With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus currently dominating the headlines, we’ve scarcely had the opportunity to take a proper look at Apple’s new watch line-up, which was announced in conjunction with the two new smartphones. With three main types and over thirty different varieties, the Cupertino company has clearly done its homework in bringing its first major wearable to market, and although it’ll be a few months before Apple Watch makes retail, watch aficionados and techies alike seem to have taken to both the design and ecosystem.
Martin Hajek, resident designer and conjurer of many alluring Apple concepts, has thrown together an extensive graphic of the Apple Watch line-up against some of the other wrist-worn gadgets knocking about, including the Pebble and Motorola’s slick Moto 360. With some beautiful side-by-side renders, we get an early look at how Apple Watch will stand up against the rest of the field, and although Hajek is a true Apple evangelist in every sense of the word, even he believes that the Moto 360 is a real win in the design stakes.
Announced alongside Android Wear, the Moto 360 oozes traditional charm, and while Samsung’s Gear 2 Neo is also included in this sample of smartwatches from leading manufacturers, it’s the Motorola that really catches the eye.
The whole graphic is rather easy on the eye to be honest, and one suspects that ultimately, design will only play a partial role in determining which smartwatch, or rather which group of smartwatches reigns supreme over the competition. As with iOS and Android, the smartwatch industry will very much boil down to functionality and ecosystem, and while Android Wear was first to the draw, Apple Watch’s software does appear refined and well thought-out.
It’s going to be one heck of a battle, that’s for sure, and while the Pebble is credited with forging this fledgling sector of the mobile market, it’ll be a tall order for the start-up to remain competitive with the likes of Apple, Samsung and Motorola.
Hajek’s overview doesn’t take into consideration a number of other smartwatches, including LG’s Gear Watch (R) and Samsung’s new wrist-worn gadgets, and with HTC and ASUS set to come through with their own efforts in due course, this new digital sector looks set to explode as we head into 2015.
Anyway, check out the compilation as curated by Hajek, and as ever, do leave your comments below.
(Source: MartinHajek)
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