IT Brief New Zealand - Technology news for CIOs & IT decision-makers
Story image
Apple's iWatch - business or pleasure?
Wed, 19th Jun 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The iWatch “will more likely be a hobby for Apple than a major new product line."

That's the line Forbes is spinning this morning, fresh from the mouth of Jeffries analyst Peter Misek, who believes Apple's new product line prefers pleasure over business.

Despite a failure to mention plans for the eagerly anticipated iWatch at Apple's WWDC last week, the company's global marketing guru Philip Schiller took a swipe at critics questions Apple's portfolio of products.

"Can't innovate anymore? My ass," he insisted.

But with reports of an Apple iWatch exhausted as far back as early this year, Misek still believes the company needs more than just a flashy product to make money.

"Apple would need to redefine the watch market for it to have a substantial impact on our estimates," he told Forbes.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty offered a different opinion however, telling Forbes the iWatch could be worth as much as "$10 billion to $15 billion in annual revenue for Apple."

And with fellow industry analysts Juniper Research recently claiming the wearable devices market will be worth over $1.5 billion by next year, is there enough reason to believe the iWatch could be a real money-earner?

Apple are not alone in the market however, rivals Google, Microsoft and Samsung all share similar hopes of making intimate devices, in whatever form, the future.

But if 2014 is expected to be the watershed year for wearable devices - will it be Apple leading the way?

Can the iWatch be a money-spinner for Apple? Tell us your predictions below