Tough there were tons of expectations regarding the wearables a few years ago, this market has proven to be extremely volatile lately. Last week, Pebble was sold to Fitbit for less than it was expected. And now, more and more companies continue to cancel their projects on wearable technology.
A lot of expectations have come to practically nothing. Several companies have struggled to make themselves their way into the wearable market, such as Google or Intel. Now that Fitbit has acquired Pebble, it seems that the competition for the future of the wearables is just between Fitbit and Apple.
The wearables are basically dead
In 2012, the future of the wearables looked quite bright. The smartwatches were supposed to be a great thing, and not just helpful devices to exercise. Some even thought that they would replace the smartphones. However, none of these things occurred. In fact, it was pretty much the opposite. Several companies who launched smartwatches registered a loss.
Certainly, the smartwatches and wearable gadgets have had plenty of time to prove themselves as valuable products in the tech market. However, struggles continue to rise for the companies who have attempted to be in this market. Google decided to stop the launch of its new version of the Android wear until 2017, as well as many of its partners who decided to quit their plans to make a new Android smartwatch. Another company that has chosen to put an end to its wearable section is Motorola.
Pebble debuted amazingly and was at the head of the market a few years ago. However, just last week it was announced that Pebble would come to an end, as it was sold to Fitbit for an unexpectedly small amount of money. The future products of Pebble were canceled.
Therefore, the reality has proven wrong the expectations. The wearables were not able to dazzle audiences and did not become tech hits. Currently, smartwatches are mostly used for fitness lovers, but maybe the signs of disappointment were always there. Even with success achieved by Pebble in the industry, it never sold enough watches as it was necessary to be a hit. It only sold 1 million smartwatches after two years in the market.
The disappointment was pretty visible during last Friday and Cyber Monday when they failed to meet the numbers made the previous year on these shopping days.
Fitbit is winning the wearable tech race
Apple, on the other hand, had problems to explain the purpose of their Apple Watch and has recently pivoted back to focus on the fitness features. As well, Fitbit has had its problems too from its very beginning, going between successes and disappointments. But now with Fitbit’s acquisition of Pebble, the competition for the wearables is between Apple and Fitbit.
Experts say Fitbit will be leading the competition and will change the smartwatch market taking into considerations Pebble’s products, and modifying a little bit the idea of a smartwatch made only for fitness purposes. Fitbit CEO James Park has not deeply discussed the future of Fitbit; however, he did say that they are planning to have some innovative new devices for 2017.
Source: Business insider