Downfalls of digital smartwatches
1. Pricing is too high.
An Apple Watch Edition will set you back $1300, whereas a Samsung Gear or Huawei Watch are only $300. You can get a Huawei Watch in rose gold that'll cost $800, but that's as high as they go.Meanwhile, a Fossil Q hybrid smartwatch only costs $155-$175.But cost isn't the only concern. Digital smartwatches running Android Wear are highly customizable. They play games and can run apps similar to your smartphone. Most digital smartwatches these days let you leave your smartphone at home.Doing so requires a separate data plan, and they have limited storage. So, while you can stream Pandora or Spotify on some, you can't always.But that's not the biggest problem with these digital watches. The biggest problem is these digital smartwatches simply won't last long.2. Digital screens fade over time.
Most digital smartwatches use an AMOLED screen. These are rated to last between 60,000 and 100,000 hours in perfect conditions. That equates to approximately 7-12 years.Of course, that estimation is great for your LED TV. You keep your home at a steady temperature, and it rarely (if ever) gets hit with direct sunlight. Your smartwatch, however, is constantly worn outdoors, where it's exposed to the elements.Both the heat and ultraviolet rays from sunlight can damage an LED screen. Your TV sits in a comfortable 70-80 degrees with very little temperature change. You're wearing a smartwatch in freezing temperatures during the winter and scorching heat during the summer.You also have it pressed up against your body, where body heat is affecting it. These drastic changes in temperatures will deteriorate the screen much faster.You can expect your digital smartwatch to last a decade, but that's not what watches were meant for.3. Digital Smartwatches will become obsolete before they break.
Even if you don't wear your smartwatch during runs and other high-intensity workouts, it's going to become obsolete much quicker than a decade.Of course, not wearing it at those times defeats the purpose of the fitness tracking. Fitness-related functionality is the most widespread usage of smartwatches on the general market.You don't still use your cell phone from 2008. That's the era of BlackBerrys and mechanical keyboards. The original iPhone was barely released in June 2007, and Android was initially released in September 2008.Think about how many smartphones you've bought over the past 10 years. Do you think your smartwatch will outlast those phones?And good luck installing Android Oreo, or even Lollipop on your original Android phone from 2008. While the Huawei Watch lasted since 2015, the Huawei Watch 2 was released in 2017, two years later. Neither is likely to last a full decade.Digital smartwatches aren't precious heirlooms
A Rolex is considered timeless. It's among the most well-known luxury watch brands, and you can expect to pay $2,000-$50,000 on a Rolex watch.They're not smartwatches - they're jewelry meant to be passed down through the generations. Watches are precious heirlooms to many families.Watch this famous scene from Pulp Fiction. Christopher Walken went through a lot of trouble to get this watch to Butch. That's because the watch is going to last a lifetime.As an adult 30 years later, Butch freaks out when his watch goes missing. It's a major catalyst of the movie that leads to several important scenes.Do you think Christopher Walken would have hidden a digital Android Wear watch for all those years?It certainly wouldn't still be working by the time Butch reached adulthood.Calculator watches were very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. You don't own one, but manufacturers still make them today.Nintendo's Game & Watch was a popular toy in the 1980s. They're collector items for Nintendo fanboys and hipsters, but they require screen replacements on their simple e-reader screens.This is where the Fossil Q hybrid truly shines. A digital smartwatch is a niche product. It doesn't have the longevity of the classic wristwatch. Adding smart capabilities to a classic watch design is the key to these wearables going mainstream.Hybrid smartwatches are the future
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Why the Fossil Q hybrid beats Android Wear and other digital smartwatches
January 16th, 2018
Updated on February 19th, 2019
Why the Fossil Q hybrid beats Android Wear and other digital smartwatches
January 16th, 2018
Updated on February 19th, 2019
Why the Fossil Q hybrid beats Android Wear and other digital smartwatches
January 16th, 2018
Updated on February 19th, 2019