It’s not only Apple (AAPL, Financial) hat will be releasing its flagship smartwatch into the market in early March this year, HTCÂ Purenergy (HTC, Financial) is about to engage in a battle with the tech major by entering the burgeoning wearables business around the same time this year. News sources have confirmed that the Taiwanese smartphone maker is still working on the smartwatch with which it aims to stand out from the crowd. Also, if HTC launches the smartwatch along with Apple’s launch, this could mark the beginning of a new chapter of rivalry between the two tech companies though the latter clearly has a greater hold on the market pulse. However, HTC’s smartwatch which would be based on Android Wear of Google (GOOG, Financial) could capture market share with the exclusive features and make a huge dent in the market for Apple’s flagship watch. Let’s judge all the probabilities in the game and discuss a bit on the features as well to get a better understanding of what’s in stock for the smartwatch buyers.
The battle is already alive and kicking
Rumors have confirmed that HTC has chosen to unveil its first smartwatch at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. In fact, at different times of the past year, there has been news on possible features in the smartwatch of the Taiwanese tech firm. And this has been largely fuelled by HTC being one of the official partners of Google to incorporate the latter’s Android Wear software in its devices.
Well, HTC has still not provided information on its specs, while on the contrary the Apple watch features are already out and the loyal Apple buyers are waiting to grab the opportunity to have a look at its sleek design. But the HTC smartwatch might ruin Apple’s show if the features are similar to its offering, and the price tag is cheaper to the Apple Watch that would possibly have a base price of $349 for the Sport Watch.
In fact, just a year back HTC was looking at several smartwatch designs, hardware and display and was reportedly working with multiple designs including one similar to the Qualcomm’s (QCOM, Financial) Toq reference design, another one using Google Now and another as a music-induced bracelet.
Analysts are hoping that this HTC smartwatch launch would be an attempt to shore up the company revenues and diversify its investment sources. Also it is being widely speculated that HTC’s recent partnership with Under Armour Inc.(UA, Financial) is going to feature in the new watch as some new functionality being added to the design.
Nevertheless, Apple’s lucrative features which also include the Apple Pay service and the innovative health monitoring and communication functions have stolen the hearts of the Apple fans and many others waiting for the Watch release. Also being powered by a single chip named the S1, this watch might be difficult to replicate by rivals existing in the smart world space. This watch will be available in three different versions – Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition.
Much more left unaddressed
Though HTC is a small player in the smart world compared to the tech giant Apple, it could have ample ways to challenge Apple’s Watch and thus there is a lot which is yet to be addressed by HTC’s management before the release when the intricate features of the watch would be shared and compared to the Apple Watch. Let’s stay tuned and wait for two months more to decipher who actually wins the show and whether HTC is able to challenge Apple’s new offering in the long run.
