Watchmaker Swatch is to produce new models that will be able to display smartphone data and make contactless payments. The first of the watches are due to go on sale in May. However, the company says that it has no plans to manufacture smartwatches of the type being produced by Apple, Pebble and other companies.
Swatch has 18% of the watch market and produces devices under many different names as well as its own, such as Omega, Calvin Klein and Rado. Its market share has consistently been increasing over the past five years, with the company making $6.2 billion in sales during its last financial year.
Experts predict that their share of the market may soon be compromised by the Apple Watch. Swatch hinted that their Omega brand would be the first to offer NFC chips. NFC can trigger contactless payments and open compatible locks. The phones will also feature Bluetooth chips, meaning that data can be sent to and received from smartphones. This could mean phones showing texts, news updates and other important information as it is received.
Swatch said that it had been working with China UnionPay in order to provide touchless payments in the country. It’s thought that the company are also planning on working with Visa.
