Apple Goes to the Races
At the London Marathon that is. Apple has confirmed its role as the “Official Performance Technology Product Partner” for the London Marathon (April 26). While the Apple Watch has long been a strong choice for runners, this new partnership signals a new strategy for Apple, taking on Garmin in the professional (or at least, serious amateur) segment of the sports arena.
The Circana Take:
- Garmin continues to hold onto its strong niche as the device worn by “serious” athletes such as runners. To wear a Garmin is to say to the world “I run” (pick your own sport there) and the company has a loyal following. Apple’s new approach with the London Marathon is clearly the latest attempt to persuade the athletically-inclined that the Apple Watch is a better (or at least, equivalent) alternative to Garmin.
- Expect to see Apple sponsoring/partnering with more events as the company re-focuses on this core segment of sports. Perhaps cycling will be next?
Ultrahuman is Back
Ultrahuman, the ring company that has been embroiled in an import ban due to a patent dispute with Oura, has received clearance to begin selling in the U.S. again. And the timing couldn’t be better as Ultrahuman just announced the Ring Pro last month, which offers 15 days of battery life, advanced health features and – most importantly – no mandatory subscription (unlike Oura). Or perhaps the timing was due to the very fact that the Ring Pro exists: the company spent time to re-engineer components that were in dispute with Oura to gain this approval. Either way, the market has a new competitor (again).
The Circana Take:
- Brand recognition is going to be a challenge for Ultrahuman as Oura essentially created this smart ring market. Having said that, the fact that Ultrahuman does not charge a monthly service fee for basic information is a significant advantage. Further, Ultrahuman has focused on design/branding partnerships in the past, such as its Diesel-branded ring. Expect to see more of that co-branding moving forward.
- As the competitive landscape heats up, Oura could completely change the playing field, doubling down on the monthly fee but providing the ring for free (as Whoop is trying to do for smart bands). That would put all other ring manufacturers on the back foot.
- We estimate that Oura has a 44% share of the smart ring market at this time, but it’s a relatively small market (8%). As new entrants come to market, Oura is the number one target for them.
The Future’s So Bright…
…we’ve got to wear shades. So said Timbuk 3 in the 1980s, but they weren’t wearing smart glasses in a court room. Last week the Meta team, including Mark Zuckerberg, turned up to court in LA wearing the Ray-Ban smart glasses and the judge… was not amused. Judge Carolyn Kuhl ordered everyone to remove them, and to delete all video recordings, or risk a contempt of court ruling. This is just one of several cases of smart glasses in court rooms (albeit the one with the best headlines due to the wearers) and courts around the country are looking for ways to more formally ban them.
The Circana Take:
- A tempest in a teacup? Perhaps… or is this the beginning of the same backlash that struck down Google Glass back in the day. If it remains just a court-related issue, then the tempest is definitely just in a small teacup… but if we start to see other push-backs, such as movie theaters and the like, then the smart glasses world may find itself in a similar pickle to Google Glass.