Market shares of the health-oriented product company, Fitbit, suffered a considerable dip on Wednesday following Apple's announcement of the new version of its wearable tech, Apple Watch.
According to the details published over at Market Watch, Fitbit Inc.'s shares plunged down nearly six percent during the midday trading on Wednesday right after Apple Inc. unveiled its highly-anticipated Apple Watch Series 4.
The iPhone maker's latest wearable offering has recently been making waves with its overhauled watch design which features a 30 percent larger display as compared to the previous models.
Other than a slew of staple health-related functions, the wrist device is now capable of performing an electrocardiogram (ECG). The procedure is used to monitor heart rate where previously can only be done via dedicated health monitoring machines often found in health centers or hospitals.
In the Watch, it works in such a way that it sends a current passing through the user's chest after touching the crown of the device, the CNET report explained. With this, it is now possible to tell almost instantly if a person's heart is beating normally or not. Moreover, this medical information is considered reliable enough to be shared with a medical doctor.
Needless to mention, Asus' VivoWatch, which came out in June this year, is equipped with an ECG scanner, the first ever to be offered via a portable device.
There are also other key health-related features coming out of the package but the fall detection system is specifically one of the most highlighted aspects of the Apple Watch Series 4.
This particular function is a boon for the elderlies, according to Rappler. It determines if the wearer suddenly slip and is incapable of getting himself or herself up from the floor.
As what Apple's chief operating officer Jeff Williams said during the presentation, the Apple Watch has now become a smart guardian for health.
Fitbit's Dilemma
With the outing of the obviously more popular smartwatch from the Cupertino-based tech giant, experts are now speculating that Fitbit may suffer more slumps on its sales from here on.
According to Fox Business, the San Francisco, California-headquartered fitness firm draws the majority of its annual income from its smartwatch sales. Given the recent market situation, analysts think that Fitbit might find it hard to take grips on its share on the wearable health device sector.
The latest Apple Watch, for example, came just one month after Fitbit launched the newest iteration of its flagship fitness tracker, the Charge 3. With the former's domineering presence, the company is pushed to make the Fitbit device to go on sale this October for over USD$149.
The watch from the fruit company, meanwhile, retails at a starting price of USD$399.
