Tag: apple stores

As the Apple Watch prepares to be shipped, other wearables brands such as Nike and Jawbone are being taken down.

Apple Stores are now starting to prepare for the addition of the brand’s own smartwatches and, as they do, they are taking wearables from the competition – such as Jawbone and Nike – down from their shelves.

According to reports, health oriented wristbands are among the wearables no longer available at the Apple Store.

The Apple Stores in certain major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Palo Alto are reported to have taken down smartwatches and fitness bands from other brands as they prep for the addition of the Apple Watch. The Spring Forward Event, last week, revealed that advance orders of the device will be available as of April 10, and the wearables will actually be available for immediate purchase starting on April 24.

These smartwatches will be available at a range of prices, starting as “low” as $349, for the entry-level device.

The Apple Watch was first unveiled at an event back in September 2014. The Sport version of this wearable technology starts at $349, but there is an Edition version that is plated in any of three types of gold and that will be available with a massive $10,000 price tag.

While it may make sense that other devices that present direct competition to this wearable technology have been taken down in favor of exclusively showcasing the Apple Watch, many are baffled by the decision to remove the Nike+ FuelBand and the Jawbone device. These are fitness trackers and don’t provide nearly the range of different features that will be offered by the smartwatch.

Moreover, Nike announced, last year, that it was going to be stepping out of its FuelBand focus and that it would be placing a greater level of attention on its software development. It should also be pointed out that Ben Shaffer, the design director from Nike+ FuelBand, was hired by Apple in 2013, as was the developer of that device, Jay Blahnik.

Whatever the reason, it does appear that the market for smartwatches is about to become much more fierce than it has been, until now.

The tech manufacturer has seen considerable challenges in the country, but it appears to be making headway.

While Apple has struggled to take hold in mobile commerce in China, a highly desirable market, the latest figures are starting to indicate that the manufacturer is starting to find it increasingly easy to sell its iOS based devices within this most populated country in the world.

A recent report from Bloomberg has revealed that Apple is opening many new retail shops in China.

Though this has not necessarily been officially announced, the mobile commerce news has shown that Apple has been hiring a massive new crew of managers in order to be able to provide the various locations with staff. So far, it appears as though there will be six new Apple stores in the works to one day open their doors in various places across China.

The hiring to enhance this mobile commerce experience is occurring in six Chinese cities.

It is therefore assumed that there will be one Apple store placed in each of those various urban areas. The hiring is for outlets that will be located in Shenyang, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuxi, and Tianjin.

At the moment, none of those cities have an Apple retail store location, which makes it appear even more evident that any hiring that will occur there will be for a shop that will be opening its doors in the future, as it cannot be for one that is already in existence. Another indicator that has been suggesting that the stores will be coming soon is that there is another iPhone anticipated before the end of the year. In fact, the majority of the mobile technology industry is in relative agreement that it will be launched by this fall.

That said, while it is quite likely that Apple retail stores will be opening in those Chinese cities in order to take advantage of the mobile commerce opportunity of having more shops in this massively populated country once the iPhone 6 is released, that also has not been confirmed by any official sources. Equally, it would make the spread of the devices in China much easier for the country if the doors were open in time.