At both CES and MWC this year, there was a clear design drive to make smartwatches look more like analogue watches in an effort to make them seem more accessible according to Futuresource Consulting. Conversely, we see traditional watches adding basic mobile connectivity.
Guess Watches have partnered with Martian to design a ‘boldly designed smartwatch’ which was a hit at the MWC. Compared to other wearable solutions, smartwatches benefit from being generally unobtrusive, they have low barriers for consumer acceptance, are secure, and can be worn 24/7 in any location. Today, vendors and service providers can be seen presenting the watches in credible and serious roles such as health and fitness tracking, assisted living, mobile payments and interfacing with connected cars and Smartphones.
Futuresource estimate that a little over 6.1 million smartwatches were sold in 2014. With Apple’s release of Apple Watch this market is certainly expected to accelerate rapidly. Futuresource also expect the mid-range watch market ($100-$500 at retail) to be affected more than most – representing approximately one-third of watch volume sales.