How Apple is About to Reinvent Wearables

A number of innovative wearable technology products have come out this year, but by far the iPhone 6 and the Apple smartwatch, rumored to be called the iWatch, are the two I am anticipating the most. As much as I try to hold on to the past, a big part of me becomes really excited when a hot new gadget enters the market. The higher the anticipation, the greater my level of excitement, which is why I’m so ready for Apple to unveil its new products this fall.

Thinking about the debut of the iWatch brings me back to when I was working on the Sony Walkman brand during the infamous release of the Apple iPod. I remember the Sony marketer expressing to us his fear of the impact the iPod would have on the Walkman brand. Keep in mind; Walkman was the leader in this crowded space at this point. What no one realized, including myself, was that this “iPod” wasn’t just an mp3 player; it was an entire ecosystem of products and services. As you know, the rest is history.

After years of talking about wearables and what they mean for consumers and brands, and asking the question of how they make a lasting impact on our lives, the category seems like it’s primed for reinvention. The current market is crowded with a number of brands, including leaders like Fitbit and Jawbone. New lines such as DVF, Tory Burch and Barney’s recently got into the game, creating a new wearable consumer at the intersection of luxury and tech. Adidas is also about to enter the market with the launch of Fit Smart, dubbed as your new personal fitness coach. The goal behind it being that the brand wants to move away from just collecting data to actually creating results and inspiring personal growth from it. I think all brands in the space know that for wearables to cross over into mainstream culture in a lasting way, the market has to change. It’s reported that after six months, 80% of people stop using their wearable device. You know, the one they thought was going to change their life. And it’s no secret that Nike has recently struggled with their product, the FuelBand. As reported, the company unfortunately just laid off a number of engineers working on their product. Like I said, the market is primed for reinvention.

And the truth is, Apple is in the best position to reinvent the space, just like they did with the iPod years ago. Not only have they had the advantage of watching the industry evolve over the past few years, Apple knows how to design for maximum impact and has access to the best developers, engineers and talent in the industry. It’s rumored that Apple not only stole developers who helped launch Nike’s FuelBand, but they also hired a number of executives from Swiss watchmakers, Burberry, Yves-Saint Laurent and Levi’s. My money is on that team to make a technologically advanced, yet beautiful watch. Not to mention, it will also most likely run on iOS 8 making it a seamless integration into a user’s daily life. Seems like they’re all teed up for success. Now all we have to do is wait until October.