Apple should win more with smart wristwatch than with TVs

While Tim Cook has hinted that Apple is working hard on your television to lead the next era of growth, the company's smart wristwatch, still under development, may prove to be more profitable. The global watch industry will generate more than $ 60 billion in sales in 2013, according to Oliver Chen, an analyst at Citigroup. "The gross margins of the watches are about 60% ", explains the expert. The number four times greater than the banks of televisions.
Apple, with its iconic brand and a profitable retail network is prepared to explore this growing industry watch. Progress in this business would help compensate for slowing growth in other areas of the company, such as iPhones and iPods. Apple's stock plunged more than a third since the peak in September on account of the advances of competitors like Samsung. In addition, the market is concerned about how fast Cook will be able to react.
"This can be an opportunity of $ 6 billion for Apple. They can create something totally new like they did with the iPod, a product that consumers didn't know they needed, "says Chen.
The TV industry will generate $ 119 billion in sales this year, according to a survey of Electronic Media & company. Using Chen's margin estimates, a 10% share for Apple in each market would mean gross profit of $ 3.6 billion for watches, surpassing $ 1.79 billion for TVs.
Currently, Apple has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch. Allow users to make calls, check the number of who's calling and the coordinates of the map are among the features of the product, according to one of the people involved in the project, who asked not to be identified. The watch would also have a pedometer to count steps and sensors to monitor the health related data such as heart rate.
Apple plans to launch the device this year, said the person. The company has filed at least 79 patent applications with the word "pulse", including one for a device with a flexible screen, powered by kinetic energy.
Previous attempts to create smart watches were not far away. Microsoft has signed partnerships with companies such as Citizen and Fossil in 2003 to develop products that make available sports scores and weather forecasts. The effort failed in 2008. The moment seems better now. Having grown accustomed to using mobile applications in their daily lives, consumers are more likely to try devices that make the data more convenient access.
Apple's foray into the segment of the clock can also open a new front in its competition with Google only this time in the so-called "wearable" technology, that is, that one can use. Google is developing the Google Glass equipment that resembles the glasses and is used on the face. The owners of the glasses can speak commands to perform some tasks such as taking photos and recording videos.
Apple, more than any other company, proved its ability to move in mature markets and rework them with easy-to-use innovations. Before Apple create iPhone, cell phone manufacturers were enjoying record sales of little devices based on technological innovation. Apple iPhone 5 was the best-selling smartphone in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Strategy Analytics.
The watch segment is experiencing a rebirth that is reminiscent of the cell phone industry before the iPhone. Shares of Movado and Fossil more than tripled since the end of 2009. Both companies benefit from gross margins above 55%, due to the demand for stylish watches.