At the beginning of 2014, a lot of people predicted it would be the year wearable technology really broke through. The promises of Google Glass and rumors of Apple Watch exited us, and we could already see the success of things like fitness bands. However, as the year is coming to a close, we now realize we were a little presumptuous. In fact, we can’t even be sure 2015 will be the year for wearables. There’s a lot of promises and hype surrounding wearable devices, but a closer look at their current popularity leaves their future up for debate.
While technology is improving, people mistakenly believe consumer adoption matches the speed of innovation. That just isn't the case. As big as the promises are, how can we be certain they deliver what we're looking for.
Let’s take smartwatches as an example. They were hyped to be the next step in mobile technology, but take a look around you. How many people are wearing smartwatches? When’s the last time you actually saw someone with a smartwatch and felt you had to get one for yourself?
A simple web search of the words ‘smartphone’ and ‘flop’ yields a number of articles and expert opinions regarding their sluggish start. Granted, this is still an early technology, and true potential has yet to be unlocked. We haven’t even had a chance to test Apple Watch. Still, we can’t help but wonder if these devices will really take off, and if they do, when? One of the major problems facing smartwatches is most people don’t wear wrist watches anymore. Our mobile phones have trained us to reach in our pockets or purses to check the time. With that in mind, why would someone who doesn’t wear a watch buy something that does the same thing as their phone?
The future of wearable tech, like most new innovations, will depend largely on how quickly people embrace it. That goes for smartwatches and any other wearable device. Consumers will only adopt a product that overcomes a pain point they face. There must be a clear benefit. For example, many people say if fitness bands can sell, why won’t smartwatches? Well for one, most fitness bands are significantly less expensive, but it goes further than that. They capitalize on a popular industry. People were becoming increasingly more concerned with their health, and these trackers helped. It was a perfect match. People had a problem, and fitness trackers were the solution. What is the smartwatch trying to solve? Or bluetooth rings? Or Google Glass? Until a device helps us do something much easier, or that we couldn’t do before, it won’t sell.
However, the problem with wearable tech doesn’t end there. Another significant dilemma, for the moment, is that these new gadgets follow a similar design mentality to mobile devices, like phones and tablets. These devices have universal designs, meaning almost anyone can use the same one. There are no male or female smartphones, or tablets designed to fit left-handed or right-handed users. Wearable technology has been designed the same way.