Apple Watch beware: Switzerland is unleashing a wave of smart tech at the high end April 8, 2015 “An expensive watch is a piece of art, part of eternity,” professed LVMH’s bumptious watch chief and erstwhile industry spokesman Jean-Claude Biver on CNN in February. “Because,” he explained, “a watch that is made by hand can be repaired in a thousand years. A technological watch will be obsolete in probably five.” That may be, [...]
Apple just muscled ahead of Samsung on … EE’s Wi-Fi Calling April 8, 2015 Is this the latest installment in the high-stakes world of smartphone politics? Smartphone rivalry between Apple and Samsung has been simmering for years, spanning different continents, and even a few court cases. And in a further sign it won't be dying down anytime soon Apple has beaten its rival to … being able to say [...]
Time to get smart: Traditional watchmakers are striking back against the Apple Watch April 2, 2015 With the Apple Watch set to shake up the watch market, Switzerland’s established brands are rushing to release their own takes on wearable tech. Last month’s Baselworld watch fair saw a slew of these, including this model from Breitling. Rather than text messages and activity tracking, the B55 enables you to perform adjustments – timezones, [...]
Apple chief executive Tim Cook plans to give most of his money to charity March 28, 2015 Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, says he wants to donate most of his personal fortune to charity before he dies. He told Fortune Magazine he plans to give away huge sums to philantropic causes, but only after he has provided for the college education of his 10-year-old nephew. A private university education in the [...]
Will Apple become the first $1 trillion company this year? March 24, 2015 It's been mere months since Apple's market cap smashed through $700bn, but already one US brokerage has predicted it's going to become the first $1 trillion (£669bn) company within the next 12 months. Yesterday, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White issued a 12-month price target of $180 last night. He said a "combination of forces", including [...]
Baselworld 2015: Tag Heuer, Google and Intel just announced a major partnership to create smartwatches to rival Apple March 19, 2015 Luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer is partnering with Google and Intel to go head-to-head in the emerging smartwatch battleground. The trio announced their plans to team up today at the Swiss trade fair Baselworld, and between them they could produce something that knocks Apple's efforts out of the park. The announcement described it as “a [...]
Total recall: Could you draw the Apple logo from memory? March 11, 2015 Do you know what the Apple logo looks like? How confident are you that you're right? Chances are you might be deluding yourself if you answered “very”. We are constantly bombarded with logos from McDonald's Golden Arches to Nike's swooshing tick, but a new study suggests we really aren't paying all that much attention. [...]
Apple Watch: This is what luxury watch stocks are doing after Apple’s smartwatch launch March 10, 2015 After the fanfare of the Apple Watch, stocks in the world’s traditional luxury watchmakers dipped lower as the historic industry faces up to the modern age. The Swiss watch industry, where the majority of luxury watches are made, exported 28.6m units in 2014, while analysts are predicting challenger Apple (in the watch arena at least) will [...]
Gold Apple Watch: Five things you can buy for $17,000 – classic car, house deposit and four years worth of travel March 10, 2015 Now we know everything about the Apple Watch, the biggest decision is whether to buy one or not. Starting at a respectable $349 (£299), many Apple owners will be eyeing up the entry-level Sport model. At the other end of the spectrum, however, is the 18 carat gold version, coming in at an eye-watering $17,000 (£13,500) [...]
Will Apple’s watch range be worth its weight in gold? March 9, 2015 Apple yesterday unveiled its highly anticipated take on the smartwatch with a host of new innovations and an ostentatious 18 carat gold version. The cheapest in the range is the Apple Watch Sport, priced from £299. But one version, the solid-gold Apple Watch Edition will set buyers back up to £13,500. The launch of the [...]