Apple Watch Case Study

778 Words4 Pages
The apple watch - the first ever produced by Apple - is the most eagerly anticipated smart watch of this year and is expected to be released on the 24th of April 2015. Like the previous smart watches produced, this model will not only serve the purpose of indicating date and time, but it will also enable the wearer to carry out numerous activities such as; make or receive phone calls, check and send text messages & emails, view notifications on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter as well as monitor the heart beat of the person. However, unlike previous smart watches of yesteryears, the apple watch appears to be fancier and more desirable. This may be because Apple has released not one version of its smart watch, but three models; the…show more content…
Background a) Theories on Disruptive Technology The original theory on disruptive technology, or rather disruptive innovation, was created by Clayton M. Christensen. According to Christensen;” Disruptive Innovation describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up a market, eventually displacing established competitors.” [Clayton Christensen.com] Based on Christensen’s theory, it is too early to use the term “Disruptive Technology” for the apple watch, namely for the following two reasons: 1. The product is yet to be released in the mass market and no one knows what the response will be. Many surveys carried out suggest that the response will be overwhelmingly positive; this is not the case yet. 2. Consumer demand towards previous smart watches has been low as the smart watch market has not yet “taken off”. By considering the history of wrist watches & smart watches, it can be found that Christensen’s theory is not completely valid. The timeline below indicates the history of watches: (i) Year 1880: The mechanical wrist watch was…show more content…
Different kinds of innovation have different competitive effects and produce different kinds of markets.” [Disruptive Innovation: In Need of Better Theory]. Markides eventually divides the term “Disruptive Innovations” into 2 distinct categories: 1. Business Model Innovations 2. Radical Product Innovations As pointed out by Markides, while both share similarities, they are both different since they pose different challenges to establish firms and have radically different implications. [Disruptive Innovation: In Need of Better Theory]. Business Model Innovations “Business Model Innovation is the discovery of a fundamentally different business model in an existing business. To qualify as an innovation, a new business model must enlarge the existing economic pie, either by attracting new customers into the market or by encouraging existing consumers to consume more.” [Disruptive Innovation: In Need of Better Theory]. Radical Product

More about Apple Watch Case Study

Open Document