The smartwatch isn't the 'next big thing' and the world is losing faith in the concept

What do you think of when you imagine a smartwatch? A replacement for your phone? A fitness device? A sci-fi communicator? It’s hard to nail down a proper definition for the device. I honestly don’t know what I’d do with a smartwatch myself. I probably would appreciate the fitness features (if only to check on how lazy I’ve been that day) and maybe I’d also like to keep track of my sleep cycle or something of that nature. Receiving notifications is also cool I guess, but then again, I usually need to respond to notifications and I’d rather do that on my phone anyway. What about calls? Would I rather talk on my phone or holler into a watch? I think the former is a better option, don’t you? This, I think, is the conundrum that a lot of people are facing when it comes to smartwatches. What do you actually do with them? Bragging rights? Sure, you have that, but unless you spent a truckload of money on an Apple Watch or something similar, even those rights are fairly limited and the novelty will wear off pretty soon regardless. Especially when you see the hole you’ve burnt in your bank balance. In fact, I can sum up my entire opinion on smartwatches in one word, “meh.”  

Going by IDC reports, I think that most of the world seems to share the same opinion. Latest stats indicate that smartwatch sales have fallen by over 50 percent worldwide. Apple leads that charge with a 71.6 percent decline year-on-year.

A point to note here is that the IDC report indicates that Garmin has seen a 324.2 percent rise in sales, taking its market share from a mere 2.3 percent to a whopping 20.5 percent. To put those numbers in perspective, Samsung’s market share stands at 14.4 percent and Apple’s at 41.3 percent (down from over 70 percent). What’s Garmin doing different? Garmin positions its watches as health and fitness wearables and makes no bones about it. It’s a simple, clear message and one that, I think, the average consumer appreciates. Why do you think Apple is trying to reposition its Apple Watch Series 2 as a fitness device now? It tried the “jewellery” angle and it didn’t work. Until a more compelling use-case for a smartwatch comes around, I really doubt the category’s ability to move beyond the health and fitness space. In fact, IDC suggests the same thing. Quoting from the report, IDC says, “Having a clear purpose and use case is paramount, hence many vendors are focusing on fitness due to its simplicity. However, moving forward, differentiating the experience of a smartwatch from the smartphone will be key.” Smartwatches aren’t the next big thing. Not yet at least.