If you figure for an asp of $300 based on the sales figures I'm finding it looks like smart watches are in the $10 billion annual range for revenue and growing much faster then the broader technology markets. Apple has moved from a dominant market share to the 35% range which indicates that the broader market is adopting the technology and not just Apple people buying everything Apple.
Selling one more now than zero means infinity sales growth, but slants the reality of limited niche appeal and a lack of long-term customer loyalty under the guise of huge growth percentages. They're a dead end. Alphabet has to compete to keep up with current fads, but these little guys are DOA when it comes to anything longer duration. We are seeing a fad blip and nothing more.
@PeachNCream I'm not sure this site is for you as it seems you aren't a fan of new developments in technology, or the fact that those things cost money (the latter because of posts you've made in other articles).
Example: PeachNCream "Heh, $100 USD for a 1.5kg cooler. I'll stick to OEM-boxed CPUs that don't need that sort of absurdity. The CPU and freebie cooler combined would cost less than this dumb thing."
If the site were exclusive based on interests, then the owners would likely close it off and then interview readers before allowing access. It isn't so it may be incorrect to say Anandtech is or isn't for a specific person.
I agree they are going about it all wrong. Nobody is buying a smartwatch for aesthetics. I'm on my second Apple Watch and there is no denying they are ugly, not jewelry, and not a status symbol. It's just a fitbit on steroids...the vast majority of people buying them buy exclusively for health and fitness. Everything else is secondary and most of it is gimmicky because the phone just offers a superior experience.
I love watches, I have always been a watch person, so you'd think I'd be into the idea of a classic-looking watch that is smart. But I'm not. Because nobody wears a classic looking watch when they run or do any sort of exercise, and if you want to track your health, you aren't going to wear it all the time (perhaps even when you sleep - for sleep tracking) which you need to do in order to get the most effective experience from a health monitor\tracker. The size, weight, ergonomics, durability, comfort and likely battery life are all going to be terrible on any device made by Fossil.
And that's what Google is competing against. It's an uphill battle because they are so behind, and they are clearly clueless about the wearables market. They would have been better off buying Nixon or some boutique watch vendor that actually has experience with a functional niche instead of a style niche. They won't win many customers with just style.
I bought one somewhat for aesthetics... In fact the two I was cross shopping (original Huawei and ZenWatch 3) were on the shortlist because they looked decent and not like a plastic sports watch. /shrug Sure it wasn't the primary consideration, but I rather appreciate that it doesn't remotely like a Fitbit.
Health and fitness aren't my primary usage case either (notifications and Assistant are), tho I recognize that's easily one of the most common ones and Google got pinched at the low end by Fitbit and at the high end by Apple in this regard. They should've been working with partners to make cheaper hardware by now.
Fossil watches tend to be pretty chunky (every model I looked at seemed to be 3-4mm thicker than my ZW3, they may have slimmed down by now) but at least they're committed to Wear, possibly more so than Google themselves...
Personally, I can't understand why this investment even qualifies as news. $40 million to have access to a low-end watch company's not released technology does not amount to a significant investment by Google nor does it evidence a significant commitment to smart watches. Just a press release that everyone published!
My Garmin Fenix 5x lasts about a month on a charge with GPS and the heartrate monitor turned off. Compare that to what, maybe a day with some of the other watches?
It doesn't have the same feature set as say, an Apple or Samsung watch, but it handles the most important thing I wanted a smartwatch for - being able to get phone notifications with my phone's sound turned off. I get a lot of spam calls during the day, and if I leave the ringer on, I risk having it go off while in work meetings, etc.
So even though it's intended to be a fitness watch, in my opinion the Garmin watches are the best overall watches you can buy right now due to battery life alone, and other watch manufacturers would do well to go the same route.
Rreally! This above article is very impressive, informative and interesting. Thanks for sharing this useful article with us. Do you know that according to Kim Ingleby, the trainer of the Olympic team in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, “when you fail, anger, rage, disappointment and strong emotions are normal and natural.” “Unleash these emotions - but then let go of the situation. Then calmly analyze rafiqsonsonline(.)com/product-category/casio/ and think about what opportunities this negative experience gives you. What does he teach you, what prevented you from reaching your goal? ” Like Coach Ingleby, Seligman believes that power is to share emotions and attitudes. He also agrees that being upset about what you consider to be failure or failure is normal. But you need to try not to allow thoughts like “I'm upset because I turned out to be incompetent” or “I'm upset because I'm always unlucky.”
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shabby - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
"Google demonstrates our commitment"Lololol don't think Google knows what commitment means.
PeachNCream - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
Smartwatches are still a thing?BenSkywalker - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
If you figure for an asp of $300 based on the sales figures I'm finding it looks like smart watches are in the $10 billion annual range for revenue and growing much faster then the broader technology markets. Apple has moved from a dominant market share to the 35% range which indicates that the broader market is adopting the technology and not just Apple people buying everything Apple.PeachNCream - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
Selling one more now than zero means infinity sales growth, but slants the reality of limited niche appeal and a lack of long-term customer loyalty under the guise of huge growth percentages. They're a dead end. Alphabet has to compete to keep up with current fads, but these little guys are DOA when it comes to anything longer duration. We are seeing a fad blip and nothing more.megadirk - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
@PeachNCream I'm not sure this site is for you as it seems you aren't a fan of new developments in technology, or the fact that those things cost money (the latter because of posts you've made in other articles).Example: PeachNCream "Heh, $100 USD for a 1.5kg cooler. I'll stick to OEM-boxed CPUs that don't need that sort of absurdity. The CPU and freebie cooler combined would cost less than this dumb thing."
PeachNCream - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
If the site were exclusive based on interests, then the owners would likely close it off and then interview readers before allowing access. It isn't so it may be incorrect to say Anandtech is or isn't for a specific person.Samus - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
Some investors believe they are the most profitable product Apple has, from a margin perspective!Lord of the Bored - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
Yup. Unfortunately, so are circle-screens.Holdin' on to my ZenWatch 2 until it craps out and I'm forced to get something round.
MarcusMo - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
Oh yes they are! The latest apple watch 4 is really good.sorten - Friday, January 18, 2019 - link
Still trying? Their whole effort feels similar to Microsoft's attempt to get back into the mobile market.Samus - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
I agree they are going about it all wrong. Nobody is buying a smartwatch for aesthetics. I'm on my second Apple Watch and there is no denying they are ugly, not jewelry, and not a status symbol. It's just a fitbit on steroids...the vast majority of people buying them buy exclusively for health and fitness. Everything else is secondary and most of it is gimmicky because the phone just offers a superior experience.I love watches, I have always been a watch person, so you'd think I'd be into the idea of a classic-looking watch that is smart. But I'm not. Because nobody wears a classic looking watch when they run or do any sort of exercise, and if you want to track your health, you aren't going to wear it all the time (perhaps even when you sleep - for sleep tracking) which you need to do in order to get the most effective experience from a health monitor\tracker. The size, weight, ergonomics, durability, comfort and likely battery life are all going to be terrible on any device made by Fossil.
And that's what Google is competing against. It's an uphill battle because they are so behind, and they are clearly clueless about the wearables market. They would have been better off buying Nixon or some boutique watch vendor that actually has experience with a functional niche instead of a style niche. They won't win many customers with just style.
Impulses - Sunday, January 20, 2019 - link
I bought one somewhat for aesthetics... In fact the two I was cross shopping (original Huawei and ZenWatch 3) were on the shortlist because they looked decent and not like a plastic sports watch. /shrug Sure it wasn't the primary consideration, but I rather appreciate that it doesn't remotely like a Fitbit.Health and fitness aren't my primary usage case either (notifications and Assistant are), tho I recognize that's easily one of the most common ones and Google got pinched at the low end by Fitbit and at the high end by Apple in this regard. They should've been working with partners to make cheaper hardware by now.
Fossil watches tend to be pretty chunky (every model I looked at seemed to be 3-4mm thicker than my ZW3, they may have slimmed down by now) but at least they're committed to Wear, possibly more so than Google themselves...
MarcusMo - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
Still held back by the lack of any hardware platform that isn't some sort of cut down mobile derivative built on yesteryears processing node.Jeff Bellin - Saturday, January 19, 2019 - link
Personally, I can't understand why this investment even qualifies as news. $40 million to have access to a low-end watch company's not released technology does not amount to a significant investment by Google nor does it evidence a significant commitment to smart watches. Just a press release that everyone published!twtech - Tuesday, January 22, 2019 - link
My Garmin Fenix 5x lasts about a month on a charge with GPS and the heartrate monitor turned off. Compare that to what, maybe a day with some of the other watches?It doesn't have the same feature set as say, an Apple or Samsung watch, but it handles the most important thing I wanted a smartwatch for - being able to get phone notifications with my phone's sound turned off. I get a lot of spam calls during the day, and if I leave the ringer on, I risk having it go off while in work meetings, etc.
So even though it's intended to be a fitness watch, in my opinion the Garmin watches are the best overall watches you can buy right now due to battery life alone, and other watch manufacturers would do well to go the same route.
boozed - Friday, February 15, 2019 - link
Why is the header photo of a TAG Heuer?shahdkhan - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
it's really a big news that <a href="https://notepadplusplusdownload.com/" rel="dofollow">notepad++ mac</a> support almostly all languagesMax Thomas - Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - link
Rreally! This above article is very impressive, informative and interesting. Thanks for sharing this useful article with us. Do you know that according to Kim Ingleby, the trainer of the Olympic team in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, “when you fail, anger, rage, disappointment and strong emotions are normal and natural.” “Unleash these emotions - but then let go of the situation. Then calmly analyze rafiqsonsonline(.)com/product-category/casio/ and think about what opportunities this negative experience gives you. What does he teach you, what prevented you from reaching your goal? ” Like Coach Ingleby, Seligman believes that power is to share emotions and attitudes. He also agrees that being upset about what you consider to be failure or failure is normal. But you need to try not to allow thoughts like “I'm upset because I turned out to be incompetent” or “I'm upset because I'm always unlucky.”