Apple might be asking health insurers to subsidize its rumored “iWatch.”
Cowen & Co analyst Timothy Arcuri predicts the company’s smartwatch could have enough built-in fitness tracking features that health insurance companies might be willing to absorb some of the cost similar to how wireless providers subsidize devices for customers.
Arcuri is predicting a September launch for the smartwatch, which he sees coming packed with “noninvasive blood cell count and blood pressure” tracking features. He also predicts Apple will price the device around $250 and will sell 18 million smartwatches in 2015 at that price point.
That suggested retail price for the “iWatch” would put it directly in line with the $200 to $300 range at which Samsung currently sells its Galaxy Gear 2 Neo and Gear 2.
Apple has yet to confirm any plans for a smartwatch.