Few days back news came that ZTE is also developing a smartwatch to compete with the likes of Sony Smartwatch and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Today WSJ reports that ZTE will launch a smartwatch in the first quarter of 2014. According to ZTE’s Lu Qianhao the smartwatch will be released in Q1 2014 and will be available to consumers by Q2 2014, the report says.
The smartwatch will have features similar to the Galaxy Gear smartwatch but will sell for lower prices to attract Chinese customers initially. Initially the smartwatch will only be available in China and later they will enter the US and European markets with the product.
The upcoming ZTE smartwatch will only be compatible with ZTE smartphones. The later smartwatches will be compatible with other Android smartphones, but the first smartwatch from ZTE, which is not yet named officially will only work with ZTE smartphones like the recently launched Nubia.
ZTE is pushing other wearable tech products as well, apart from smartwatches it is also working on smart glasses and smart shoes, yeah you heard it right, smart shoes for healthcare purposes. Though these plans are not yet clear.
Mr. Lu also said to WSJ that ZTE will project these smart watches as a way to distinguish its smartphones from its competitors. The smartwatches at the moment are not ready for mass market but in future they might be accepted more widely, particularly if the prices come down significantly.
