Smartwatches haven’t been as well-adopted as many analysts predicted, they still haven’t seen the big exponential growth that many hoped for. Since the launch of the first smartwatches, numerous reports were published that talked about how the new gadgets were supposed to be the first piece of wearable technology to be greatly adopted by the overall population, it was also discussed how this first wave of smart wearables would pave the way for more advanced sensors and a simpler adoption rate for different types of gadgets, such as hearables. Unfortunately, many of said reports are being proven wrong, as the overall demand for smartwatches is not as elevated as expected. Analyst at Pacific Crest, Andy Hargreaves, publicized a new report in which he talks about the virtual failure of the Apple Watch, a device that at first seemed to spike the public’s general interest for smartwatches.
According to Analyst, Andy Hargreaves from Pacific Crest, compilated information from store visits, Google search volume, third-party data and a recent decrease in their supply; suggests that the Apple Watch isn’t the game changer device for wearables. At first, the gadget sold well, it met the high expectancies and appeared to spike sales of other smartwatches, such as the Moto 360 among others; unfortunately as time passed, this elevated demand dropped drastically. Andy Hargreaves stated that the Apple Watch sales estimate for the F2015 report will be reduced to 10.5 million from 11.0 million. Even if it seems like a minimal decrease, it marks the decline of smartwatch sales; this can be noted in the F2016 Apple Watch unit estimate which has been lowered to 21 million, coming from a lofty 24 million.
The smartwatch market is without any doubt, still highly profitable, but it hasn’t yet become a part of the population’s everyday lives like previous reports led tech enthusiasts to believe. A major breakthrough in smartwatch technology is still needed for this market to explode, and until then, wearable devices won’t surpass their current status. Smartwatches will still be just an extension to your smartphone, at least in the near future. Fortunately, this area of technology has just begun being explored, and hopefully major advancements are yet to be done.