Apple entered the smartwatch market just last month, but its Apple Watch has been such a hit that it has forced older, more established competitors to quickly unload their stocks at knockdown prices. The news is that LG, over the weekend, put several of its Android Wear smartwatch models on fire sale in order to unload their inventory before they lose their worth in the aftermath of the incredible success of Apple’s smartwatch.
Unlike Apple, LG launched its first smartwatch – the LG G Watch – in June 2014, just a few months after Google introduced Android Wear OS for wearable tech. But despite a head start of almost a year on Apple, the South Korean company’s smartwatches have tanked badly in the market, forcing the company to dump its stocks at less than half the original price.
For instance, the LG G Watch was sold for $229 at the time of its launch, but its price over the weekend was slashed down to just $50, according to PhoneDog.com. The aforementioned smartwatch was one of the first devices of its kind to hit the market last year, but is now horribly out of fashion, which is reportedly why it was made available at such a low price via AT&T’s online store.
But despite doing only modestly well in the market, the LG G Watch still has decent specifications and will get the new Android Wear update. Hence, those who acquired it at $50 received a lot of bang for their buck.
LG recently launched a new model called the LG Watch Urbane, giving it that much more reason to get rid of the older stock which it surely knows will fail to fetch its original price tag. Experts estimate that Apple’s entry and instant success has hurt several other rivals who would now be inclined to dump their stocks in a fashion similar to LG’s.
In other recent smartwatch news, Business Insider reported on Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac’s report on the new Apple Watch features which were recently leaked. The new features reportedly include a “Find My Watch” which, perhaps quite obviously, helps owners find their misplaced hi-tech wristwear.
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