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Smartwatch sales are tanking

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JetBlackPanda said:
Oh man how long did you work on that one?

If you enjoy a Normal watch more power to you what is with Smart watch hate?

I love my OG Apple Watch, it's not for everyone and that's ok. I've had mine on non stop for over 12 months and it still works great! In fact OS3 has breathed new life into the launch model.
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About 5 seconds.

Defensive much? My intent wasn't hostile. It's just not for me, at their current style and functionality.
 
Still using my Gen 1 Pebble. I'll probably upgrade to a Pebble 2 or Pebble Time 2 but for me they're a little pricy.


Pebble's are great, bummer they're packed into the same category as the other smartwatches :P
 
RandomExpletive said:
Still using my Gen 1 Pebble. I'll probably upgrade to a Pebble 2 or Pebble Time 2 but for me they're a little pricy.


Pebble's are great, bummer they're packed into the same category as the other smartwatches :P
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Yeah, I'm interested in the Pebble Time 2 but it seems just a tad high. $150 would be the sweet spot for me I think. Or lower obviously. Lol
 
Onemic said:
Until they find a way for you to be able to sync it with your phone without needing to have your phone on you, it will never truly take off.
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It sort of does that in some ways.

For the first time in years, I forgot my phone at home one day last month. I sign into LastPass at work and luckily the LastPass two factor notification popped up on my watch so I could still approve it.

I like mine, mostly for fitness. It's definitely an ultra luxury, though. I don't think I'd really miss it, but I do like the step tracking without having to make sure my phone is in my pocket all the time.
 
ThoseDeafMutes said:
My armchair analysis here is that they're tanking because the novelty is wearing off and it turns out they're not not really that good. The usefulness:effort ratio is just too low. Extra device to buy and charge and update for what is ultimately a marginal utility. Fitness trackers are usually cheaper and more comfortable for those that want that functionality, regular watches are everywhere for people who just want the time. Getting notifications on your wrist, awkwardly responding to text messages and controlling media are not that important to your daily life. If I walked outside without my smartphone I'd feel naked, if I walk out without my smartwatch I shrug and barely notice throughout the day.
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It took a period of adjusting without my moto 360 but it was pretty useful for music control and messaging. I've been wearing my fitbit charge hr instead for about a year now and it's good enough for me really. We really need thinner more comfortable watches.

MonkeyMan29 said:
I own a Moto 360 gen 1, purchased it for $150. Soild, acceptable price. One that moves inventory.

Enter, gen 2. $300 plus at release... For what? What was the big improvement? It doesn't even have NFC. A waste. My gen 1 still runs fine. Battery still lasts about 16 hours. No big deal. Charges from dead to full in 30 mins.

In my opinion, most smartwatch makers have out priced the market. People don't want $300+ smartwatches. Price them at $150 - $200 and watch them fly off shelves. These are phone accessories, not fashion items. Leave the fashion accessories to the actual watch makers, you know the makers of watches sold in jewelry stores.
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I agree with this. They've killed their own market with the stupidly priced market they've reached now. I had the g watch and the first gen 360 but I'm not spending more than $150 on one of these things. They've kinda shot themselves in the foot with pricing.
 
Jest Chillin said:
Yeah, I'm interested in the Pebble Time 2 but it seems just a tad high. $150 would be the sweet spot for me I think. Or lower obviously. Lol
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Honestly if they had their new products listed at 75% what they're selling for (P2 for $75 instead of $100, and P2 for $150 instead of $200), I'd definitely be far more interested.
 
RandomExpletive said:
Still using my Gen 1 Pebble. I'll probably upgrade to a Pebble 2 or Pebble Time 2 but for me they're a little pricy.


Pebble's are great, bummer they're packed into the same category as the other smartwatches :P
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I agree. I use my kickstarter Pebble Time Steel every day. Shower with it, bike with, work on my cars with it, thing has taken a beating and still works great. Newest OS, 4.2, gets me 12-13 days on a charger.
 
Smart watches are definitely a device that 1) if you're not usually wearing something on your wrist regularly watch or otherwise the novelty will fade fast. 2) if you're thinking it'll replace your phone until you realize most features outside time and fitness, can't be used without it, it's useless. 3) people want the look of a watch with the premium, thin simple aesthetic you see with most smart phones, but without the issues that come with smart phone batteries. 4) if people forget first and foremost it's a watch in the end. Watches that tell time. Not devices that'll order your food and pick up your dry cleaning.

I liked my pebble. I'm upset that my pebble got buggy after the warranty was up. And my Apple Watch... I got for $100 Off last january, other wise I'd be super pissed off about my purchase.
It's no surprise they're tanking at all. Sometimes I still wonder what people want in a smart watch. As well as if or when there truly gonna feel practical for people too.
 
I guess they're cool for the health/fitness stuff but I never really "got" smart watches. Like I don't wear a watch anymore.. because I have a phone to check the time/set a timer/alarm.
 
I'm thinking about getting one of those cheap $30 ones on Amazon just to bee able to change tracks and see who messages are from for a change.

I'm sure I'll get sick of it after a month, which is why i will never buy an expensive, real one.
 
Love my Apple Watch. I wear it every day and it's worth it for notifications on my wrist. I barely ever use the apps though. It's a great little device that I don't want to do without anymore, but it does need to be cheaper than what Apple is asking for it.
 
I think the Garmin vivoactive HR is really great. GPS, keeps track of all fitness activity, and I can look at my phone a lot less because it shows me texts/emails/calendar.
 
When the iPod Nano Gen 6 came out alongside watchbands that they could snap into, I was super-excited for the future possibility of a smartwatch. I thought it would be so cool to be able to have a watch with any image you wanted as a face, that could also hold a large music collection, contain payment information (and sensors that would get me closer to a future where I have a chip in my wrist that I swipe over a scanner to pay for stuff), and more iPod/iPhone-like features. There were a few companies working on them, but I kept thinking "Nah, I'll wait for Apple, they'll do it right." Then the Apple Watch was unveiled and I was left with a feeling of "That's it?"
I understand that it has great athletic functions but being physically active isn't something I'm interested in. It seems like other people have moved on from owning music and now just stream, so having a music library on the wrist wasn't important. It needed your phone tethered to it for a lot of functionality to work or be important.
I guess a while ago I expected a future iWatch to essentially be an iPhone on your wrist and what we wound up getting was something that falls very short of that, that just gives you notifications and alerts and shows you recent texts. Maybe if I tried one out for a while I would change my mind but I have such horrible cell reception in my area that even having my smartphone (iPhone 6+) just kind of seems like a waste; I've got unlimited data but can barely get decent enough signal to browse the web and calls drop frequently in a lot of areas. So I don't know, I guess they had a bit of novelty for me, until they actually started coming out.
 
I would only be remotely interested in a smartwatch if it could do phone things in situations where I wouldn't or couldn't bring the actual phone with me.

Perfect examples would be the beach or a water park
 
I don't own a smart watch, but I do wear a normal watch (mostly for fashion).

When I need to check the time, it's usually easier for me to pull out my phone than to look at my watch, because my watch is often stuck underneath my sleeve. I feel like this negates the entire purpose of a smart watch. So I've never felt the need to get one.
 
They're a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, or at least one that no one cares enough about to spend money on.

The only way I can see them gaining mass market traction, is if they are able to completely replace your phone, when required.
 
I think I will try and pick up a Gear 3 later this year as a Christmas present to myself.

I like the design line they started with and it seems like a great iteration.
 
The Mule said:
They're a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, or at least one that no one cares enough about to spend money on.

The only way I can see them gaining mass market traction, is if they are able to completely replace your phone, when required.
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My problem was that I run frequently, but don't like to run with my phone. Therefore, I needed gps technology that tracked where I ran, how long, my pace, etc. The watch solved that problem, with other great features such as heart rate monitor, calendar tracking, and other fitness items. Fitness is where the smart watches shine.
 
Any smartwatch without an always-on-display (ie. Apple Watch) are pretty useless. No one wants to awkwardly tweak their arms just to get the most basic of information a watch is supposed to provide. Doesn't help that the swinging motion also doesn't active the watch all the time.
 
An expensive device that can't function without your phone that's another thing to charge and can't do half the things your phone can do when your phone is only an arm's length away.

Is it any wonder no one wants one.
 
Skux said:
An expensive device that can't function without your phone that's another thing to charge and can't do half the things your phone can do when your phone is only an arm's length away.

Is it any wonder no one wants one.
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And we thankfully didn't get to the point where they'd accessorize the shit out of it.

Tell people for years your Watch is useless, then you try and sell them a watch. It's not rocket science
 
To be honest I've never seen the appeal. Everyone carries their phone around with them anyway, and for times where you want to exercise without your bulky phone, you could get a wristband like the Xiaomi ones or a Cubot V1 or whatever.
 
I wore the apple watch for a month.

I only remember the annoying notification to stand up. Feel bad for any early adopters.
 
Not surprising. The only people who could use them heavily in big numbers are fitness people and for them regular fitness trackers are far better choices most of the time. It's why fitness trackers shipments are growing, while smartwatches are collapsing.
 
All a smartwatch is good for is the instant smart phone notifications you get on your wrist. A pebble round with better battery life and wireless charging is all I want at this moment.
 
I hate writing a post like this but the genesis for this article is an IDC report, which is highly questionable. IDC and the other main market reporting vendors have a long history of producing reports that support the biases of their main sponsers. In their world the Zune triumphed, the chrome book is a best selling laptop and the iPad is a failure. All the evidence to support this is easily found as people have been commenting on this for years.

Apple has no need to reveal the sales of the Apple Watch. Maybe they have something to hide like poor sales. Or maybe they are tired of the market share pissing contest.

What is interesting is that the Swiss Watch Industry has reported declining sales in Swiss watches for the last 15 months.

http://www.fhs.swiss/eng/statistics.html

What product launched recently could be impacting the Swiss Watch industry? What product launched recently might some companies be willing to pay to have discredited, a bit of the old FUD.
 
schick85 said:
All a smartwatch is good for is the instant smart phone notifications you get on your wrist.
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This is what people always say but I don't really want to see constant Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc notifications on my wrist. I feel like phone notifications have already destroyed my attention span enough.

oldmanyellingatclouds.jpg
 
GCX said:
This is what people always say but I don't really want to see constant Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc notifications on my wrist. I feel like phone notifications have already destroyed my attention span enough.

oldmanyellingatclouds.jpg
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I can swipe away and ignore it without getting my phone. That's the point. I can push the crown and say text my wife I'll be home in 5 and it just works.

Oh my dexcom streams my blood sugar info for my diabetes.

It's a luxury item for sure and like I said nobody needs one but it's been awesome for me.
 
There haven't been any new Wear watches in ages, and the few that did come out recently are not any different from the ones already in the market, so yeah, of course people aren't buying new ones, yet.
 
GCX said:
This is what people always say but I don't really want to see constant Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc notifications on my wrist. I feel like phone notifications have already destroyed my attention span enough.

oldmanyellingatclouds.jpg
Click to expand...

you need to curate your notifications
 
When people ask what I think about my Moto 360 v2 (42mm), I tell them "I love it, but I would never recommend you buy one".

I use it a lot - not only for the time and notifications. It's great for music playback controls when you're walking and don't want to get your phone out. It's great for running, as you can hook Bluetooth buds up to it and go running with a playlist without needing your phone.

I picked it up last Christmas for about £130. But I'm a total dork and love crap like this, and I'm fully aware that the value proposition isn't there for most people.
 
Nick Laslett said:
I hate writing a post like this but the genesis for this article is an IDC report, which is highly questionable. IDC and the other main market reporting vendors have a long history of producing reports that support the biases of their main sponsers. In their world the Zune triumphed, the chrome book is a best selling laptop and the iPad is a failure. All the evidence to support this is easily found as people have been commenting on this for years.

Apple has no need to reveal the sales of the Apple Watch. Maybe they have something to hide like poor sales. Or maybe they are tired of the market share pissing contest.

What is interesting is that the Swiss Watch Industry has reported declining sales in Swiss watches for the last 15 months.

http://www.fhs.swiss/eng/statistics.html

What product launched recently could be impacting the Swiss Watch industry? What product launched recently might some companies be willing to pay to have discredited, a bit of the old FUD.
Click to expand...
If Apple isnt revealing numbers it can only mean one thing - they're terrible.
IDC produces pretty reliable estimates. Companies can play around with them to get data that supports their own goals (and Apple is cherry picking their numbers just the same as everyone else), but to suggest they flat out make up numbers because they are paid off by somebody is hilarious.
 
I think people are expecting too much from a Smartwatch, like they are expecting a revolution just like the smartphone was.

I just want one to tell the time, other features are basically bonuses.

The only problem is they're too expensive right now especially when iphones and iPads need to be upgraded every few years. Too many iDevices.
 
I want one, but until It can be used as an independent device, I will stick with my Timex on one wrist and the miband s1 on the other (which does the trick of alerting me about notifications when I really need them and as a vibrating alarm clock).
 
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