Sunday debate: Are smartwatches dead?

12 August 2018
Following the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Watch, Chip and Paul debate whether smartwatches are dead

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  • J
  • JsT
  • LiZ
  • 16 Aug 2018

I own a smartwatch for 2 years and I cannot imagine myself going back to the old-school watches. If you think a bit what is giving you a classic watch (time and good looks) then it is not really hard to imagine that easily you could match and exceed those expectations with a smartwatch!

For awhile now I'm planing on buying a new one. I was quite disappointed that recently announced Galaxy Watch is powered by Tizen, so I have to wait for LG or again to go with next version of Huawei smartwatch.

Of course, if rumors are true then Pixel watch is the way to go :)

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • mJs
    • 14 Aug 2018

    The Pebble was the only Smartwatch worth buying. I went from a Pebble Time Steel to a Ticwatch and - well it's smarter, but I don't need that - it's even cheaper, but that doesn't matter to me. A Smartwatch worth buying needs 2 neccessary specs: 1.batterylife 1-4 weeks 2. always readable watchface (always on display). A watch with no display showing me the time at ANY given time is worthless. Im running my ticwatch on always on display - it lasts 10 hours, that's just sad. Yeah I can play games, use google assistant, can answer any given messenger, even watch photos - but only 10 hours long. My usual day has 16 hours, my week has even more. Why can't any smart gadget (no fitness-band) reach the 7 days of a pebble anymore? If people ask me if my watch is nice I can only say "it s*cks, dont ever buy one" and thats only because of battery time...manufactueres should really care about that, not better displays or more features.

      Anonymous, 13 Aug 2018Except a tablet is extremely useful and sells more units th... moreDont get me wrong, Nobody is saying tablets are not useful, but my point is about their shelf life, smartwatches and tablets have a longer shelf life then a phone and easily last people a few years before upgrading, hense their apparent sales decline, sinilar to the tablet market which has also seen declines over several years, a good smartwatch is not niche tho but for sure a more targeted market, they can be extremely useful, although size wise their screens are not for long tasks, but basic maps, gps, fitness tracking, music, and, without needing to lug my big note 8 in my pocket is great in the outdoors sometimes :-)

        • a
        • alphavirus
        • RcQ
        • 13 Aug 2018

        The major setbacks are battery life and price. It is hard to spend $100, or more, on a product with minimal functionality and won't last more than a day or two. I believe companies are making good progress on the functionality, but have yet to master a lower price and longer battery life.

        My requirements aren't as high as others, so the $80 Huami Amazfit Blip was perfect for me. The cost of entry was low, and I'm on 36 days with 40% battery remaining. I tested the waterproof in both the pool and ocean waters. I receive simple notifications and use it for the Android Smart Lock.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 3Ek
          • 13 Aug 2018

          I find them very useful and can't live without one, to be honest. The notifications alone are enough reason for me to wear a smartwatch. To be able to see who's calling or sending message without taking out the from my pocket is great.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • NuM
            • 13 Aug 2018

            Achilles heal is battery life, charging a phone fault is enough to keep on top of, a watch needs to have gos, cellular capabilities and last a month for it to compete with smartphones and not be a gimmick.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • mJw
              • 13 Aug 2018

              Useless thing. Smartphones are enough.

                Unless smartwatches incorporate some kind of solar charging in their panels, or come up with a new battery technology smartwatches are not going to be a huge thing
                Also manufacturers cannot expect people to make 2 year upgrades to their watches when regular watches last a lot longer

                  • u
                  • unic
                  • K6u
                  • 13 Aug 2018

                  Pebble had set a good direction for smartwatches. An upgraded pebble like device in the right price should sell well.
                  But sadly it died and no one is trying to continue its legacy.

                    Anonymous, 13 Aug 2018It's fortunate that HTC is finally dead. That f***er was pr... morewell, plz efer to the article of HTC's innovations, they contributed to the many things you use everyday, and the features your smartphone has wouldn't be possible without them, heck maybe we eould still be woth symbian, or have a monopoly of Iphones and closed os's. Laos they're not dead , there's Vive and the VR market. Thnx for reading ! Lovr is life!

                      Anonymous, 13 Aug 2018Problem is with the price tags. Such incompetence devices y... moreCounterpoint: a refurb Watch Urbane can be $75. That's cheap enough for most to buy it if they chose to.

                        • W
                        • William Fan
                        • v0q
                        • 13 Aug 2018

                        Nuno84, 13 Aug 2018I think that, when people realize that, to be up to date wi... moreI have to agree with this. I do not need to have a social device that I have to charge regularly and update after a few years. A G-Shock costs around USD100 and is waaaaaaaaaay more economical and beneficial than a Galaxy watch or an Apple watch.

                          • N
                          • Nuno84
                          • Lcc
                          • 13 Aug 2018

                          I think that, when people realize that, to be up to date with their smartwatches, they'll have to buy a new one every 3/4 years, they'll just give up. They're just useless for most of the people, but the geek ones try to find excuses for them to be more useful than a regular watch. If you buy a decent 200€ watch, it'll last for decades, although, if you pay twice as much for a smartwatch, you'll end up realizing that it is outdated after 3/4 years.
                          My friends that have smartwatches (mostly the Apple watch) are the ones that exercise the less. Besides that, they try to find a way to use them not to feel that they are useless.
                          About smartbands, I think it has had a steady growth and I have one myself, when I go to the gym or to play tennis, and mostly to know what time it is because the distance showed, without gps is not accurate, wither you have the best smartwatch or the cheapest smartband...

                            You are speaking about smartwatches... there are no smartwatches, just the Apple Watch

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • j5y
                              • 13 Aug 2018

                              ZloiYuri, 13 Aug 2018Following that logics Swiss watch industry is dead for hund... moreDo you really think guys at patek philippe care that they sold 10 more units yoy ? They know who they cater to.. besides you kinda forgot to read the second part, Swiss luxury watch industry does not care about mass market.. show me an Apple watch selling for million dollars in auction. The cheapest movado or Swatch is priced as Apple watch ffs. Apple can never compete with them in any conventional sense, the costliest watch sold till date still works after 80 years with crazy accuracy, wake me up when Apple watch does that...

                                I had a smartwatch from Samsung, S2 I think it was and I used it for 2 or 3 months than it got very boring and I sold it away. Yeah are slowly dying, for me it's the most useless tech ever made, another try to make money nothing else.

                                  • T
                                  • TreBar
                                  • MXW
                                  • 13 Aug 2018

                                  As already stated, the smartwatch is still young and still in early in development. But if you belong to the experimentalists using one, there is lots of potential that will change our smartphoned lives fundamentally.

                                  Its been just a few days since I read an article about intelligent speakers and actual leaps in KI-Development. One of the conclusions was, that most users havent understood the power of speech-interfaces jet. Im totally with the editor here and its exactly what i experience with my Wear OS-Watch every day.

                                  While my smartphone resides in my backpack, the smartwatch got the only device i definetly need my hands on most of the time. With improving speech and context recognition this will change user-habits for media usage, information research or navigation even more.

                                  It may be useful to have a smartphone in your pocket now, to manage data and device connections or offer a display in the few cases needed – but in the end it looks like all this could pack into a 'mature' generation smartwatch. Maybe with a small camera-projector?

                                  Who knows. But with the growing improvement of speech interfaces and their use cases smartwatches are bound to rise of their assumed zombie state.

                                    • A
                                    • Alien
                                    • 3RM
                                    • 13 Aug 2018

                                    Except for the fact that they light up in the dark, smartwatches are kinda useless.
                                    Maybe if smartphones wouldn't exist, yeah, but since they do, no.
                                    Just like the tablets. They were cool when they first appeared on the market, but now just a handful of people really use one.
                                    The only people I see nowadays using a tablet are small kids and those girls advertising things in gas stations.
                                    I'd rather have an analog watch or a binary watch instead. Also I don't have to bother every day to charge another device.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • gIW
                                      • 13 Aug 2018

                                      geordie81, 13 Aug 2018Smartwatches are like tablets, they are not as frequemtly u... moreExcept a tablet is extremely useful and sells more units than laptops.

                                      Smartwatch is a niche of a niche.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-772053
                                        • sxs
                                        • 13 Aug 2018

                                        Geric.770, 13 Aug 2018My neighbors here in province of Bohol in Jagna.In my workplace (hospital), I can only see few people (especially doctors) using smartwatches. But the majority are using conventional wristwatches. Once I happened to see a smartwatch at the mall, it was so expensive, with its price I could already buy a genuine Seiko Diver's watch. So yeah, I think smartwatches are impractical to buy considering their price.

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