What will it take to sell smartwatches?

[ataripower]

Really interesting and honest appraisal of the challenge smart watch makers face....

I love this bit:

There wasn’t much love put into its creation, and it almost certainly wasn’t hand-crafted by an artisan with skills passed down from generation to generation, in a century-old atelier somewhere in Switzerland. It has no soul. How, then, could you hope to form an attachment to it?

Full article below:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/androi...ith-our-hearts

[MB2]

Like most tech things it will take a "killer app" something you want to do that it is tiresome to look at your phone for. We are used to walking around staring at screens so I think it will need to be more than a notification we can hear anyway especially if that is a cue to simply check the phone. Blackberry had mobile email which was the "end" of carrying a laptop- smart watches in my opinion will need something similar to go beyond the "nice to have" gadget they currently are. It will come I am sure but at the moment can't think of it - in fact laptops (as tablets/surface pro) seem to be making a come back with more people I deal with choosing to sit down and check email rather than attend to on the go as the larger screen becomes more portable. I don't think people inherently like small screens they just manage with them and this currently is the smart watches' obstacle.


Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

[number2]

Decent battery life.

[Evanssprky]

Screen size will always be the killer for me. No point having to get put my reading glasses on to look at the screen when I can just pull my phone out of my pocket along with my glasses.
Are smartphones waterproof yet?

[PhiloStan]

The problem for me is that technology advances too quickly. Any smart watch today will likely be outdated in 10 years. Therefore it's always going to be "disposable" and "temporary". There won't be any personal connection.

[ataripower]

The problem for me is that technology advances too quickly. Any smart watch today will likely be outdated in 10 years. Therefore it's always going to be "disposable" and "temporary". There won't be any personal connection.

You'll be lucky if it's not outdated in 2 years!


Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[hafle]

The problem for me is that technology advances too quickly. Any smart watch today will likely be outdated in 10 years. Therefore it's always going to be "disposable" and "temporary". There won't be any personal connection.

No different to a smart phone, but those managed to catch on.

For me it is simply that they serve no viable function. The screen is too small to be in anyway viable as a standalone device (hence the continual increases in phone screen sizes, people want their technology to make life as convenient/enjoyable as possible and a small screen doesn't help this), and if a phone is in my pocket then there is simply no reason why I'd bypass the superior experience offered by a phone in favour of an akward 1" watch screen.

[Dapper]

[PhiloStan]

No different to a smart phone, but those managed to catch on.

You're right. The point is to convince people to keep buying a new smart watch every 1-2 years.

In fact, it would be to the smart watch companies' detriment if people managed to develop a special connection with the product, therefore unwilling to get a new replacement.

[MartC]

Decent battery life.

I'd go with this. Amongst my friends, it seeems to be the single biggest annoyance.

It certainly cause me to give up on the Apple Watch, unfortunately.

[Alansmithee]

"what will it take to sell smart watches?"

I don't get the question given that the last available figures suggest that Apple is generating about $2 billion per quarter off smart watches which is bigger than most watch companies.

The real question is what will make *android* smart watches take off.

(Although Tag have been super happy with sales of their android device).

[RobDad]

Most people on this forum develop a 'personal connection' with a new watch - until they flip it and the next one arrives! - I don't see smart watches as any different really.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chrisparker]

it almost certainly wasn’t hand-crafted by an artisan with skills passed down from generation to generation, in a century-old atelier somewhere in Switzerland.

That statement could be attributed to most of the brands sought after here.

[forpetesake]

Make them subservient to the owner - not the inverse.

[seffrican]

What will it take to sell smartwatches?

They seem to be selling OK, forecast sales for this year are well north of 100 million.

Maybe you need to expand on your question?

[vulcangascompany]

I like the idea of smartwatches but put off by the poor design of the face/interface/'dials'.

Even Apple who pride themselves on design their watchface is pretty unbalanced and unappealing - it has always looked like a rushed prototype to me.

It would be great if i could build the watch face / appearance I want from an app/software/website, try out different design ideas and styles. Dozens of dials, hands, date/no date to choose from - surely we'd all be interested in that?

[SSTEEL]

Are smartphones waterproof yet?

Aparently so, whilst I was on vacation, I was chilling at the poolside and spotted a young woman in the pool with her phone, it looked like a new iPhone, and I said to myself "Stupid woman, if that gets wet, it will be trashed", needless to say, she started dipping it in the water, and even using it to take photos under water with it, and it was still working. Some guy in the pool questioned her about it too, so no idea if she had it modded or if it came out of the box new like this.

[proby24]

Aparently so, whilst I was on vacation, I was chilling at the poolside and spotted a young woman in the pool with her phone, it looked like a new iPhone, and I said to myself "Stupid woman, if that gets wet, it will be trashed", needless to say, she started dipping it in the water, and even using it to take photos under water with it, and it was still working. Some guy in the pool questioned her about it too, so no idea if she had it modded or if it came out of the box new like this.

I believe my Iphone 7 is waterproof, although I have no intention of trying it. Certainly the Samsung offerings have been for several generations.

[100thmonkey]

In the last few decades Ive gone from Betamax to VHS to tv on demand, the TV was 14” and a 2 man lift and is now 50” and flat on the wall. Ive played tapes, had a walkman, iPod, and now just a phone app. But the clock on the wall is the same one and the watch I had when we were dialling up internet and renting videos from the local shop is still the same and still superb.

Smartwatches aren’t very smart really are they?

[ataripower]

In the last few decades Ive gone from Betamax to VHS to tv on demand, the TV was 14” and a 2 man lift and is now 50” and flat on the wall. Ive played tapes, had a walkman, iPod, and now just a phone app. But the clock on the wall is the same one and the watch I had when we were dialling up internet and renting videos from the local shop is still the same and still superb.

Smartwatches aren’t very smart really are they?

When you put it like that it seems obvious what the problem is :-)

[Evanssprky]

Aparently so, whilst I was on vacation, I was chilling at the poolside and spotted a young woman in the pool with her phone, it looked like a new iPhone, and I said to myself "Stupid woman, if that gets wet, it will be trashed", needless to say, she started dipping it in the water, and even using it to take photos under water with it, and it was still working. Some guy in the pool questioned her about it too, so no idea if she had it modded or if it came out of the box new like this.

Sorry, my bad. I knew there were waterproof smartphones, I meant are smart watches waterproof yet? (the predictive text demon has struck me again).

[RobDad]

The Apple Watch 2 is water resistant to 50 metres and does a fancy trick where it forces the water out of the speaker cavity when it comes out of the water. Not that I've got one yet - I'm waiting to see if they introduce an 'always on' display with the next generation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[julian2002]

I've never had an issue with the battery life of my Apple Watch S2, I average about 20% - 30% a day with normal use (notifications for texts and mails, a bit of sat nav, glances to tell the time, nike fitness tracking for an hour or so). So this would give me 3-4 days of use before needing to charge, similar to many hand wind watches. I charge it most nights though as it's also my alarm clock in nightstand mode.

I'd certainly agree that smartwatches need to appeal on a visceral level and I certainly think that the Apple watch is weak in that department - although the pysical design does grow on you. What I find most frustrating is 1. it's not a circular form factor and 2. Most of the graphical watch faces are circular so you have this visual incongruity that would have a certain dead CEO spinning in his grave. The faces themselves also lack imagination although the customizable complications are a lovely touch.