Just as Tim Cook was stepping out on stage to kick off Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ event in San Francisco Monday morning, Google deemed it the perfect moment to stick on YouTube an ad for Android Wear, the OS used to power smartwatches such as the Moto 360.
Reminding consumers that there is an alternative to the Apple Watch, in fact, many alternatives, the ad – called Android: Wear what you want – features fresh-faced hipsters showing off various Android Wear devices to an upbeat Shamir soundtrack (On The Regular).
The 17-second sequence finishes up with the line, “Be together. Not the same,” a little sideswipe at Apple for the relatively few options that come with its debut wearable.
The Cupertino company announced on Monday that the Apple Watch will hit stores on April 24, with pre-orders starting April 10. Prices begin at $349, topping out at $17,000 for a version of the swanky Apple Watch Edition, its high-end model that features a case crafted from 18-karat gold.
All eyes are on whether iPhone owners jump at the chance of adding another Apple device to their collection, and whether the company’s entry into the smartwatch market will be a turning point for a device that till now doesn’t appear to have caught the imagination of consumers in quite the way manufacturers had hoped.
