14 DAY TRIAL // Wearables, notably smartwatches are being called out as the next best thing in tech, even if consumer demand doesn't seem to be so intense, as users are still quite skittish when it comes to picking up an intelligent timepiece.
Despite reluctance from the public, wearable makers seem to remain adamant – smartwatches and fitness bands will grow on people, even if they are considered more of an accessory than a mere necessity.
Director of Research and Display at IHS Sweta Dash points this aspect out by saying that wearables are viewed more as fashionable accessories rather than electronic goods, reports Digi Times.
Smartwatches must try to behave like fashion accessories
According to her, because the fashion accessory market is mostly dominated by design rather than function, smartwatches must be quite adaptable to the trends on the ecosystem. For this purpose, watches with square, circle and even oval designs must be launched on the market.
In an earlier piece we argued that, in order to survive the rigors of the market, smartwatches must try and improve things in the display department as much as possible.
Dash claims that there are three essential elements when thinking of a wearable display – outdoor visibility, low power consumption and flexibility in form factor / design.
Taking the things above into consideration, future designs are envisioned to advance and include technology such as stretchable of flexible displays.
Actually, we have already stumbled upon a smartwatch concept entitled the Portal, which is basically a smartphone with a flexible display that can be wrapped around the user’s wrist like a wearable.
The product is up on Kickstarter gathering funds, and if it proves successful, it might actually become a real product someday. And more like it should follow soon.
Wearables of the future are expected to continue to rely on OLED technology, especially due to its self-emissive system, which is devoid of a backlight setup, sustaining a longer battery life.
Current smartwatches won't achieve great popularity
The IHS report goes on to mention that current wearables like Android Wear watches that got unveiled at IFA or the Apple Watch are not yet ready for public consumption.
For the time being, they are destined to feed a niche of elite technology enthusiasts, but you won’t see one around the wrists of the average Joe.
But that’s not the only thing keeping consumers from adopting a smartwatch. The problem is most folks continue to have a hard time replacing the traditional timepiece model with an intelligent one.
Unless the manufacturers come up with the perfect balance between price, performance feats, form factors and usability, consumers are expected to remain largely untouched by the smartwatch deluge.
Even with the advent of the Apple Watch, we still have a long way to go before we see the smartwatch market really take off.