Apple’s Biggest Worry Is The Apple Watch

Apple Watch has turned out to be a mess for the company

Apple Inc. has been in the limelight since quite some time now where the company has been struggling to deal with the issues regarding its iPhone inventory. Moreover, issues regarding the company’s ability to come up with an upgrade cycle which spans over two years after the launch of the iPhone 7 are also piling up. However, the thing that needs attention is the company’s wearable technology namely the Apple Watch.

Initially when the company devised its strategy, it decided to grow this Apple product slowly. So with time they wanted to design an ecosystem that would make it the next big thing in the fraternity. But what the tech giant failed to understand is the conventional approach of the company i.e the premium pricing of its product and the hardware updates which were launched once in a year were not going to garner traction for this product range.

The company has recently teased its fans by revealing secret image of a new Milanese band on its official website. The company has been found revealing new bands, software and applications for its wearable technology. This indicates that the company is now poised towards the improvement of its wearable device.

The tech giant needs to understand that the Apple iPhone is a mature product category that has its particular niche audience. Thus, it does not need as much promotion and limelight like the Apple Watch which is stumbling attract its users. Despite AAPL has a strong presence in the tech sector, it has still failed to attract the wearable segment as of yet.

Another factor that the company needs to take into consideration is the pricing of the Apple Watch. The wearable tech is priced at $299 and up. Buyers now claim that the price of the device is extremely high and the masses are not even aware of the functionalities and usage of the Apple Watch. Moreover, all those who do not own an iPhone then cannot benefit from the wearable device at all.

These days several variants of the Apple Watch are available in the market. However, the thing that has sabotaged the existence of this wearable tech is the availability of cheaper priced variants that are run on Google Android. These devices are compatible with a wide range of smartphones that make them more user friendly. Hence the company now needs to bring Apple Watch out of its tyranny and attract a wider range of audience by covering the loopholes

Apple Caters To 6.5 Million Paid Music Customers Reports Tim Cook

Apple Music is doing well with 6.5 million paid subscribers reports Apple CEO.

The chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Mr. Tim Cook talked at the WSJD Live Conference the previous day that was hosted by the Wall Street Journal. Gerard Baker who belongs to the Wall Street Journal asks the company executive about the much hyped Apple Car, the sales projections for the company’s wearable tech Apple Watch along with the plans of the company for the future. When the executive was asked about the sales of Apple Watch, he chose to stay quiet on the matter and clearly mentioned that he will not give out any information which is not necessary as of yet. So the exact figures will reach the masses when the company reveals its earnings for the quarter on October 27. Mr. Baker believes that the company’s wearable device a part of Apple’s product category is actually indispensable. He was on the record when he made the statement. So this actually encouraged Mr. Cook to clear his stance and support the company’s offering. he claims that the Apple Watch deserves a chance and customer satisfaction is merely out of question. Although Mr. Cook statement shows a conviction and that the company will try its best to make a mark but a similar statement was also given earlier in September at the iPhone event. so then the executive started to talk about the company’s music streaming service known as the Apple Music where he told the masses that currently the service is catering to 15 million Apple users among which 6.5 million are subscribed to paid offerings. This is actually great news for the company since the numbers are extremely impressive since it took almost six years for Spotify to gain 10 million paid subscribers. However, it needs to be taken into consideration that AAPL is already a reputable company so gaining consumers is not a tough task but Spotify was a pioneer thus developing its niche in a market that had no idea about music streaming is again a great thing. Another thing that needs to be noted is that the company has almost 800 million credit cards on its database but only 6.5 million thought that the service was worth their money. The music service has potential since it is an Apple product that can lure all users but it still needs to do better. The company is content with its music streaming service performance but a lot more is needed in order to become the industry giant.

Apple Watch Will Be Available In Best Buy To Boost Sales

Apple Watch will be available in the Best Buy stores from August 7, which is expected to increase in sales for the company.

Apple Watch is expected to be launched on August 7, in collaboration with Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY). Around hundred Best Buy stores have recently been privileged to sell the giant’s new most-talked-about product in their stores, as well as in their e-commerce platform.

This is the first time in US that an outlet is getting an opportunity to sell Apple Watch officially. It is useful for consumers, as they can easily buy these items from nearby Best Buy outlets. At first, it was only available on company’s website through the online orders in April.

Apple Watch is a very well-constructed smartwatch that is ever seen. Like most of other smart watches, it is not just a separate device, but also a phone accessory. Android Wear, Samsung Gear, Pebble, and others work in similar way.

Initially, Best Buy will hold 16 Apple Watch models of sizes, 38mm and 42mm, along with accessories including the watchbands, but the retailers will not offer the ‘Apple Watch Edition’ because it is considered as the most luxurious item. Therefore, it is only limited to particular ‘Apple Store’ and high-end sellers.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple says, “We’re very confident because the Watch is one of the key, top gifts of holidays, and we wish to spread it as much as we can.” He further said that the sales of watch did exceed his expectations.

Analysts and some market experts estimated that initial sales of watch would be low. However, iPhone makers have not disclosed sales figure up till now. Senior Officer of Best Buy says, “Apple Watch will be a massive addition to all stores as well as our website. We are happy to pass Apple watch to more customers because we know consumers are waiting and they like it.”

The corporate giant has rejected to provide any real sales figures for the new product. It has already sold approximately 4 million watches up till now, various firms had calculated. Strategy Analytics states that the whole smartwatch industry – including Pebble, LG, and Motorola have sold around 4.6 million in the year 2014, and almost 5 million this year, before the Apple Watch’s entrance.

Currently, 19 countries have official permit to sell Apple Watches, also planning to dispatch in Russia, Turkey, and New Zealand as well. This might raise the bar for the competition and company itself. The company is attempting to take care of its product line.

Novartis Launches Navigation App For Visually Impaired

Novartis launches navigation app for visually impaired on Apple Watch and Android Wear.

Novartis AG has unveiled new applications for smartphones with an aim to benefit those who are visually impaired. The company has designed the app so that navigation becomes easier for them. The device will cater to wearable devices for mobile which includes the tech behemoth Google Inc.’s Android Wear and Apple Inc.’s Apple Watch. The app is called “Via Opta Nav”. This app is said to be a modified version suited for wearable devices being part of the Via Opta Daily apps that can accessed on Apple iPhones since the previous August.

According to David Epstein, who leads the pharmaceutical division at Novartis Pharma mentioned during an interview to MobiHealthNews “Novartis is committed to providing innovative solutions which go beyond medicine, like these apps for the visually impaired which benefit their daily quality of life.”

The Via Opta Nav will allow the visuallt impaired individuals to navigate with ease at turns, intersections and landmarks. This will be done through vibration alerts and audio instructions. They will also get to know about their present location along with the ability to communicate it to their loved ones through the app. Apart from that, the application will acknowledge users about the changes in traffic lights through sound.

Mr. Epstein further added, “We are proud to contribute and play a role in making these simple and convenient tools like the ViaOpta Daily and ViaOpta Nav apps available around the world,” he added.

A spokesperson from Novartis acknowledged MobiHealthNews that the company’s previous initiative, Via Opta Daily that helps users in managing their daily activities is merely limited to smartphones since the application relies on smartphone cameras to navigate. The application is also equipped with “Scene Recognizer” and “Object Recognizer” abilities which primarily can be used to look for objects in the vicinity along with the sound when the camera is pointed at it.

This app can be downloaded from the app stores free of cost across the globe in several languages that includes German, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese and Japanese.

According to the data by App Annie, Novartis is currently offering 26 apps on the App Store which has doubled in number from previous August. At the same time, they have also discontinued several applications during this tenure. Moreover, the company is playing a fair share in developing new health-related apps for mobile devices.

Coming up with an app for visually impaired is a great idea and is likely to be well received by the community.

Apple Pay To Make Its Debut In United Kingdom This Summer

Apple Pay expected to make its debut in United Kingdom this summer.

Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay wishes to penetrate deeper in the market thus for the same reason the company is taking several initiatives that will help establish the payment services. According to a recent post by Telegraph, almost eight months have passed since the company has launched its mobile payment service and now it is all set to launch this service in United Kingdom this summer.

So far, the company has not really announced about the launch of Apple Pay in UK. However, according to sources close to the company, Apple will make this announcement during the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference taking place at Moscone West, San Francisco. The company will be required almost two months to officially offer its services within the region.

The mechanism of Apple Pay integrates Apple iPhone and Apple Watch through near-field communication technology (NFC) that is equipped on the company product that makes mobile payments possible. The company got a fairly satisfactory response from the launch of this service therefore since October; the company has been in contact with several retailers and bank with an aim to expand this service in other countries along with expanding the reach to various stores.

United Kingdom is a relatively strong market where the company can easily install this service as most places in the region already have the necessary infrastructure that accepts Apple Pay. A substantial number of chip card terminals that have the necessary technology that is already built in a manner that can make the contactless credit card transactions possible. On the other hand, United States is a relatively difficult market for the company’s service since they are currently using conventional debit and magnetic strip credit cards.

However, this is likely to change now as the authorities have given a deadline till October before which retailers and merchants will be forced to deploy such credit card terminals that are able to support the new chip card technology. So, most of the upcoming terminals will be equipped with the resources to function Apple Pay. Apart from this the company is also expected to come up with new reward programs that will encourage individuals to use this service.

According to 9to5Mac, this is not the first time where Apple has thought of a reward plan, but initially they wished to come up with such a program during the FY14 festive season but, however, the launch was postponed. United States market has evolved for Apple Pay where more than 300 banks support this service.

Apple Watch Delay Is Likely To Be A Result Of Faulty Parts

Apple Watches experienced a delay which a might be a result of faulty parts reports CNet.

Apple Inc planned to launch Apple Watch in April which was one of the most hyped products in the history of Apple. Apple Watch succeeded in getting immense limelight and many considered it to be a breakthrough in the world of wearable technologies. However, all those who are anticipating the Apple Watch need to wait more since the company has delayed its launch because it was not able to meet demands. Apple products are said to be an epitome of perfection so such delays are pretty astonishing.

Although CNet is projecting fairly different case since the company believes that the delays are not because of shortage in demand but merely because of a faulty component that has caused this mayhem.

This isn’t it but according to The Wall Street Journal, ACC Technologies, the popular Chinese components manufacturer devised the “taptic engine” which was found to be faulty. Users complained that the product used to break down over the passage of time. The company for the same reason had to put a halt to all its orders and look for another supplier. AAPL has succeeded in finding a new Japan-based manufacturer known as Nidec Corp. Thus, Nidec will take a time to manufacture these new components thus the company has no other option than delaying the rollout reported Wall Street Journal.

The “taptic engine” is one of the integral components of Apple Watch that governs some of the primary features of this wearable tech. the device basically uses a motor that allows it to impersonate feelings or the commands being tapped that allows the Apple user to receive messages in the form of notifications regarding directions when using Apple Maps. Moreover, a heartbeat can also be transmitted to other Apple Watch owners.

However, Apple Inc. has refused to comment over the issue and no response has also been observed from Nidec and ACC.

Apple Watch is extremely important for Apple since it's the first new product category, added five years after the Apple iPad under the able leadership of Tim Cook. The device requires an iPhone 5 or above to function which again will help the company bolster its smartphone sales. Many critics expect that the Apple Watch will be a game changer for the company in terms of innovation and appeal. The Apple iPhone currently streams in the maximum revenues and sales for the company where the company now expects the upcoming wearable device to add more charm to their portfolio.

Apple now needs to put an end to the anticipation so that users can get their hands on this device.