Rumors abound that Apple has dedicated a bustling team of at least 100 product designers and engineers to the creation of the ultimate smart watch.
Backed by a recent plethora of telling patent applications and industry sources, expectations for the iWatch are high, although it remains to be seen if Apple will officially enter this new product category with an iOS-powered wristwatch before 2013 comes to a close.
Understandably, marketing and advertising professionals are eager to learn if such a product is actually on the way or destined to die unfulfilled in the rumor mill.
“The iWatch could mean an entirely new target for mobile marketers,” says Brandi Towes, an independent marketing consultant at Chicago’s start-up “Branding Genius.” According to Towes, a lot of questions remain about Apple’s wristwatch. Will it be iOS powered? Will it have 4G connectivity? Wi-Fi? NFC integration perhaps?
If the majority of these questions can be answered in the affirmative, then iWatch will likely be warmly welcomed by the mobile marketing community.
“The potential for something huge is definitely there,” says Towes. “From geo-targeted mobile ads to mobile payments, there’s a lot we could do with this watch if it shows up.”
It should be noted, however, that not everyone is as optimistic about the market impact of the iWatch – especially the companies that would be competing with Apple.
Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek revealed his thoughts at a company press conference in Grenchen, Switzerland Wednesday.
“Personally, I don’t believe it’s the next revolution,” the chief executive officer of the watchmaker said. “Replacing an iPhone with an interactive terminal on your wrist is difficult. You can’t have an immense display.”
Do you think Apple’s iWatch could be an important tool for mobile marketing?