Wearable technology is certainly not new, however, when Apple enters a market they tend to define the standard. At least that has been validated since 2007 through the iPhone, iPad and Macbook Air. The Apple Watch, now available for pre-order is no different. one of the key differentiators in our view is the willingness of business professionals to wear this watch for any occasion. Other tech-connected watches have emerged as first movers (such as the Pebble and Samsung Gear) yet none have done it with a style that would be found on wrists in boardrooms and sales meetings.
Traditionally financial services has lagged behind with emerging technology. And not always due to lack of interest or innovation. The regulatory layer often requires a pause and evaluation of how other segments of the consumer and business markets adopt and react to new gear or cloud applications. This time we see a bit different landscape. No sooner than Apple announced the watch did Fidelity and Citi (among a few others) announce they would launch apps supporting the April 2015 release. With Apple reporting they have sold one million watches on their first day of pre-orders, this will be a device to watch.
Investment News explored this from an industry perspective and we had the opportunity to comment on how we believe that will unfold.
