<div>The smartwatch market is still running on low gears but with the recent announcement of the Apple Watch, things might start to stir up. Apple officially revealed the pricing of the new Apple Watch on Monday (9 March) and somehow didn't impress a lot of fans. The launch did not include anything new since it was last announced back in September. Google was the first to launch a proper ecosystem for a wearable device with Android Wear and since Apple has taken its time to announce its own version, the Apple Watch seems like a better and more productive device. But there is more than what meets the eye. If we keep the Apple Watch against all the major smartwatches, one cannot make a strong argument as to why you should get the overly priced device for your wrist.<br /><br />Apart from Android Wear, there are also other wearables in the market including the highly popular Pebble and Samsung’s own bunch of devices running on Tizen.<br /><br />So how do these wearables stack up when you place all of them together? Let’s check them out.<br /><br /><strong>Compatibility</strong><br />Android Wear devices are supported with Android smartphones running version 4.3 and upwards while the Apple Watch will be compatible with new iPhones running on iOS 8 and above. <br /><br />Samsung’s Tizen based wearables are said to only work with Galaxy smartphones, but one can also use them on other Android devices with a bit of tinkering. The Pebble is however better in terms of compatibility as it can be synched with an iPhone or an Android device.<br /><br /><strong>Features</strong><br />Almost all of the wearables offer the same basic functions including pushing notifications from your smartphones, quick reply to your texts or mails and of course tell you the time. Android Wear, the Apple Watch and few devices by Samsung however offer more features like telling you your heart-rate and support apps which can either entirely run on your wrist, or work in synch with the smartphone app. Android Wear offers a card based UI for the apps and notifications which you can browse by swiping them. The Apple Watch has a trendy UI with round app icons which can be interacted either with the touch-screen or with a hardware dial called the crown.<br /><br />In terms of productivity and features, the Apple Watch does seem to offer slightly more but it is just because it has more apps. This does not come as a surprise as Apple has taken its own sweet time to launch the device. Android Wear has however started pushing in updates and bringing in more features and new apps as well. Also there is no special feature of the Apple Watch that one might not have on any other wearable apart from Apple Pay service which is again not yet supported in the country.<br /><br /><strong>Battery Life</strong><br />This is one crucial factor that has put off a lot of consumers from buying a smartwatch. Almost all of the Android Wear devices offer a battery life of a day or maximum a day and half. The Apple Watch has been confirmed to give a day (18 hours) of backup before you need to run to the plug point. Most of the Samsung wearable devices have the same battery life like the Android Wear devices however the Gear fit offers about 3-4 day of battery life.<br /><br />The champion however is the Pebble Watch as it has a black and white display and can churn out a battery life of about 5-6 days.<br /><br /><strong>Pricing</strong><br />Since there are a number of brands coming up with their very Android Wear based devices, the price range of the devices vary between Rs 7,000 and Rs 25,000. Just like Android Wear, Samsung has a few, if not many, devices under its sleeve and they also range from about Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.<br /><br />The Apple Watch, which was recently announced has the basic model starting from $349 (Rs 21,000 approximately) and the Apple Watch Edition starts at an insane prices of $10,000 (Rs 6,20,000 approximately) and up to $17,000 (Rs 10,50,000 approximately) . The Pebble Watch has now been priced at $99 (Rs 6,000) and there is a brand new version on its way as well.<br /><br />The smartwatch era is still far away and the market is still in its infant years. It might take a bit more time before consumers get used to having such a device. While it is an excellent extension and a tool for your smartphone and a very cool looking accessory but having another device to charge everyday might just not be a good idea. <br /> </div>
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