Will Apple Watch Kill the Smart Phone?

The smart phone market, with nearly one billion users, is becoming increasingly saturated with alternative products being released at an extremely fast pace. As a result, Apple has been working very hard to not only protect its existing base of loyal users, but to achieve market growth in the highly competitive mobile market.

In what may be the most significant product introduction since the iPhone, the company recently announced the upcoming release of its much anticipated Apple Watch. On the surface, it appears that the smart watch can do everything the iPhone can do. It can play movies, access apps, make telephone calls and even tell you the current time. It will come in several sporty styles that consumers and business professionals alike will feel comfortable wearing rather than something that gets stuck in a pocket or purse.

With that in mind, why in the world would anybody need an iPhone? Apparently, Apple had already considered that thought and made the Apple Watch dependent on the iPhone which is probably more about ensuring product survivability than technological limitations. However, with an inevitable convergence between the phone and the watch market forces will likely prevail in producing smart watches that do not need to be tethered to a smart phone device.

The small size of the watch will ultimately inspire the development of more interesting ways of interacting with wearable technology. For example, a simple flick of the wrist could provide hands-free access to a menu of content options. This could open the door to a robust ecosystem with a wide range of mobile apps for smart watches from health and fitness to productivity and time management.

So, the uncertainty now is whether smart watches will create a new market or eclipse the existing smart phone market. This will depend on the device manufacturer’s ability to build wearables positioned as a fashionable accessory that consumers will want to wear.