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The fledgling wearables market will be thrust into the mainstream by the upcoming arrival of the Apple Watch, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has predicted.
Despite a number of high profile devices having already hit the market – including the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R, Legere has suggested the smartwatch space needs the might of Apple to drive wearables in to the realms of mainstream adoption.
Having been announced alongside the iPhone 6 back in September, the Apple Watch is not set to hit retailers until ‘early 2015’.
Although backing Apple to be the driving force in pushing wearables on to the next level, Legere has remained highly diplomatic in given a nod to the devices already on the market.
“I love what Jawbone, Fitbit, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and others are doing in the wearables space, but we haven’t begun to see the potential of this category,” he stated in an end-of-year announcement reported by Ubergizmo.
“It’s going to go from $1 to $20 billion in the next few years and though we won’t see its full impact in 2015, I believe that the Apple Watch will mark the tipping point when wearables go from niche to mainstream.”
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While Apple’s marketing machine and brand loyalty is sure to make the Apple Watch a bigger success than existing wearables, such as the oversized Samsung Gear S or the Sony Smartwatch 3, pricing could prove the device’s stumbling block.
With the long-term benefits of wearable gadgets still the subject of much debate, the Apple Watch starting price of $349 could deter many existing smartphone and tablet owners.
Are you planning on snapping up an Apple Watch or are you still underwhelmed by the wearables market? Let us know via the comments section below.
