The smartwatches on the market today are very innovative and beautiful, but sales are slowing building. This year, it is predicted that approximately 1.2 million smartwatches would ship. This is a small number when compared to the 1.5 billion global smart phone users. Why is this happening? The current smartwatches don’t have the necessary features or components that will make them a huge success.
Loo Wee Tee, Euromonitor’s head for consumer electronics, said that smartwatches are not yet a great customer proposition.
What makes a smartwatch the best?
This list has been reduced to five key components. These five components include design, functionality, reliability, apps and power consumption. Battery life, durability, and battery life. These are why I believe they are so important. Let’s take a look at each one.
Design
You can break down the design of the smartwatch into three parts: the watch body, watch face, and then the wrist strap.
People will first look at the watch body. Does it look too bulky or trendy? The ideal body should look good in casual and formal wear. The Pebble, for example, would look great with sportswear but may look out of place if it was paired with a suit or tie. However, the more recent contenders like Vachen and AGENT can be worn with casual wear or formal wear.
Also, the watch bodies should not exceed a reasonable size. Suunto’s dive computers are quite large without being too bulky. These watches can be worn as a regular wrist watch, and many divers do so.
While most men don’t mind bigger watches, some women do. Two watch sizes are necessary. This might be a good solution. After all, there have been watches for both men and women for a long time. Too much bulk can make the watch look unattractive. You might be able to fit more goodies into the watch because of the difference in size. The most requested size would be the largest, and maybe some sensors.
The watch body should match its face. Like the watch body, the watch face should also be adaptable to different dress needs. It is easy to change the watch face by pressing a button. This is something watch manufacturers and third-party developers need to be aware of. The watch body may have a generic design to suit most dress needs. However, the watch face must match the theme. There should be enough watches faces to suit different needs and occasions.
Pebble made it possible by providing an SDK that allows third-party developers to create their watch faces. The result is a vast library of watch faces that can be used with the Pebble. Vachen had a different approach. Vachen watches are made from their own watch faces, but they promise more than 100 watch faces upon launch.
The watch strap is last but not least. The watch strap, just like the other components, should fit in most situations. There are two ways you can do this. The watch strap could be worn with casual or formal wear by following the same design principles as the watch body. The Agent watch’s watch straps are a good example of this design approach. The strap is accent-stitched and looks great for everyday wear, but it also blends well with formal wear thanks to the elegant stitching.
Another option is to make the strap easily replaceable. The standard 22mm straps used by Agent and Pebble are easy to change with a small screwdriver. However, this may still prove too difficult for those who need to change their straps frequently or in a hurry. There are two options: the Motorola MotoActv and Sony SmartWatch. A spring-loaded clip is attached to the watch body. This allows for quick changes. This method has one drawback: it adds a lot of thickness to your watch body.
Which method is better? A mix of both is my preference. The strap should fit in most situations and allow for users to adjust the straps to their liking. It is a good idea to use 22mm straps as they are universal and come in many different designs and materials.
Reliability and functionality
A smartwatch that is successful should not only look good but also be able perform its functions as a smartwatch.
First, what screen should it be? What screen should it be? A touchscreen, normal LCD, or e-ink? Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. They all impact key considerations like design, functionality, and power consumption. Is a touch screen a good idea for a smartwatch? Is it possible to use the watch without getting frustrated by having to look at such a tiny screen? Also, a small screen means that it is not possible to display much information. Apple seems to have tried this out by releasing an iPod nano that can be touched, which many people turned into a watch. The iPod nano is an iPod. Can it perform the functions we expect from a smartwatch or iPod? With the iPod nano, Apple may have gained some valuable insights into wearable teachingnology.
A touchscreen would be a great addition to the watch’s usability, as opposed to using buttons to scroll or select (that’s just so 1990s right?). This might also be expected, given the widespread use of touch click here to read more screen smart phones. This increase in usability comes at the cost of increased power consumption. It is nice to have touch functions but it would be a waste of time if your watch has to be charged every few hours.
It is tempting to add function after function to a gadget when designing it. Apple has proven that sometimes less is more. Is it worth adding or subtracting a function or feature to your watch? A microphone would allow you to call your watch hands-free, but it would make your smartwatch less waterproof than one that does not have a mic. The clip on the back of your watch adds thickness but allows for convenience. Which is the better choice? There will always be compromises and every decision is a balance. Products that are successful will have the ability to choose features that people like and eliminate those that add no value. Why add it if no one wants to use the watch?
Notifications are an essential part of smartwatch’s value proposition. They must be reliable, and the notifications should be pushed to users as needed. Users will distrust the watch if notifications go missing all the time. They will then be forced to check their phones regularly, which would defeat the purpose of the watch. Notifications must be clear and easily accessible. The watch face must contain enough information without becoming too complicated. The Pebble has one problem. It only displays the most recent notification. This makes it less user-friendly.