Huawei Technologies Co. from China just added its own smartwatch to the mix, announcing the device weeks ahead of the Apple Watch’s release. The company has a goal of standing out by having its watches look like watches and not “devices.” In a presentation today, the head of the company’s consumer division talked about existing smart watches from LG, Samsung, and about the Apple Watch. He said he thinks Huawei can do better than Apple. Huawei’s watch uses Android Wear OS, and offers health features, fitness tracking, and real-time alerts on messages and phone calls. Mr. Yu said the ecosystem of apps is great, and that “Android Wear is the only one we considered.”
The company hasn’t yet started mass production on the watch which will be available for purchase in June. There have been no announcements on pricing as yet.
CCS Insight says that the company’s entry into this area will likely accelerate price competition.
