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Smartwatch sales are tanking

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Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#11

Post by aschampion »

I like my 2nd gen Moto 360 as a watch, for its aesthetics, and as a simple notifier, but almost everything else on it is beyond broken. Just trying to check the weather takes 20+ seconds and fails half the time, even on wifi. Pull out the phone and the weather is already there, updated. What the hell. Ok Google could be useful, except for the situations you'd want to use it (hands full, crowded environment) are exactly the situations where it fails.

USAA has a great watch app, though, which somehow has many fewer reliability/latency problems than every other app. I can do most of my banking just walking down the hall while my phone is locked up at my desk.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#12

Post by newswriter9 »

I don't get it. Decades of science fiction depicting Heads-up-Display glasses and wrist-strapped laptops, with people wishing and wishing we lived in such a world.

Now here we are and society isn't going in for it. Bluetooth head sets, smartwatches, Google Glass, none of it is sticking. Even though smart phones are becoming cumbersome due to size and inability to use hands-free or even one-handed well.

Are we ever going to see a cyberpunk future?

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#13

Post by sp332 »

pcunite wrote: post #6

When I'm not wearing my mechanical Seiko, I wear a Garmin GPS for running. Always-on is big for me. Are there any that have that feature these days?

Always-on... screen? Pebbles have that. They don't have GPS built-in though so you'll have to bring your phone with you. You can control the running apps through the watch interface at least.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#14

Post by _ea1k »

pcunite wrote: post #6

When I'm not wearing my mechanical Seiko, I wear a Garmin GPS for running. Always-on is big for me. Are there any that have that feature these days?

The Pebble 2, Pebble Time 2, and the original Pebble Time all have always-on screens. The battery life is as follows:

- Pebble 2: 7 days

- Pebble Time 2: 10 days

- Pebble Time: 5 days

In practice, the Pebble Time is good for about 4 days. I suspect that the other estimates are about a day above what most people will see as well.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#15

Post by bobajeff »

carsongross wrote: post #5

Seems like they will stay a niche until they can replace phones entirely, and perhaps even past then. A lot of people just don't like having something strapped to their wrist and/or want a large screen. As a watch guy (and most watch people are guys) the first smart watch I've been excited about is the upcoming gear S3: http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/gear-s3/ Because it looks like a real watch and has the rotat…

Yeah that's me I'm waiting for them to come out with one that's a replacement for a phone not some unjustifiably expensive accessory for a phone.

That or just make phones smaller. My favorite flip phone is smaller than even the smallest iPhone. I'd probably still use it today if my network still supported 2g.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#16

Post by Theodores »

Festive gadget:

https://www.google.co.uk/trends/explore?q=apple%20watch,pebb...

Seems interest in smart watches happens at Christmas time. There is a problem with that because you don't buy people the same present every year and there cannot be that many people wanting a new smart watch at Christmas, particularly if it is marginally better than their existing smart watch.

I think the same people that bought 3D televisions and tablets bought smart watches, they will be wanting something else next. Maybe they will return to buying smart watches when there is some new battery-defying functionality to them, i.e. they are as good as smart phones in miniature with lots of previously unimagined 'Pokemon Go' grade apps that make the upgrade worth it.

I also do not believe that any of the smart watches cut the mustard as far as true watch aficionados are concerned. To some people the fanciest ceramic iWatch is on an equal par with a resin calculator watch, lacking intangible heritage things and therefore not a cool item in their minds (they probably fear not being able to use a smart watch). These same people were equally snobbish about digital photography, therefore it could take a generation before smart watches are accepted 'artistically' by people who are like that.

I am hoping that a category killing smart watch gets made by Google in the same price range as a Chromecast. For £30 a lot of people would give a smart watch a go.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#17

Post by sosuke »

carsongross wrote: post #5

Seems like they will stay a niche until they can replace phones entirely, and perhaps even past then. A lot of people just don't like having something strapped to their wrist and/or want a large screen. As a watch guy (and most watch people are guys) the first smart watch I've been excited about is the upcoming gear S3: http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/gear-s3/ Because it looks like a real watch and has the rotat…

I saw the Fossil Q (https://www.fossil.com/us/en/wearable-technology.html) in the wild the other day and it looked very attractive.

I love that bezel input idea! I hadn't seen the Gear S3

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#18

Post by jfoutz »

I've always been skeptical of smart watches. As others say, if it can't outright replace my phone, i just don't see much value in them.

I wear "nice" watches occasionally, usually any time i have to wear a suit. As a toy, an epaper watch with actual physical hands would be pretty cool. The two extra hands on something like a diving watch could be used for other gauges, maybe unread email count or something goofy like that.

A watch seems like the right target for that semi connected on call state. Sort of like a modern pager. I'm not reading email, or available on hangouts. But i'll get the alert that we need to communicate. Low key, non intrusive, acceptable at a funeral. Just a few bits of information.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#19

Post by nfriedly »

I liked my Android Wear watch, but it never completely worked. Things like dismissing a reminder on the watch would get a sad cloud rather than also dismiss it on my phone. I thought maybe it was because I was running cyanogenmod, so I went back to stock Verizon firmware, but it had all the same bugs. A few weeks later, the Android Wear app started crashing in the background 2-3 times per minute and giving me a popup each time. I disabled it and haven't really used the watch since.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#20

Post by BoorishBears »

carsongross wrote: post #5

Seems like they will stay a niche until they can replace phones entirely, and perhaps even past then. A lot of people just don't like having something strapped to their wrist and/or want a large screen. As a watch guy (and most watch people are guys) the first smart watch I've been excited about is the upcoming gear S3: http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/gear-s3/ Because it looks like a real watch and has the rotat…

Back in 2007 I remember seeing smartwatches that could replace phones (make calls, text, Internet, even take pictures) for sale in Ghana

The problem is a watch can only be so big before it's too big, but input and battery life on small devices sucks (for now)

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