Now or never: The future of smartwatches

I’m as much a fan of the smartwatch as anyone. Anyone who has not actually used one that is. My abstinence from using a smartwatch stems not from my lack of desire, nor a lack of funds. My failure lays solely on my adopted device platform. A Windows Phone user owning a smartwatch is more of a pipe dream these days. But that is not why I’m here to talk about smartwatches.

Just because I’m a Windows Phone fan doesn’t mean I can’t look objectively at the landscape and report things as I see them. The way I’m seeing things these days, I’m wondering how much of a craze this whole smartwatch thing is going to be. I’m wondering how much of a can’t miss category this actually is. This week alone we’re looking forward to the release of one of the most attractive smart watches yet –the Moto 360. Just recently, we saw the LG G Watch R. These two round faced beauties could be poised to make some noise in the industry.

Next week, Apple could potentially make waves with its own offering. All in all, it’s a pretty exciting time to be a smartwatch fan. Unless of course, you’re also a Windows Phone fan – then you’re still screwed. But anyway…

 

As it sits today

Looking around the landscape it makes one wonder whether or not smartwatches are really going to be here to stay. The numbers are frankly not optimistic when it comes to this category. Android wear has been available for months now and the Pebble has been around for years and I have yet to see one smartwatch in person on the wrist of a consumer.

Sure, I’ve seen videos of Michael Fisher, Taylor Martin, and other technology professionals all sporting wrist-riders. I’ve seen talk shows with guests toting them around. But from an average everyday consumer standpoint, I have seen exactly bupkis. Nada. None, zip, and zero.

The numbers for smartwatches are growing. Depending on whose numbers you read, almost 3 million smartwatches might move out of display cases and onto wrists by the end of the year. That’s a pretty decent number. Pebble sales are said to be surging this year. All good things.

But when you stop and consider numbers for numbers, three million still isn’t all that impressive considering that HTC has sold more One M8s since its release in March. Of course this is an “apples to oranges” comparison I suppose. But those numbers are just to give you an idea of the type of volume this industry expects and even needs to survive.

 

The future is now

One can hope that these watches that will be introduced over the next two weeks can really pull this category into a new level of trendy. Otherwise, we might just be looking at the next “bluetooth headset” type of device, which is to say a very niche item in the wearables industry.

Some might talk about the lack of standalone device as the culprit. Some might consider the lack of the “killer app” that everyone needs. Some look at smartwatches as just unnecessary second screens that are too small to be useful. All of those assessments are not incorrect. We might be looking at a webOS-like trend of a great idea that is being poorly executed.

Apple may very well be the difference in this arena though. Apple has a history of taking good ideas and doing them better. If any company has the ability to make smartwatches “cool” or “must have” items, it’s Apple. Which isn’t to say that the industry is going to live or die by the word of Tim, but if you’re looking for an interest injection, that’s your likely source.

These next two weeks could make or break the smartwatch industry so it will be very interesting to watch. I’m personally hoping for a home run from all three of these companies and others besides. If I were in Vegas, I’d be putting my money on Apple, but I’d hold back a few chips for LG. Motorola could be a difference maker. Goodness knows, many smartwatch early adopters are hanging back for the Moto 360, but LG’s watch doesn’t have the “flat tire” which lies at the center of Moto 360 criticisms, so I’m more intrigued by LG’s offering. I know some of our readers are mixed in this arena.

Where do you stand in the whole smartwatch space? Are you eager for some new hardware? Are you skeptical of their usefulness? Sound off below and let us know where you stand with all that and let us know if you see what I see?

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