Falling smartwatch pricing
The smartwatch market is starting to see a race to the bottom with pricing, with several devices now price at $100 or less. The latest is Blackview’s X1 smartwatch which is currently priced at just $35 (regular price is $69.99). The watch will work with iOS or Android smartphones and comes with the usual notifications and heart rate monitoring, nine sports modes and is waterproof to five atmospheres.
The NPD Take:
- As smartwatches continue to fall in price, we can expect adoption of the category to increase. Much of this growth will be at the expense of fitness trackers.
And another potential high-end watch
Huawei is no stranger to the smartwatch category, with its Watch GT and Magic Watch devices. However, it looks as though the Chinese OEM may be planning to launch a high-end device, according to Chinese trademarks spotted by MyFixGuide. The trademarks suggest that Huawei may be planning a product called the “Huawei Mate Watch,” and the OEM typically saves the “Mate” nomenclature for its high-end smartphones. There’s no word on when this device will launch, but typically, Huawei launches its latest Mate smartphone in September or October, so it’s a pretty safe bet that the watch – if it appears at all – will be launched to coincide with the latest phone.
The NPD Take:
- The watch is unlikely to make it to US shores due to the current issues that Huawei faces here. However, a successful high-end device that can rival Apple and Samsung products would have a major impact in the home Chinese market, putting pressure on these other brands in one of the world’s largest markets