Motorola Has No Plans For a New Smartwatch (theverge.com) 38
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Lenovo Moto today confirmed that it will not be releasing a new smartwatch for the launch of Android Wear 2.0, due early next year. The company had earlier said it would not be releasing a new smartwatch in 2016, but it is now saying that it doesn't plan to put out a new device timed to the arrival of Google's newest wearable platform, either. Shakil Barkat, head of global product development at Moto, said the company doesn't "see enough pull in the market to put [a new smartwatch] out at this time," though it may revisit the market in the future should technologies for the wrist improve. "Wearables do not have broad enough appeal for us to continue to build on it year after year," Barkat said, and indicated that smartwatches and other wearable devices will not be in Moto's annual device roadmap. Whether or not Moto does jump back into the smartwatch market is still up in the air, but Barkat is leaving the possibility open. "We believe the wrist still has value and there will be a point where they provide value to consumers more than they do today," Barkat said. But it doesn't appear that we'll be getting a new Moto 360 or other smartwatch any time in the near future. Google announced back in September that it would be delaying the launch of Android Wear 2.0 from this fall to next year. LG and Huawei have also confirmed that they would not be releasing new smartwatches until at least next year.
The flat tire just developed a puncture (Score:5, Interesting)
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after upgrading from a first-gen Moto 360
Duh. The Huawei watch competes with the second gen Moto 360. Mine easily lasts 36 hours as well.
What is the use case for smartwatch? (Score:2, Insightful)
I have been honestly thinking, what are those smart watches used for? If the thing does not show time without pressing button or shaking it, it is useless for keeping sneakily track of remaining time in corporate meetings. And if the device needs to be charged more often than phone, can it be trusted as timekeeper?
Re:What is the use case for smartwatch? (Score:4, Interesting)
I can think of two use cases that would be useful to me, if I had a smartwatch, which I don't. :)
... slashdot doesn't support "ordered lists" ? :(
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Yep yep. They are just a convenience. For many (most?) people, the conveniences might not be enough to outweigh the inconveniences. I have a Samsung Gear Live, and I love it. It's big -- bigger than most people would want their watch to be -- but I have large wrists, so it fits me nicely. There's nothing it does that feels like a must-have feature, but it adds a number of little conveniences that I really appreciate. For example, when I put meatloaf in the oven, I raise my wrist and say "Ok Google. Set a ti
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I bought a Series 1 Apple Watch when Apple iterated the device a few months ago, and I have to say I agree with pretty much every point you made. Basically it works very well for me, but I don't think it's for everyone.
I got this watch as a follow-up to a Garmin Vivosmart fitness band I owned for about 16 months. The features of the Garmin I liked most were mostly related to getting notifications of various sorts on my wrist; and a smartwatch does a better job of that, since it has a significantly better di
Wearables is a fad that's petering out. (Score:1)
there will be a couple of companies making these things for a niche market, but we will be seeing a lot of thinning f products next year.
I see Motorola and Google bailing - maybe even Apple.
Fitbit isn't doing as well as they were and I see them just sticking to high end stuff and maybe some more acquisitions of other wearable products and companies.
But there really isn't any real need for these gadgets. I've seen people swim with them but it's just more shiny compared to using a pace clock that can also tim
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But there really isn't any real need for these gadgets.
Someday you'll need it to turn on you IOT toaster.
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It's not unlikely that your IOT toaster will just use the RFID chip to toast your toast to "3" darkness setting. It's possible you'll use the RFID in the smartwatch, but in that case, you can just buy an RFID sticker and stick it to the back of the watch, or integrate it in to the face of the watch. Some people have injectable RFID capsules in their arms if you don't like wearing something on your wrist.
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I disagree. I think many of these wearables are just a bit ahead of their time. I see many people buying the cheaper "smart" watches that don't offer the full feature set but still offer more than traditional watches. I think the "premium" models like Motorola's are just too pricey for the limited advantages they offer. I think as the features expand and the prices drop, wearables will become quite common. These first-movers are going to suffer while the technology and the desirable use cases are fleshed ou
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Agreed, I have a mid range wearable (samsung Gear Fit 2) and I quite enjoy it. I had a fitbit charge hr which I'd consider an entry level wearable. things I like... I really enjoy the fact that I can control my music without pulling out my phone. Notifications on my wrist for incoming emails/texts/anything I want to be notified of really. GPS on the watch lets me go for a run or a walk and automatically track my distance/speed more accurately than counting steps (and without my phone and still get music
Not thinning, gasping (Score:1)
The simple truth is that the smartwatch market is chocking, because of one reason - the AppleWatch is consuming all of the revenue. Unlike with phones companies simply cannot sustain losses as long on something inherently more niche like a smart watch.
Apple however is doing just fine, they've said sales are ahead of expectations. They have had a really good OS update and the watches are more usable than they were... Apple also pretty intelligently realizes that fitness users are currently a primary market
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"Fitbit isn't doing as well as they were and I see them just sticking to high end stuff and maybe some more acquisitions of other wearable products and companies."
This was a pretty good prediction:
"Fitbit is on the brink of buying smartwatch maker Pebble for around just $40 million"
http://www.businessinsider.com... [businessinsider.com]
Re: What is the use case for smartwatch? (Score:2)
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I have been honestly thinking, what are those smart watches used for? If the thing does not show time without pressing button or shaking it, it is useless for keeping sneakily track of remaining time in corporate meetings. And if the device needs to be charged more often than phone, can it be trusted as timekeeper?
Many have always-on OLED displays. So no, you don't have to press or shake to see the display. Most (all?) this or last gen models have at least one day of battery. As long as you get in the habit of dropping it on the charger along with your phone and other things at night it's not an issue. I have a model from 2 years ago that goes about 36 hours, with an always-on display.
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That is why I still prefer and use the old school Casio Data Bank watches (e.g., 150). :)
So I first read it as (Score:1)
Motorola has no plans for a new sandwich, and I was disappointed.
Then I reread it, and didn't care.
It's the battery stupid! (Score:3)
I'd be prepared to accept a six monthly charging cycle (still ten times more often than regular watches) but every frig'ing day is ridiculous.
Re:It's the battery stupid! (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd be prepared to accept a six monthly charging cycle (still ten times more often than regular watches) but every frig'ing day is ridiculous.
Ah yes, queue the "but my Casio ..." posts that plaster every smart watch thread.
Are you really having that much trouble getting over the word "watch" in the name? It's not a watch. It's a fairly powerful computer that happens to be in a watch form-factor. Do you hear the word "watch" and just shut off your brain after that? It's called a smartWATCH because calling it a "wrist hobblinsnicker" is poor marketing. If the only possible thing you can imagine using a smartwatch for is the same things for which you use your Casio, you are right, buying one would be friggin' ridiculous.
If you don't want a computer on your wrist, that's fine, but making comparisons to your Casio's battery life is about as smart as making a comparison between a calculator and a laptop computer. I mean really, imagine those idiots. A handheld calculator can multiply numbers just as good as that desktop and costs hundreds or THOUSANDS of times less. It NEVER needs to be charged. It fits in my pocket. It doesn't need a full keyboard with all of those useless letter and function keys. It has a built in display saving me hundreds of dollars. The OS NEVER needs upgrading, and it never, ever crashes.
But without GIGO capability. (Score:2)
The problem with this computer that you wear on your wrist is that it doesn't do most things that I expect my computer to be able to do, is even worse for input than a phone, and the couple of things that it does do very well (tell time, show notifications, fitness tracking) are better done on a watch, a phone, and a fitness tracker.
My analog wristwatch is very highly legible, silent, accurate, and can withstand the elements and dives up to 300m. It is always visible, can be easily glanced at by someone acr
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Smartwatches still need the phone to do the vast majority of the things they do.
No they don't. Even my watch from 2 years ago has wifi. Buy yes I get the point that it's not completely independent.
The gain in convenience is trivial, even if you successfully argue that the cost in extra charge time is trivial. The market is voting, and people don't really want yet another thing to charge.
That's a valid opinion.
Not a comparison at all (Score:2)
If I was making a competitive comparison I really would be asking for five years per charge. A cellphone shorter than weekly is just a gimmick too.
In reality, three months would likely work fine but asking for the minimum isn't likely to get you there is it?
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In reality, three months would likely work fine but asking for the minimum isn't likely to get you there is it?
WTF are you saying? The limiting factor is whether consumers are asking for it or not? I'm pretty sure that me, or you "asking" for anything isn't going to have a big effect on the laws of physics and the material properties that put limits on battery life.
But hey, why limit yourself? Let's have self driving cars that read our minds. There it is, I'm asking for it. If enough of us ask, it's bound to come to fruition. And if you think I'm making a ridiculous exaggeration, it's not much more than suggesting a
I don't want a smartwatch (Score:2)
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Pebble gets about a week of battery life. I got close to that even using a watch face with a moving second hand.
Update at least? (Score:2)