The smartwatch arena is still open and we know it will be for a little while even if interest has been declining. We believe it still has potential although there might be some shift in priorities. The industry grew last quarter probably because of the holiday season but we noted that fitness trackers are rising. OEMs have started to partner with other health and sports brands to focus on fitness.
Smartwatches are expected to be more interesting this year especially after Google releases the Android Wear 2.0. The new wearable OS will soon allow standalone apps to run on smartwatches without a compatible smartphone. That will make wearables more useful and functional than ever.
We know a lot of companies still working on smartwatches but unfortunately, there are some who have already stopped production. For one, there’s Motorola halting the Moto smartwatch production. This time, we just learned that HTC will not release any Android watch. Well, not that HTC has already released a smartwatch but we heard the company was working with Under Armour on an Android Wear smartwatch. That was a few months ago but the company may have decided to not push through with it.
In a recent interview with Chialin Chang, President of Smartphones and Connected Device at HTC, he said that they are not going to have any Android watch–not even in the short term. Chang said, “I don’t think we’ve nailed it with the experience of watches. Android watch is one thing but even Apple as a big brand is declining”. He seems to be aware of the industry so HTC isn’t going to push it.
We don’t blame HTC for this decision so if you’re looking for a new smartwatch, don’t wait for HTC.
VIA: tbreak media
