Apple iWatch device could cost around US$400

1 Sep 2014

Apple’s fabled iWatch device tabled for launch on 9 September alongside two new iPhone devices is likely to retail for around US$400 (€300).

Citing sources, Re/Code reported Apple executives as having discussed charging around €300 for the device to debut in time to take advantage of Apple’s new HealthKit and HomeKit software families designed around iOS 8.

The consumer tech giant is believed to be planning a number of devices at various price ranges.

If Apple does introduce a wearable device on 9 September, it will be the first new device category the company has targeted since it launched the iPad in 2010.

Apple will be tackling a nascent, if not already crowded, market that includes players such as Samsung, with its Gear watch, as well as Sony and Motorola, with their Android concoctions, not to mention fitness band makers Fitbit and Jawbone.

Geek chic or tragic gimmicks?

Even Swatch is planning to bring out its own range of smartwatches.

The move would put Apple in its usual premium price position, ahead of the Samsung Gear 2, which costs around US$300 (€150) in the US.

While some of the fitness aspects of the new watches can be considered credible, their overall impact on the direction of computing beyond being a gimmick is open to question.

Apple will definitely need to ‘think different’ this time and bring something good to the table, or otherwise risk being seen as following the herd.

Smartwatches image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com