by Luke Johnson 12 March 2015 |
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With the Apple Watch having now been dated for launch, Apple has acted quick to cull the competition, removing all wrist-based fitness trackers from its stores.
Apple’s online store has previously acted as a strong outlet for iPhone syncing wearables such as the Jawbone UP24, Nike FuelBand SE and Misfit Shine, but no more. The Cupertino-based company has now scrapped all trace of potential wearable rivals.
Given that the Apple Watch possesses the ability to track users’ daily activities, including steps count and calorie burn, it appears Apple no longer wants to actively promote potential competition.
Despite the culling, Apple has given no official comment on the move.
However, as Nike recently took the move to make its FuelBand platform work exclusively using your iPhone’s integrated sensors, it appears some manufacturers may have been made aware of their impending removal.
While anything resembling a watch or rivalling fitness tracker has been removed, a few wearables are still available through the company’s online channels.
Lining up alongside a selection of heart rate reading headphones, the blood oxygen tracking Withings Pulse O2 has missed the cut.
The heart rate tracking Mio Link is also still offered through the Apple Store, as is the belt-loop attaching Jawbone UP Move.
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Earlier this week Apple announced plans to bring the Apple Watch to market from April 24.
The Moto 360 and LG G Watch R rival will be available in a massive 38 different configurations on day one, with prices ranging from £299 to a staggering £13,5000.