Smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and Apple’s rumored iWatch are certainly fun products to think about. After all, who wouldn’t love the ability to check their notifications on their wrist instead of having to pull out their phone constantly, right? Perhaps right now wearable devices sound like a great idea, but what about long-term? Will people start getting used to the idea that they might need to charge their smartwatches every other day? After all with regular watches, you just put them on and you’re good to go as the batteries in normal watches tend to be good for months, if not years.It turns out that this might be something companies need to take into consideration, thanks to a research from Endeavour Partners who has suggested that, “half of U.S. consumers who have owned a modern activity tracker no longer use it. A third of U.S. consumers who have owned one stopped using the device within six months of receiving it.” The research goes on to state, “Products and services that provide utility but fail to have a meaningful impact on users’ behaviors and habits — such as an activity tracker that provides data but doesn’t inspire action — end up failing in the market. Users quickly abandon wearables that don’t help them make positive changes. Devices that o!er [sic] functionality to help the wearer change their habits also promote sustained behavior change and lead to long-term health.”
The results from their research does make sense. After all most smartwatches just tell us the time, display notifications, and in some cases do provide us with health metrics like distance we walked, calories burnt, heart rate monitor, and so on. What do you guys think? Do you agree with the research that perhaps we might need more action-oriented smartwatches, as opposed to devices that passively display notifications and information?
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