Even with all the trillion dollar estimates on what the wearables market will become by the turn of the decade, the outlook at the current juncture is slightly bleak for all but the biggest of manufacturers. Research released by the University of Pennsylvania showed that of 6,223 wearables users it studied, over 50 percent had given up on the devices and two thirds of that number did so in the first six months.
It’s becoming abundantly clear that tech firms need to arrest this decline and, although there is expectation that Apple’s entry into the sector can give everyone a jolt forwards, plenty more can be done.
Inject some real style
Smartwatch manufacturers have to get away from the sector’s early chunkiness and built something truly different that will make consumers sit up and take notice.
The size of the components such as accelerometers and sensors inside each device shouldn’t be a problem and as such creating something truly different won’t be hard. Now is the time to take a chance on a design that is truly out of the box to stand out from the competition.
Something beyond simply "blinging up" the exterior of the device and it’s likely that even more partnerships between traditional watch manufacturers and tech companies will spring up to enable this. Consumers don’t simply want a second phone on the wrist and would sacrifice a big screen for a watch that looks good and is less intrusive.
Don’t follow everyone else
One of the key takeaways from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the uncanny ability of almost everyone to simply duplicate what rivals are doing.
Smartwatches haven’t had their "iPod" or "iPhone" moment just yet and even if the Apple Watch brings this to the table, which there is no bona-fide guarantee it will, purveyors of smart watches need to differentiate.
Almost every single device currently offers the same standard specification that extends to health and fitness sensors, a small-sized screen that hooks up with your smartphone and the ability to connect Bluetooth headphones. Think up something truly different before anyone else and it might just position you to become the industry’s most innovative company.
Think About Price
Talk to anyone about what would push them to buy a smartwatch and words to the effect of "I want it to be as cheap as possible" won’t be far away.
Pricing a watch anywhere near its smartphone counterpart isn’t going to work. Consider that Xiaomi and ultra-cheap Chinese smartphones will soon be arriving in the Western marketplace leading to even cheaper prices and then price the device accordingly.
Smartwatches must follow this drop in price otherwise they won’t be able to achieve the kind of penetration that is definitely possible for this sector.
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