The first 1000 people to use the link in the description will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare Premium.. Every day we hear that we should walk more watch what we eat and work out.. So some of us need to keep track.. Fitness wearables exist as far back as 2003., But as more and more people got into exercise, competition has increased. And when it comes to fitness, smartwatches three brands have made a name for themselves.. Apple Fitbit and Garmin have vastly different backgrounds, but they all want to be your fitness tracker.. So lets look at these wearable fitness brands. In this episode of Company Forensics., The Apple Watch takes the world by storm.. Every new Apple product comes with detractors. And the Apple Watch was no different., But some of the arguments were solid., For example, when it came out in 2015, the CEO of Tag Heuer Jean Claude Biver, said: can you repair it in 80 years? No because it wont work anymore., But the future wasnt Apples goal.. Instead it was the present.. So though many were excited about the idea, its launch wasnt perfect.. First of all, it wasnt cheap., The price ranged from 350 to 550 and a special edition worth get this 10000.. This one of course, didnt, sell well.. Also some apps were slow and notifications regularly failed.. As a result, users found themselves missing messages and emails., But still iOS fans loved the watch. And the stats proved it.
. The first quarter of the Apple Watchs launch claimed 75 of global smartwatch sales.. It set the standard for smartwatches and watches in general. In just five years. The Apple Watch outsold the entire Swiss watchmaking industry., But notice. We havent mentioned fitness. Thats because from the start, the Apple Watch, didnt aim for it. Apple, wanted a mass market. Still thats, not to say they lagged in this department, as its fitness tracking was one of the best and easiest to use.. Others, however, wanted to challenge its dominance.. The military brat that challenged Apple Originally called ProNav Garmin was the brainchild of Gary Burrell and Min Kao.. Both had experience in military electronics, especially radio and avionics. Burrett and Kao, believed that GPS had plenty of uses outside the military.. So after raising 4 million, they left their respective jobs and founded ProNav in 1986., From boating to aviation rescue and construction ProNav mainly focused on GPS applications.. As a result, the company thrived in these niche markets., But after rebranding to Garmin a contraction of both their names. The founders noticed that wearables were becoming ever more popular., So Garmin created the Forerunner in 2003, which allowed users to track key fitness aspects like heart rate, distance and calories.. Yes, it was bulky and had short battery life., But it was one of the first devices aimed at athletes. Thanks to top of the line: GPS technology triathletes and long distance runners loved the devices.. So smartwatches were the next logical step.
But their goal was not only to cater to athletic needs, but also to provide everyday tools like emails, texting and others. Garmin launched new products every two years, constantly improving and adding more features.. Now you can even find them with Spotify connection, Bluetooth and contactless payment.. So, while the Apple Watch aimed at the mass market, Garmin created rugged products for adventure seekers., But one small company wanted to target ordinary people who loved exercise., The young, small but scrappy fitness company. Fitbit is a classic underdog story. The company was born in 2007 and to convince investors, founders James Park, and Eric Friedman had very little to show.. Their idea was a small device that told the user about steps, calories and distance., But their model was a wooden box and some circuitry., But they believed in their brand and thats, where the brand management comes in., Its not enough just having a good idea. Its about Taking your brand and exploring its potenital. Thats where Skillshare comes in. Skillshare is an online learning community, with thousands of inspiring classes for creators., You can explore new skills, deepen existing passions and get lost in creativity. From Marketing to Entrepreneurship. Skillshare has thousands of classes for every skill level.. If you want to learn more about Brand Management, Brand Management, the course creating. What sets you apart.? You will learn the pillars of Brand Management in bite sized video sessions, so that you can implement a brand strategy. Effectively.
And as a brand Fitbit caught on. In an early sales pitch, they hoped for 50 preorders and ended up getting 2000., But neither founder had manufacturing experience.. So at first the company struggled to come up with an efficient manufacturing process.. Both Friedman and Park have said that Fitbit came close to going out of business. Seven times. The first Fitbit was rudimentary.. It was a clip on that you placed on your collar or pants., But back then this was brand new tech and people loved it. In 2009. They had 25000 orders with more on the way. Two years later, Fitbit included a strap and a digital clock.. There was even phone connectivity, but no messaging or email. Thats, because Fitbit was obsessed with one goal: health. Their heartbeat monitors were so good. They even appeared in medical studies from the Mayo Clinic. Plus both founders loved data, the more the better. Fitbit even had plans to use it as part of diagnosis and treatment., But this obsession meant that their products were too basic to be called smartwatches. When the Apple Watch entered the market, Fitbit didnt adapt quickly. Enough. The company launched its smartwatch, the Fitbit Blaze in late 2016, almost two years later. There were some sales., But ironically, as they launched their smartwatch, their fitness product sales took a hit.. The problem was that the Blaze didnt come close to the Apple Watch., While Apple dominated Fitbit hovered around 3rd or 4th in sales.
And thats. When Google comes in., The giant wanted in on the wearable sector and bought Fitbit for 2.1 BN. Fitbit had some advantages. Like sleep tracking, which Apple introduced only in 2020., But the move proved risky., The market becomes more competitive.. Since the Apple Watched launched, it has consistently remained at the top of sales.. Meanwhile, Garmin and Fitbit have struggled to gain some ground.. Does this mean the Apple Watch? Is the best Well thats up to you to tell us.? So what do you think the best wearable is, As you can see, Ive been using this Apple Watch Series 0 for a long time. Im really stretching how long it can last. Its already too slow to be used for most applications.. I dont feel ready to move into these expensive brand watches.. I dont think that goes with my personality., Its not like. Nobody buys the other brands.. For example, 2020 was a good year for Garmin when it managed third place in global sales.. Meanwhile, Fitbits best year was in 2018 when it placed third in sales., But despite the hype over Fitbits new smartwatch, the Versa Googles purchase didnt help Fitbit.. It went from third sales in Q3 2019 to dropping out of the top five by Q1 2020 managing to climb to fourth place in late 2020.. Still the competition gets more challenging. Each day. First of all, giants like Samsung are still strong., But then other companies are also rushing to get into the market like Xiaomi, Huawei, Titan and even Fossil.
Lets talk, controversies. Theyre, just smartwatches, but theyre still controversial. And some revolve around the very same health tracking. They promote. Because after all, this is your health data.. Are you willing to share your health data with all these companies? In 2018, the Apple Watch first introduced an electrocardiogram feature which sounds great., But medical professionals urged users not to blindly trust the watch, as average users might not understand the results.. This feature increased the odds of misdiagnosis., Then theres Fitbits love with data.. You see when Google announced the purchase. The giant was also facing backlash over privacy issues., So many users threw away their Fitbits as they didnt want to be a part of Googles privacy issues, especially regarding health. Wearables present a dilemma.. A study showed that 89 of users wear it all the time., But as more and more companies face scrutiny regarding data customers might not love the idea of wearing them 247.. Also, besides privacy issues, there are constant reminders to work out, walk more and stay on top of your health.. For some this might be great, but for others it might induce anxiety and stress.. In the end, a smartwatch can be an excellent tool for those in fitness and exercise., Even for productivity., But it can also be another way for us to remain connected. Even when we dont want to.. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Hope you enjoyed todays video.EfGsxpNF514
