AppleInsider Staff
Apple has reportedly been in contact with executives and craftsmen at Swiss watch brands as the company attempts to strike new partnerships and bring high-end watchmaking expertise in house for development of a so-called "iWatch."
Watchmakers have been reticent to throw in their lot with Apple, according to the Financial Times, because the companies have little faith in the potential of smart watches. Among the most vocal opponents is Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, who reiterated his belief that technical constraints will ultimately doom the category.
"We have been in discussions - not ever initiated by us - with practically all players in smart wearables up until today," Hayek said. "However, we see no reason why we should enter into any partnership agreement."
"Never forget, to make a smartwatch work you need two hands or voice recognition, which again needs a lot of power which is difficult in a very limited space," he added.
Apple, for its part, is said to have attempted an end-around by recruiting horologists directly. LVMH watch and jewellery chief Jean-Claude Biver said that Apple has attempted to lure employees from LVMH's Hublot brand and "several Swiss parts manufacturers." None of Hublot's employees chose to leave the company, according to Biver.
While it is unknown exactly how Apple would leverage that talent, at least one executive believes it is possible that the iPhone maker is considering a hybrid mechanical-electronic device. The company might also be looking to the industry for expertise in working with new types of strong, lightweight metals.
It is "conceivable that they [Apple] would be interested in developing a type of hybrid with some type of mechanical aspects...the Swiss watch industry is very adept at metallurgy," said Patek Philippe president Larry Pettinelli.
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61 Comments
This is what disruption looks like to an incumbent. But if the option of buying a smart watch suddenly becomes more attractive to the majority of the incumbents' consumer base than buying the traditional non-smart watches, then people will say of their CEOs that they didn't grasp the sea change and were too slow to respond. If (IF) smart watches catch on like iPad and post-2006 smartphones have then traditional watch makers will be the next MSFT/Nokia/BBRY. I'll still always like the classic Mickey watch though. :)
[quote name="jinglesthula" url="/t/175638/apple-reaching-out-to-swiss-watchmakers-for-partnerships-tries-to-poach-horology-experts#post_2505415"]This is what disruption looks like to an incumbent. But if the option of buying a smart watch suddenly becomes more attractive to the majority of the incumbents' consumer base than buying the traditional non-smart watches, then people will say of their CEOs that they didn't grasp the sea change and were too slow to respond. If (IF) smart watches catch on like iPad and post-2006 smartphones have then traditional watch makers will be the next MSFT/Nokia/BBRY. I'll still always like the classic Mickey watch though. :)[/quote] It's not exactly an an identical comparison and I do believe the luxury watch market will be considerably more insulated do to it being more heavily focused on fashion and status than utility, but look at what happened to Vertu after the iPhone was launched.
I don't see this ever happening. Jony. Ive wears watches that cost upwards of $10K. No way is Apple going to be able to mass produce something to that level of quality and keep it within a reasonable price range. And no way will Apple executives design something that they themselves wouldn't wear.
[quote name="Rogifan" url="/t/175638/apple-reaching-out-to-swiss-watchmakers-for-partnerships-tries-to-poach-horology-experts#post_2505419"]I don't see this ever happening. Jony. Ive wears watches that cost upwards of $10K. No way is Apple going to be able to mass produce something to that level of quality and keep it within a reasonable price range. And no way will Apple executivs design something that they themselves wouldn't wear.[/quote] I'd think Jony [I]et al.[/I] at Apple wearing luxury watches is a good sign that any wearable by Apple will be something they would want to wear, unlike every other "smartwatch" that has entered the market to this point.
I suggested this a few months back on this forum. Just seemed like an obvious move to me. I agree wth several of you: Apple will never make a Patek Philippe quality smart watch, but someone else will partner with Apple to do it. Swatch is not the name Apple would go after. I hear sour grapes in their CEOs musings.