The Apple Watch symbolises the giant leap the Cupertino-based company took into the nascent smartwatch industry. Till recently, the industry was full of Android Wear-based smartwatches for consumers to choose from, but the Apple Watch adds a whole new dimension to this product category.
The first thing that the company would wish to see is the watch becoming an instant hit among fans, something other smartwatch makers have long craved for, but never really got.
However, the Apple Watch will face stiff competition from rivals who are also trying to establish themselves in the market.
Keeping everything (including the differences in Android Wear and the Watch's OS) in mind, here's a quick look at the six major rivals of the Apple Watch who could give the company a good run for its money.
Motorola Moto 360
It's no surprise that the Moto 360 just has to be in this list. The Moto 360 from Motorola is easily one of the few automatic choices, owing to the fact that it has gone on to become one of the most popular smartwatches in the market, apart from being the first of its kind to arrive with a circular display. One area where the Moto 360 might edge out the Apple Watch is in looks. The Moto 360's aesthetic design makes sure the smartwatch isn't just another geek gadget strapped onto your wrist. The Motorola smartwatch can track heart rate and act as a pedometer. Plus, Android Wear also remains a major factor here.
LG Watch Urbane
The Watch Urbane is LG's newest entrant into the slowly expanding world of smartwatches. While the LG-made smartwatch is, without any doubt, one of the best-looking wearables around, it also has the specs inside to complement its looks. The LG watch dons a classic watch style and it is rather difficult to tell it from a normal one. Powered by WebOS (bought earlier from LG), the Watch Urbane packs a 700mAh battery inside, apart from being an LTE-capable wearable. The smart wearable is powered by a Snapdragon 400 SoC and offers a massive 1GB of RAM. Also, it has IP67 waterproofing to shield it from water and other damaging liquids.
Pebble Time Steel
If not anything else, Pebble has the backing of at least a million interested users who have successfully funded the project during its kickstarter phase. Needless to say, Pebble products have found safe haven and become few of the majorly-funded ones in Kickstarter. The new Pebble Time is the latest entry into the mix and could be a cause of serious concern for the Apple Watch going forward. The watch has a metal body and offers up to 7 days of battery life. It comes with a color e-ink display, which is undoubtedly responsible for the impressive battery backup. Moreover, it works on both Android and iOS.
Samsung Gear 2
Samsung could be lauded for the way it has got hold of buyers for its Gear 2 smartwatch, but there's more involved with the technology than meets the eye from the Galaxy S5-maker. While there isn't much to choose from in the smartwatch category now, Samsung has made sure it remains in the news when the category finally starts hitting its expected ground. The device not only monitors user health, reads new mails and tracks distance, it also takes pictures and makes calls via its speaker phone. However, there's a catch – it only pairs with Samsung phones.
Huawei Smartwatch
Chinese tech magnet Huawei recently announced its first Android Wear smartwatch at this year's MWC. Again, this smartwatch gives Apple a run for its money, in terms of looks and offers a 286 ppi 1.4-inch AMOLED touchscreen that will be available in gold, silver, and black. Inside, you will find 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, a heart rate monitor and a 6-axis motion sensor, apart from a Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor. Huawei is said to be selling the watch in over 20 countries, including most of North America, Europe, and South America, although pricing and availability.
LG G Watch R
On announcement, the LG G Watch R was lauded as being the first smartwatch from a major company to sport a completely round display. This was obviously a jab towards the claims of the Moto 360, but there's more than just jabbing that's involved with the LG G Watch R. This is water-proof gadget that's made of stainless steel and has a single 1.2GHz Snapdragon SoC inside and 4GB of internal storage space, and a 410mAh battery that keeps the circular G Watch R active all through the day. If you have doubts about others, know this for certain that the LG G Watch R stands out as one of the top rivals of the Apple Watch.
