In its quest of making innovative products, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was given a patent for mountable sports camera much similar to that of GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO)’s devices. What is interesting is the fact that the shares of GoPro fell in excess of 12 percent after the announcement.
In its application for a mountable sports camera, Apple highlighted flaws in the existing sports camera from GoPro. Its proposed device can be attached to scuba diving masks and bike helmets. This camera would be able to record underwater videos with sound capturing capability and the device can switch modes from handheld device to streamlined recording gadget. If Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to come out with such a device, it could severely affect major sports camera brands including GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) and Polaroid Corp.
However, the market is split about the impact of Apple’s sports camera on other brands. As per Alex Gauna, JMP Securities, launching an action camera might not be the best gadget launch opportunity for Apple at the moment. He further added that this might be the best time to initiate positions in GoPro, especially after the CES 2015 show, which marked the company as the undisputed leader in the niche.
According to Michael Pachter, Wedbush Securities,
“I think that it will have about the same impact on GoPro as the iPhone has had on camera makers and that impact is that there are fewer cameras sold but the number isn’t zero.”
Polaroid is another company that might experience the impact of such product launch from Apple. The company is known for making elegant Cube cameras. Another important factor to consider is the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has filed patents for several technologies that have not been used by the company.
The shares of Apple closed at $110.22 at the end of the day’s trading session.
This article has been written by Prakash Pandey.
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