To date, the current popularity of wearable technology seems to be more of a company and media public relations campaign than based on actual sales revenues. In many cases, firms have not met their sales goals for the latest in wearable technology; and consumer interest is far less than expected. This is in some part due to consumers questioning whether they really need wearable technology when they have the most-advanced smartphones which are capable of doing so much.
Although some firms have succeeded with their wearable technology, Google has virtually withdrawn Google Glass from the marketplace. So, it will be interesting to see how Apple fares when it introduces its high-tech watch next month.
Take a look at the following infographic on wearable technology to see how far we have come in the last five-plus decades. The infographic is by Mashable.
I won’t pretend to be a professional or an expert by any means on this subject. I am speaking from personal experience when I say that it comes as no surprise to me that the wearable technology has not caught on. Not only is it expensive to upgrade from year to year, it often times looks ridiculous (Google Glass).
I think if companies want a shot at succeeding, they should aim at the lower end of the market. “Mi-bands,” a chinese made product have this in mind. They’re priced at 20 dollars off of amazon, and appeal to fitness fans who want to keep track of their sleep cycle, daily steps, etc.
I have mixed opinions when it comes to wearable technology. Watches nowadays are still worn and seen as an element of style. So, the Apple Watch really is not a bad idea, because it’s something that people will be wearing for years and years. But when it comes to technology such as Google Glass, bluetooth headsets, etc., they’re not as realistic. The companies have to put forth the idea of style and if you could actually imagine a person wearing their product. So, I do not think the Apple Watch will cause any problems for Apple, because most of their products are bought just because its an Apple product anyway.
It’s funny how some companies are trying to make wearable technology functional or fashionable, when I don’t think that it will ever become the next big thing. Companies try to make our lives as simple and technological as possible, but some things aren’t needed. Google Glasses aren’t really that spectacular from what I heard from some of my friends who tried them. They just make it harder to operate, because you can’t really walk and operate with Google Glasses at the same time. The only group that I can think of that will buy these devices would be a wealthy class, just to say that they have the product. Some of it is needed and some that are created for health reasons, might be difficult to operate.
I think wearable technology always have limited development in recent years. Customers care about the value of it. One day we all hope we can speak with wearable phone and use watch to replace car keys or door keys. But we care about more its security and battery life. Or we consider if they are healthy for our body. We have more requirements and expectation for this small and convenient technology. That is the reason I think the wearable is not mature to take advantage of market. But Apple will be successful. Why? Apple has hundreds of possibilities to produce IWatch in the past few years. But it didn’t do that. The market and customers would not trust this product 100 percent. However, I believe they are prepared for this campaign. We will see.
Wearable technology sounds like a good idea but when it comes down to it, why buy it if we have other devices that do the same thing at a cheaper price. For example, the new iWatch that is coming out. It is just a small iphone. The iphone, which many people already own, does everything and more than the iWatch will do. However, people who need to have the next best thing will definitely buy the new Apple product. If Apple can market it properly they can make more sales then expected considering they made three different styles for different consumers.
As far wearable tech is concerned, anything that is electronic and you can put it on your is wearable tech. So any type of electronic watch is wearable tech. So many people have been using that kind of wearable tech for years. Now with the introduction of all these smart watches the number of people who are going to be wearing their tech is going to be increasing astronomically. Regular phone to smart phone, everyone has a smartphone now. Regular watch to smart watch. Soon everyone is going to have a smart watch. Its only a matter of time before smartwatches become very affordable and common place and all watches worn will be smart watches. I wouldnt be surprised if all of the high end brands come out with their own variant. i.e. Movado, Rolex etc…
Why use wearable tech if your phone can do everything and more — with a bigger screen? 🙂
It seems very interesting to have wearable technology. Technology will always be evolving but the fact that it has got to the point where people can wear it is pretty cool. The iwatch people will use just because of apple, and I guess it helps promote everything they do, but it is very cool how technology has came to this point in time.
The state of wearable technology is evolving rapidly, I believe that the IWatch and all wearable technology is the future. Once companies can get things to attach to your body they know they are successful, I believe that cell phones and tablets are successful but not as successful as wearable technology is, we are already attached to our phones, imagine a world where glasses and watches are part of us? we would never put them down, In sum, i believe that companies that capitalize on wearable technology will be successful in the future.
I’ve talked about the future of Apple Watch on my blog (https://gooksantiger.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/apple-watch-future-or-fad/) and here is what I believe.
Once, my friend said a man should always wear a watch and a belt. I’m not here to support her statement but to point out how practical it is to wear a watch. However, with the surge of smartphone, which does so much more than tell you the time, wearing a watch became obsolete to many people. Do I think that we need a smart watch when we have a smart phone in our pocket? My answer is no. Are we that lazy to take out our phone or too impatient to wait to check our phone if we are in a meeting or a class? I am not downplaying the benefit of having a smart watch but the benefit does not justify the cost. But I do believe that when the technology advances and smart watches can do everything that a smartphone can do, people will shift from smart phones to smart watches.
As appealing as it may have been to have wearable technology years ago, clearly it has been on a downwards slope. They seem to serve us less and less functionality but with higher and higher prices. Whats next a watch that will cook a meal for you? None needs a watch that can simply do everything for them. Is our society really that lazy that we need wearable devices to do so much? This is definatly something to think about for the future and to see if it is worth any more time or effort.
Wearable technology and the internet of things age is inevitable. Although most of these tech savvy products have not caught on in the mainstream, that is probably due to the fact that they are not comfortable, not good quality, and the consumers are not used to these types of products. All of these will change soon as the internet is being better imbedded in ordinary consumer goods, the quality will eventually improve, and millennials are aging. Unless you grew up using the internet everyday, you are probably not comfortable with these new age products. A majority of the United States population are baby boomers who are not as technologically savvy as younger generations. This will eventually change over time, and the internet will be fitted and optimized across various platforms. However, we don’t need all of these different products with internet capability. Hopefully one day, we will only need one device that can do it all. The smartphone is the closing thing we have to that in today’s society.
I think wearable technology would not have greatly development in recent years, because the smart phone already can realize many functions of these wearable equipment, in order words, we don’t need another thing which with the same function, the smart phone is easy to carry, and it become more and more smart. the order reason is the fashion problems, does the equipment can make me more cool or make me look like a foolish?
The time of wearable technology is coming. The equipment used to showed by sicentific movies come into normal poeple’s like. People like to see fresh things, but will they purchase them? Google glass and Tesla cars didn’t achieve much success on sales. It’s only a begining of wearable technology’s time, marketers still have a big space of promote wearable techlogy.