“It
has also become evident that at present smartwatches are not for everyone.
Having a clear purpose and use case is paramount, hence many vendors are
focusing on fitness due to its simplicity”
Senior Research analyst
for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, Jitesh Ubrani, commenting on why smartwatch
sales are dying off
Smartwatches
are dying...or at least interest in them is, thanks to industry complacency.
According
to market intelligence firm IDC report, sales are way down as noted in the
article “No
One Is Buying Smartwatches Anymore”, published 24 October 2016 by Christina
Warren, Gizmodo.
The
IDC figures year-over-year for the third quarter of 2016 are really bad:
1.
51.6% decline in smartwatch shipments
2.
71.6% decline in Apple Watch shipments
Apple,
which has 41.3% of the market, has fared the worst of the smartwatch vendors
based on figures year-over-year for the third quarter of 2016:
1.
1.1 million Apple Watches shipped
2.
3.9 million Apple Watches shipped in Q3
2015
That’s
a 71.6% decline in shipment as indicated in the table below:
So why is this happening?
Smartwatch dying due to
Industry complacency – Watches are fashion Products, not Tech items
Well,
it's not all doom and gloom. Garmin fared well, with a 324% sales increase.
This was mainly because their focus was on health and fitness, the main
perceived functions of a smartwatch by most customers.
Apple
and Pebble’s new watches launched in September 2016 and Google Android Wear 2.0
isn't coming out until 2017. Wristwatches are not tech gadgets; they’re fashion
pieces as I've said before. People wear them to match their clothes, sweater
and their car and often just have them for show, not function. So for fashion-conscious
people, wearing the same old watch got boring real fast.
The
Apple Watch simple needs to have more frequent hardware updates per year, in
keeping with Fashion shows, tech fairs, celebrity endorsements and other places
where they can grab the attention of customers as I've long predicted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
Watch delays on Pre-Order Day – How to Sell a Wearable using Apple Watch
Edition on Celebrities and Third Party Wristbands”.
Apple
has already responded with the Apple Watch 2.0 that was launched at the same time
as the Apple iPhone 7 as noted in “iPhone
7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2: Everything you need to know from
today's announcements”, published September 7, 2016 by Lori Grunin, CNET.
Also,
better battery life akin to a regular wristwatch would not be a bad idea not
only for the Apple Watch but for all Apple products as noted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
files patent for Hydrogen Fuel cell – Why Portable Hydrogen Fuel Cells needed
to cut the Analog Power Cord”.
Apple
and others need to create new hardware on a quarterly basis or even monthly
basis with a focus on the health, fitness and healthy eating sectors that are
booming as pointed out in my MICO
Wars blog article entitled “How
Gracekennedy Aloe Vera Sinkle Bibles American Health Drinks in 2016”.
Senior
Research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, Jitesh Ubrani, puts it best,
quote: “.....However, moving forward, differentiating the experience of a
smartwatch from the smartphone will be key and we’re starting to see early
signs of this as cellular integration is rising and as the commercial audience
begins to pilot these devices”.
After
all, it'll match with the current shift in focus of this generation towards
spiritual wellness, health, fitness and healthy eating.
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