Hajime Shimada shows off his newly purchased Apple Watch outside boutique store, Dover Street Market Ginza on April 24, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo : Getty Images/Chris McGrath)
Since the emergence of smartphones several years ago, everyone seems to be so anxious as to what to expect next in the industry of hi-tech gadgets. Companies such as Google and Apple competed head-to-head in trying to come up with a unique concept that will separate them from the competition.
Then, Pebble comes in and stole the spotlight by releasing smartwatches. At first, smartwatches were pegged to be technology's next big thing. Not only there are massive upgrades to traditional watches, but analysts also saw unlimited possibilities with these cool wearables.
Fast forward to today, and it seems like smartwatches are starting to become a thing of the past. Truth be told, they have not lived to the expectations, and there is fear that they will never meet the predictions made by analysts a couple of years ago.
The biggest setback to the rise of the smartwatches is the ironic demise of its creators, Pebble. It saw greener pastures after releasing its first batch of these high-end wearables, but it did not take long for people to realize that smartwatches are not just worth it, especially if its prices are almost similar to smartphones. People preferred to spend their $200-$800 on the latter.
Pebble puts up a valiant effort to keep its brainchild relevant. But it did not have enough money to continue, and in the end, its owners decided to sell the company to Fitbit.
Google, Motorola, and Huawei decided to risk a portion of their fortunes on smartwatches by releasing Android Wear. A smartwatch with higher specs compared to what Pebble has created in the past. Then again, what they were gaining is not enough compared to the money they are spending. So Motorola decided to no longer involve itself in the smartwatch scene.
Google is hoping as it plans to release Android Wear 2.0. The original plan was for the new version to be launched this year. But seeing the performance of the previous release and the feedback of developers, the company has decided to further explore the possibilities. They plan to finally release Android Wear 2.0 in 2017.
Apple also tried their luck on smartwatches. But like the rest, they found little luck. The sale of Apple Watches dropped to a massive 71.6 percent this year. This decline is despite the fact that they hold the biggest share in the Smartwatch market at more than percent, and just to rub it in, smartwatch sales and shipments, in general, have fallen by more than fifty percent, just this year, according to IDC.
But then, there are still companies like Google, Apple, and Fitbit who are not giving up the fight just yet. Fitbit acquired the smartwatch software from Pebble at $40 million in an effort to enhance their platform, CNN reported.
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