industry has much potential to grow and companies need to work together as well as compete to further nurture the market.

Apple Watch. (Apple)

The Apple Watch is said by many to improve the software experience to maintain “impressive initial performance.”

In order to gain traction for the digital watch, Apple is also trying to ramp up its marketing efforts by deciding to sell the smartwatch at Best Buy shops across the U.S., a move aimed at boost sales by diversifying its sales channels.

Outgunned by its arch rival in recent months in the wearable segment, Samsung is gearing up to get back at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a new smartwatch, dubbed the Samsung Gear A.

The Gear A, expected to sport head-turning features such as a round-face display, a rotating bezel and wireless charging, is rumored to be lined up for display along with the tech giant’s two new flagship smartphones — the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus — at an unveiling event in New York on Aug. 13.

The Gear A with 3G support will also be fitted with Samsung mobile payment solution Samsung Pay, which will likely be introduced at the New York event.

“Samsung seems to hope that the Gear A, paired with the mobile payment solution, will replace wallets,” said a market official who declined to be named.

The tech giant is said to be working on having virtual transportation cards loaded on the upcoming digital watch

Having launched wearable products with eye-catching features, such as the first smartwatch with a round screen and 4G support, LG Electronics is also one of the pioneers in this segment.

Unveiling the G Watch Urbane in March at a mobile trade show in Barcelona, Spain, chief executive of LG’s mobile business unit Cho Ju-no said that the wearables are still in its infancy and need to take another big leap on the hardware front — including size, weight, and battery — to be more widely adopted by consumers, hinting the company was working on more advanced wearables to be released next year.

Traditional watchmakers and some luxury fashion brands such as Swatch, Montblanc and Casio are making forays into the new field riding on the back of their brand recognition in the traditional watch market.

Nick Hayek, chief executive of the Swatch, unveiled the firm’s plan this month to roll out an Internet-enabled smartwatch this summer in the U.S. China and Switzerland.

He also offered a glimpse into what the first smart timepiece would look like, announcing that the upcoming product would feature an NFC chip and a mobile payment solution.

The Swiss firm produces multiple timepiece lineups including Tissot, Longines and Omega.

Montblanc has rolled out a unique electronic watchband, called the e-Strap, which can transform the firm’s regular watches into ones that can be connected to smartphones.

The watchband, which consists of a small, square display and is compatible with Samsung or Apple smartphones, can strap onto a wristwatch. The gadget when synced with smartphones shows incoming calls, text messages and emails on the display.

Apple Inc. (Apple), incorporated on January 3, 1977, designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers and portable digital music players and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions and third-party digital content and applications. The Company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings. The Company offers a range of mobile communication and media devices, personal computing products and portable digital music players, as well as a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions and third-party hardware and software products. In addition, the Company offers its own software products, including iOS, the Company’s mobile operating system; OS X, the Company’s Mac operating system; and server and application software. The Company’s primary products include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, iTunes, Mac App Store, iCloud, Operating System Software, Application Software and Other Application Software.

iPhone

iPhone combines a mobile phone, an iPod and an Internet communications device in a single handheld product. Based on the Company’s Multi-Touch user interface, iPhone features desktop-class email, Web browsing, searching and maps and is compatible with both Mac and Windows-based computers. iPhone automatically syncs content from users’ iTunes libraries, as well as contacts, bookmarks and email accounts. iPhone allows customers to access the iTunes Store to download audio and video files, as well as a variety of other digital content and applications. The Company launched iPhone 5, its latest version of iPhone. In addition to the Company’s own iPhone accessories, third-party iPhone compatible accessories are available through the Company’s online and retail stores and from third parties.

iPad

iPad is a multi-purpose mobile device for browsing the Web, reading and sending email, viewing photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and more. iPad is based on the Company’s Multi-Touch technology and allows customers to connect with their applications and content in a more interactive way. iPad allows customers to access the iTunes Store to download audio and video files, as well as a variety of other digital content and applications. In addition to the Company’s own iPad accessories, third-party iPad compatible accessories are available through the Company’s online and retail stores and from third parties.

Mac

The Company offers a range of personal computing products, including desktop and portable computers, related devices and peripherals and third-party hardware products. The Company’s Mac desktop and portable systems feature Intel microprocessors, the OS X operating system and the iLife suite of software for creation and management of digital photography, music, movies, DVDs and Websites. The Company’s desktop computers include iMac, Mac Pro and Mac mini. The Company’s portable computers include MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

iPod

The Company’s iPod line of portable digital music and media players includes iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle and iPod classic. All iPods work with iTunes. In addition to the Company’s own iPod accessories, third-party iPod-compatible accessories are available through the Company’s online and retail stores and from third parties. The iPod touch, based on iOS, is a flash-memory-based iPod with a widescreen Retina display, a Multi-Touch user interface and built-in iSight camera. iPod touch allows customers to access the iTunes Store to download audio and video content, as well as a variety of digital applications. The iPod nano is a flash-memory-based iPod that features the Company’s Multi-Touch interface allowing customers to navigate their music collection by tapping or swiping the display and built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening. The iPod shuffle is a flash-memory- based iPod that features a clickable control pad to control music playback and VoiceOver technology enabling customers to hear song titles, artists and playlist names. The iPod classic is a hard-drive based portable digital music and video player.

iTunes

iTunes is an application that supports the purchase, download, organization and playback of digital audio and video files and is available for both Mac and Windows-based computers. iTunes features integration with iCloud, AirPlay wireless music playback, Genius Mixes, Home Sharing and syncing functionality with iOS devices. iTunes is integrated with the iTunes Store, a service that allows customers to discover, purchase, rent and download digital content and applications. The iTunes Store includes the App Store and iBookstore.

Mac App Store

The Mac App Store allows customers to discover, download and install Mac applications. The Mac App Store offers applications in education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity, utilities and other categories. The Company’s OS X operating system software and its iLife, iWork and other application software titles are also available on the Mac App Store.

iCloud

iCloud is the Company’s cloud service, which stores music, photos, applications, contacts, calendars and documents and wirelessly pushes them to multiple iOS devices, Mac and Windows-based computers. iCloud’s features include iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Contacts, Calendar, Mail, automatic downloads and purchase history for applications and iBooks and iCloud Backup. Users can sign up for free access to iCloud using a device running qualifying versions of iOS or OS X. Software Products and Operating System Software The Company offers a range of software products for consumers and for SMB, education, enterprise and government customers, including the Company’s iOS and OS X operating system software; server software; professional application software; and consumer, education and business oriented application software. iOS is the Company’s mobile operating system that serves as the foundation for iOS devices. iOS supports iCloud and includes features, such as Notification Center, a way to view and manage notifications in one place; iMessage, a messaging service that allows users to send text messages, photos and videos between iOS devices and Maps, with turn-by-turn navigation. iOS supports Siri, a voice activated intelligent assistant, which is available on qualifying iOS devices. OS X, the Company’s Mac operating system, is built on an open-source UNIX-based foundation. Application Software iLife is the Company’s consumer-oriented digital lifestyle application suite included with all Mac computers. iLife features iPhoto, iMovie, iDigital Versatile Disc (DVD), GarageBand and iWeb. iPhoto is the Company’s consumer-oriented digital photo application and iMovie is the Company’s consumer-oriented digital video editing software application. iDVD is the Company’s consumer-oriented software application that enables customers to turn iMovie files, QuickTime files and digital pictures into interactive DVDs. GarageBand is the Company’s consumer-oriented music creation application that allows customers to play, record and create music. iWeb allows customers to create online photo albums, blogs and podcasts and to customize websites using editing tools. iWork is the Company’s integrated productivity suite designed to help users create, present and publish documents, presentations and spreadsheets. iWork includes Pages for word processing and page layout, Keynote for presentations and Numbers for spreadsheets. The Company also has a Multi-Touch version of each iWork application designed specifically for use on iOS devices.

Other Application Software

The Company also sells various other application software including Final Cut Pro, Logic Studio, Logic Pro and its FileMaker Pro database software. The Company manufactures the Apple LED Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display. The Company also sells a range of Apple-branded and third-party Mac-compatible and iOS-compatible peripheral products, including printers, storage devices, computer memory, digital video and still cameras and various other computing products and supplies. Apple TV allows customers to watch movies and television shows on their high definition television. Content from iTunes, Netflix, YouTube and Flickr, as well as music, photos, videos and podcasts from a Mac or Windows-based computer can also be wirelessly streamed to a television through Apple TV.

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