It feels like yesterday when smartwatches were released as the next big thing in technology. Since the epic launch, wearables seem to have fallen to nothing but a forgotten fad. I was reading an article on the matter on Business Insider article link which expands on this perspective:
They were going to be the platform where the next big app or social network was built. They were going to free us from our smartphones. They were going to go from a nerdy dream to a mainstream reality.None of that happened.
In fact, it was the opposite. The market for wearables has proved to be insanely volatile, claiming victims much faster than we saw with the companies that went kaput following the introduction of the iPhone.
Is this trend going to continue? Is Fitbit deemed to fail in the future? Are Apple watches going to continue to phase out?
I personally was never very interested in the whole wearables craze, but most others seemed to be really into it. Is there a way that this technology rebounds and becomes relevant again?
Personally, I have no interest in a smart watch that is just an extension of my phone (whether the phone is necessary or not). I'm probably too connected as-is right now, another $300 device to tie me to my emails doesn't do me any good.
What does interest me (and what I believe Apple is going for) is a truly better health monitoring system. I dont need a fit bit telling me how many steps I take, but a truly encompassing health system. Actually, Under Armour's Healthbox is getting closer and is semi-appealing to me.
I dont exactly know all of the features I'd want yet, but (accurate) heart rate, sleep monitoring, workout tracker are definitely in there. However, if they could crack the code on blood pressure, blood glucose, and/or other measures of health I'd be a lot more inclined to purchase. A better, more convenient, way for food tracking would be nice as well
It seems that a lot of the wearable tech companies are pivoting in that direction and I think you hit the nail on the head for why. I also find the smartwatch as just an annoyingly small screen which does the same thing as my phone. It shall be interesting to see how well the market continues to develop for smartwatches that improve overall health tracking capabilities.
I am curious if all portions of the population would embrace a movement in the health direction or if it would just become just specific a specific demographic.
I agree that the audience for a more health-based smart watch may be (semi) limited, but that's the only real distinguishing feature set that I find appealing. Also, I do think millenials are definitely becoming more health focused and want more information. I barely qualify as a Millenial and I fall into this category.
I think fit bit has proven a pretty large audience for activity tracking, even if many aren't active daily users. A true health-focus would encompass that and actual health. If they could just get blood glucose the market could be HUGE just for diabetes sufferers and heart rate monitoring could make it the new automated life alert.
There's an up-and-coming start-up Theranos which will provide accurate and extremely cheap blood tests given just few drops of blood.
Zero added value above what a phone provides
It will be interesting, if smart watches will at least be able to replace dedicated sports watches (Garmin, Suunto, etc.). At least the second generation Apple Watch has GPS and optical heartrate.
Half of the appeal of sports watches is their durability, something that wearables lack. I agree that wearables are headed in the right direction, but there needs to be a single, new significant feature to reinvigorate the trend. I honestly don't know a single person with a smart watch. There's no reason to spend $200-500 on a watch that doesn't do anything that a phone and durable garmin/fitbit can't.
Also, they look gaudy as fuck, and they really won't be widely adopted by the majority of people until someone can wear it to work without looking like an idiot.
I wear one of the bigger Fit Bits to track my heart rate when ever I lift weights, cycle, hike, etc. I don't need the notifications on my wrist, but sometimes it's nice to have. I find myself relying on the watch for texts mostly when I'm in bars or too hammered to reach into my pocket.
Everyone is right in saying the market is mostly for health-conscious people. I cannot believe the first few Apple watches were not more functional. But it looks like they're finally making it versatile for all (the swimming ability is awesome). I do think Apple kind of botched their first chance with the first watch. It wasn't anything special and now it's as if they are playing catch up with Millenials' expectations. The small market is still there to be cornered, however, I think it's situation is similar to the iPad - no one really thought they needed one until they found out how fun and simple they are to play on.
Imagine you work for one of the major hardware manufacturers.
I haven't seen one wearable with a good user interface. Apple, Samsung, and Google have tried but there is too much functionality that is hidden away on your phone and it relegates your wearable to a $300 notification widget.
You'll try to fix this by integrating the functionality of the wearable into the OS for phones. It won't work though because consumers haven't adapted to the new upgrade cycle adding a second device to their routine will create. The costs and the convenience are a quandary.
This entire time you have been fighting a lack of consumer knowledge too. To be blunt; if your grandparents can't use it without reading the manual it is too complicated for the average consumer. You can't assume everyone cares about learning all the features of their new device.
You'll look at the wearables with interesting features and higher retail prices and realize they are a tough sell when less mundane models are already being under utilized. You'll need to strip away some features and create specialized devices for niche markets like fitness bands, insulin testers, or smartwatches.
Probably a good thing though because battery life just isn't good enough for the average consumer.
Look at the limited features and functionality and now explain to your customers they need to charge the device every night. Now get them to pay upwards of $200+ for the privilege.
Of course if the smartwatch is smart enough you'll need access to data too and that means an additional cost. You'll try to approach phone carriers to help subsidize a package but they laugh at you because you won't give them control of your OS development team or product engineering.
By the way, you'll need to buy another in two years because you won't update the OS on time, security patches will be sporadic, and eventually your wearable will be outdated.
Not only is the tech going to get old but you'll need to fight the consumer perception of people walking around with last years fashion on their wrist.
What is a wearable supposed to look and feel like anyway?
You still haven't figured it out because you go low end and it isn't functional enough, you go high end and FinanceBrah just goes and spends his money on some shit like a Vacheron Constantin or horse steroids anyway.
You probably end up just forcing the entire thing into retail at a loss to convince baby boomers you are doing something with all that cash before earning season ends.
I think it is inevitable people will buy them when the technology progresses, but right now I don't think the argument in favor of them is strong.
Also everything thus far has been hella ugly.
Millennial tip: Because like the original wearable tech device that allowed you to wear an iPhone attached to your belt.... You just look fucking retarded
Most tech has failed investors just don't know it yet
Wearable tech - specifically the watches - simply don't hold value well since a new and better version is always a few months away. Tech products have terrible value retention, at least with a traditional mechanical watch there are certain brands that if you buy and then later decide to move on you have a decent resale value.
I would be slightly more cautious than you. Look at the time if took for personal PADs to be adopted by consumers. If I remember correctly, people where already using the Palm Pilot back in the early 90's, but it only became a big thing when the iPad was released in 2010.
That is a good point, I always get annoyed at people who say Virtual Reality has failed simply because 2016 didn't live up to the huge expectations. In that regard, I think that it is true that much more time needs to go by before its officially considered a dead market. Though I think they face a ton of difficult obstacles that was highlighted well by FinanceBrah above.
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