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Smartwatch sales are tanking

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Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#51

Post by rubber_duck »

jfoutz wrote: post #18

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…

I like the idea of having a reliable health monitor inside a watch (pedometer, heart rate, oxygen levels, etc.) Especially if they can combine that with data analytics and find some early symptoms of serious issues or help me optimize my day. Combined with existing smartwatch functionality I'd get that. But right now the devices I've seen are too limited/imprecise or too expensive.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#52

Post by pyrophane »

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 own the Gear S2. I've also owned the Apple Watch (S0) and the Moto 360 2nd gen. The interface on the S2 with the rotating bezel works really well. It is the only time I really felt like my smartwatch was an actual watch and not just a "device" strapped to my wrist. The cellular functionality was also handy in a pinch, as it offered some communication utility if I left my phone at home.

That being said, I don't think I'll get the Gear S3. The biggest problem is that while the S2 works great for displaying notifications, the lack of phone apps makes it difficult to take any action on most of them without switching to your phone. On top of that, I found it extremely difficult to get text into the watch to do things like respond to texts with anything other than a pre-selected message template. The T-9 keyboard was awkward and S Voice didn't work well at all (in part, I'm sure, to the quality of the microphone embedded in the watch).

I don't think smartwatches will be much more than notification mirrors until the ability to quickly input text gets better, probably through improved voice dictation.

One other thing about the S3: I really don't understand their choice to offer cellular connectivity only one the Frontier model. That feature is one of the main things that would attract me to the device, but I don't like the styling on the frontier.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#53

Post by wvenable »

mjevans wrote: post #9

I suspect people /want/ a smart watch so they can feel like Dick Tracy and Roger Smith (Anime, Big O). The reality is that the smart watch is little more than a smaller screen attached by wireless personal area network to the real computer; which has a better (bigger, brighter, larger buttons) and more responsive screen. I stopped wearing a normal watch once I had a decent pocket chronometer (a comparatively primitiv…

I have a Pebble and the main use case is that my phone never rings or makes any noise at all. Anytime I get an email, text, or phone call I'm notified on my wrist. It's a huge improvement and I feel somewhat naked without it.

Smartwatches will always be a secondary display and should be marketed as such.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#54

Post by huangc10 »

Someone mentioned it in the comments on TC. The decline may have been due to the Apple Watch v2's imminent announcement. I think people are willing to try it but not if there is "most definitely" a newer and improved version coming out soon for the same price.

2017 may well be the year for watches. This topic is pointless now given it's end of Oct and BF and Christmas is coming up soon. Let's revisit this topic mid 2017.

*edit, spelling.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#55

Post by dkokelley »

choward wrote: post #42

The biggest issue for me with the "smartwatch" is that they don't have feature parody with dumb watches. I've had many watches in the past and the battery lasts for years. I can also turn my wrist and see the time instantly. Who would have thought? What I get now is some piece of crap that needs to be charged every night. So I basically have no features while I'm sleeping. I can't just wake up in the middle of the ni…

For you I'd suggest checking out what Pebble has been doing. Battery life is about 7-10 days on some models, and has an 'always on' display.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#57

Post by nilkn »

choward wrote: post #42

The biggest issue for me with the "smartwatch" is that they don't have feature parody with dumb watches. I've had many watches in the past and the battery lasts for years. I can also turn my wrist and see the time instantly. Who would have thought? What I get now is some piece of crap that needs to be charged every night. So I basically have no features while I'm sleeping. I can't just wake up in the middle of the ni…

> What I get now is some piece of crap that needs to be charged every night. So I basically have no features while I'm sleeping. I can't just wake up in the middle of the night an instantly know what the time is.

I sleep with my Apple Watch on every night. I use it in tandem with my phone as an alarm clock. (That's actually incredibly useful. I haven't slept through an alarm a single time since I started doing this.)

It needs to be charged once per 24 hour period, but it doesn't have to be charged at night. I pop mine on the charger in the morning when I get ready for the day (shower, etc.) and at night when I get ready for bed. That's all it takes for me to keep it charged. It's never died on me in a year. In fact, it's never even entered power saving mode, which will retain the features of a "dumb" watch (telling the time) which you stated you desired at night.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#58

Post by tgb »

sosuke wrote: post #17
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

What does the "charging not required" claim mean for the hybrid watches? They claim a 6-month battery life. What do you do afterwards? Replace the battery?

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#59

Post by burkaman »

newswriter9 wrote: post #12

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 go…

I think it's because we haven't thought of enough interesting things to do with them. Sci-fi HUD displays are mostly cool because of the applications, not just their existence. If you only use something a couple times a day, it needs to be absolutely seamless or you're going to take it off and forget about it.

Re: Smartwatch sales are tanking

#60

Post by ChicagoBoy11 »

knz wrote: post #24
newswriter9 wrote: post #12

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 go…

Could it be that smartwatches and google glass don't have suitable input methods yet? They're adequate for displaying information but not great for extensive input or manipulation of data. Most people also don't want yet another device to recharge each night either. I have a Nexus 6 (one of the larger phones) and don't find it cumbersome at all. It's certainly more practical compared to trying to do anything meaningf…

I think there is more to your comment than initially meets the eye. I've been watching "Black Mirror" the past few days, and the one thing that all episodes share in common when it comes to their futuristic UX is the tremendous expressiveness that they derive from unbelievably simple and quick input methods, where you can clearly see that the user communicated far more intent than even the number of DOF that their supposed input device even allowed. The only thing I can think of as helping to bridge that gap is AI
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