Are Smartwatches and Wearables Dead?

[Morty2264]

I had a Zenwatch 2 for 30 days and it wasn't bad but I returned it. Android 2.0 was released just before I returned it so I didn't get to test drive the new OS much. I really want the Huawei but I'm waiting for a deal.

Zenwatch! I came close to buying one of those. Hopefully you find a deal on the Huawei watch soon!

 

[Morty2264]

I think that's the big thing right now...pricing. fortunately, digging around can find some some deals to test drive wearables in different categories.

Absolutely. It's a pretty penny to drop for something "small."

 

[L0n3N1nja]

They are expensive for what they are. I had a gear 2 neo, battery cooked itself in a little over a year, than it got damaged by me sweating. I personally can't justify the cost for what little functionality they have, and rather short life span.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

They are expensive for what they are. I had a gear 2 neo, battery cooked itself in a little over a year, than it got damaged by me sweating. I personally can't justify the cost for what little functionality they have, and rather short life span.

So should they have more functionality built-in? What is needed to improve them?

 

[stmax]

I had a Zenwatch 2 for about 2 weeks before returning it. I realized that a touch screen on a watch just wasn't my cup of tea as I pulled out my phone anyways to do anything more than a simple check. Also it was awful fiddly and battery life sucked. I also found that I wanted to simplify my life but the watch became a second device sucking up my attention while I configured it and themed it and played with it and charged it every day.

Next I got a Pebble Time. I loved the button interface rather than touch screen. Also battery life was better. But it was still a distraction for me. I want connectivity when necessary not constant.

Still a gadget guy I recently was almost going to get the S3 classic. Instead I saw a video of someone reviewing a hybrid watch and it intrigued me. I ended up getting a hybrid watch by fossil. It sounds so basic when you see what it is but it looks like a classic watch that I can wear with my suit ... it tells me when something truly important might be notifying in my phone and the battery is a coin battery that lasts for months. It tracks my step goals and sleep and is just all around pretty cool.

I still get a longing to try a true smart watch out again from time to time but for now the hybrid seems to be a good blend of style and function for me.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I had a Zenwatch 2 for about 2 weeks before returning it. I realized that a touch screen on a watch just wasn't my cup of tea as I pulled out my phone anyways to do anything more than a simple check. Also it was awful fiddly and battery life sucked. I also found that I wanted to simplify my life but the watch became a second device sucking up my attention while I configured it and themed it and played with it and charged it every day.

Next I got a Pebble Time. I loved the button interface rather than touch screen. Also battery life was better. But it was still a distraction for me. I want connectivity when necessary not constant.

Still a gadget guy I recently was almost going to get the S3 classic. Instead I saw a video of someone reviewing a hybrid watch and it intrigued me. I ended up getting a hybrid watch by fossil. It sounds so basic when you see what it is but it looks like a classic watch that I can wear with my suit ... it tells me when something truly important might be notifying in my phone and the battery is a coin battery that lasts for months. It tracks my step goals and sleep and is just all around pretty cool.

I still get a longing to try a true smart watch out again from time to time but for now the hybrid seems to be a good blend of style and function for me.

I definitely appreciate this and feel that some people sharing this viewpoint. I was fortunate enough where having a touch screen smartwatch has reduced my fiddling time on my smartphone significantly. I'd prefer much longer battery life though and at least with Android Wear, that feeling of not trying to do too much.

 

[recDNA]

I love my Asus Zenwatch 2. Too bad Asus is out of the wearable business.

 

[Inders99]

I'm looking to find less reasons to immerse myself in mobile technology, there's a great world out there and the more I bury my head in these devices the more I miss. I have no desire to shove my face in my phone any more than I do now, a watch would be just one more device to slave myself to. I'll pass, if I'm a reason the watch market flounders then I'm ok with it.

Probably not a popular post but the more I look around at people with their heads buried in these things the more absurd it looks to me.

 

[Scott337]

I have been wearing an Android Wear watch for over 2 1/2 years now and can't see myself going back to a regular watch anytime soon. But the whole concept of a smart watch seems to have been forgotten, or maybe I just didn't understand it from the beginning. Act as an additional Notification panel for your phone...help is keep our faces out of our phones so much and enjoy the world around us. That's why I bought one, and what I want a smart watch to do. Tell me the time, with cool watch faces that I pick and customize, and be a secondary Notification system. I'm not sure where Google was headed with AW 2.0 but I don't think they "got it right".

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I have been wearing an Android Wear watch for over 2 1/2 years now and can't see myself going back to a regular watch anytime soon. But the whole concept of a smart watch seems to have been forgotten, or maybe I just didn't understand it from the beginning. Act as an additional Notification panel for your phone...help is keep our faces out of our phones so much and enjoy the world around us. That's why I bought one, and what I want a smart watch to do. Tell me the time, with cool watch faces that I pick and customize, and be a secondary Notification system. I'm not sure where Google was headed with AW 2.0 but I don't think they "got it right".

Agreed 100%. I think they tried to push the IoT idea too early with Wear 2.0. I suppose they were rebranding because Wear 1.0+ was wrapped up into the Google Now look and Wear 2.0 is in line with Google Assistant, but man...they screwed up notifications big time and that decision to change the DND toggle was asinine for me. It looks a little better visually but I think they lost their way.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Paid over $200 for some type of Fitbit watch. Gave it away 2 weeks later. Total waste. And so ugly.

 

[Doug Moffat]

I'm looking to find less reasons to immerse myself in mobile technology, there's a great world out there and the more I bury my head in these devices the more I miss. I have no desire to shove my face in my phone any more than I do now, a watch would be just one more device to slave myself to. I'll pass, if I'm a reason the watch market flounders then I'm ok with it.

Probably not a popular post but the more I look around at people with their heads buried in these things the more absurd it looks to me.

Actually, with the S3 Frontier I find I use my phone less. Keep it in my briefcase without the need to have it on me all the time to conduct business.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I'm looking to find less reasons to immerse myself in mobile technology, there's a great world out there and the more I bury my head in these devices the more I miss. I have no desire to shove my face in my phone any more than I do now, a watch would be just one more device to slave myself to. I'll pass, if I'm a reason the watch market flounders then I'm ok with it.

Probably not a popular post but the more I look around at people with their heads buried in these things the more absurd it looks to me.

I can definitely respect that. I'm sure a ton of potential buyers feel the exact same way.

Ironically for me, that's why I got a smartwatch as I found myself clicking away at my phone too much. Now I just flip my wrist and if it's important I address it on my phone. I try not to be clicking away on the watch as that defeats the purpose...anything that takes me over four taps on the watch to do I just pull the phone out. I supposed that's what has me so annoyed at Google with Android Wear trying to make it more like a kitchen sink to do everything, instead of focusing on pairing back and making a few things stand out.

Hell, even the Apple Watch is walking away to some degree from this mini screen kitchen sink approach...

 

[Morty2264]

I love my Asus Zenwatch 2. Too bad Asus is out of the wearable business.

I know what you mean!!

 

[recDNA]

I have been wearing an Android Wear watch for over 2 1/2 years now and can't see myself going back to a regular watch anytime soon. But the whole concept of a smart watch seems to have been forgotten, or maybe I just didn't understand it from the beginning. Act as an additional Notification panel for your phone...help is keep our faces out of our phones so much and enjoy the world around us. That's why I bought one, and what I want a smart watch to do. Tell me the time, with cool watch faces that I pick and customize, and be a secondary Notification system. I'm not sure where Google was headed with AW 2.0 but I don't think they "got it right".

I agree. I found it much easier to set up the watch from the larger screen of the phone. Now much of it like complications selections must be done on the watchface. Seems like a step back to me.

On the other hand I still get all my notifications promptly, often before the phone does. If you use one of your complications for gmail it shows a new email count that shows a new gmail before it even appears in the app. I open Gmail and wait for it to sync before the email is visible. The watch "protects" me from slow gmail sync in the gmail app.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

So should they have more functionality built-in? What is needed to improve them?

I honestly miss the IR Blaster that was in the Gear 2, it's not in any of the newer watches I've seen, I used it far more than I used my phones IR.

It's not so much a functionality thing, there's only so much you can do on such a small screen. I feel either the price needs to come down, or they need to improve the battery life and durability so I can use it for 2-3 years. I like the idea and concept behind them, I just don't think the technology is there yet, and dont view them as a cost worthy purchase. Hopefully they don't die off completely, I'd like to see how they evolve in the future.

 

[wenso smith]

I have gear S3 frontier watch..