{"id":8689,"date":"2017-03-05T03:20:44","date_gmt":"2017-03-05T03:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/has-wearable-tech-had-its-day\/"},"modified":"2017-03-05T03:20:44","modified_gmt":"2017-03-05T03:20:44","slug":"has-wearable-tech-had-its-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/has-wearable-tech-had-its-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Has wearable tech had its day?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"WinchesterImage copyright Nordic Walkers \/ Facebook <\/figure>\n

With the clicking of poles and a determined stride, the Winchester Nordic Walking group is a distinctive sight as its members pound the Hampshire countryside.<\/p>\n

The day I bumped into them, all but one was using some form of fitness tracker.<\/p>\n

A few Fitbits, a Garmin smartwatch, a couple of phone apps and one basic pedometer - and all, they claimed, were roughly counting the same paces.<\/p>\n

"Before I had a watch it didn't bother me, now I've got one I hate being without it," said group leader Linda Bidder.<\/p>\n

Christiane Livingstone oversees Nordic walking groups around the UK.<\/p>\n

"Fitness trackers (of all sorts) are incredibly popular in my groups," she said.<\/p>\n

"People love to know how far they have walked and even compete with each other."<\/p>\n

And yet the wearables market has had a rollercoaster ride in recent months.<\/p>\n

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption The Fitbit brand is popular but has reported slower sales <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This time last year analysts were making multi-billion dollar forecasts for the developers of health trackers and smartwatches, and Apple was boldly selling a $10,000 gold edition of the Apple Watch.<\/p>\n

But by November 2016 Smartwatch shipments declined by 51.6% year-on-year, according to a report by market analysts IDC.<\/p>\n

Jawbone, once a popular fitness tracker brand, confirmed to TechCrunch that it is leaving the consumer market and focusing on healthcare providers.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has removed its Fitness Band on its online store (although it is still available on retail giant Amazon) and crucially no longer provides the Band developer kits.<\/p>\n

Fitbit remains a key brand name at the heart of the fitness tracker revolution - and it acquired one of its rivals, the Pebble Watch - but it was recently reported to be laying off staff, and founder James Park said the firm experienced "softer than expected" sales during the recent Christmas period. <\/p>\n

Various devices claim to measure heart rate, sleep, activity and count calories.<\/p>\n

Counting steps is probably the most common use of wearable devices - but recently experts have questioned whether the golden goal of walking 10,000 steps a day is actually worthwhile, and a US study concluded that health trackers did not aid weight loss.<\/p>\n

Analyst Ben Wood, from CCS Insight, was such a wearables enthusiast that he still wears one on each wrist - but even he speaks more cautiously these days about the sector overall.<\/p>\n

"The reality is these devices have stalled in the marketplace," he told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.<\/p>\n

"A lot of people have got them, a lot of people like them but the spectacular explosive growth that we anticipated hasn't really occurred."<\/p>\n

Image copyright Ben Wood
Image caption Ben Wood (right) was interviewed by Peter White from BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ben Wood thinks there's an engagement issue - after a while these devices don't tell you anything new.<\/p>\n

There's also the battery issue, and the fact that many of the older and cheaper varieties aren't water resistant.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Simon Bryant from Futuresource says many wearables aren't yet independent enough and rely on being tethered to a smartphone, or replicate a functionality, such as step counting, that the handset already has.<\/p>\n

However Mr Bryant believes that while wearables may be down, they are not yet out.<\/p>\n

"We feel the slowdown is temporary and the market will accelerate this year," he said.<\/p>\n

He thinks that improved power, appearance, and mobile pay options could give them a boost alongside a maturing user group.<\/p>\n

Things do appear to be looking up. Sales figures for 2016 just released by IDC indicate 25% market growth year-on-year, with Fitbit taking the largest share - followed by budget brand Xiaomi.<\/p>\n

Image copyright Garmin
Image caption According to one report Garmin shipped 6.1 million wearable devices in 2016 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the top five sellers is Garmin, which has focused on the dedicated fitness market. <\/p>\n

Theo Axford, senior product marketing manager at Garmin UK, told the BBC that while the market had become "very competitive" the firm had not experienced declining sales.<\/p>\n

"Brands must ensure that they are meeting the needs of the customer and always delivering value," he said. <\/p>\n

"Whilst the entry space has become largely commoditised, customers that have bought into the technology as a first foray into wearables are now looking for, and demanding more.<\/p>\n

"The advocacy we've experienced for our devices over many years in what was a fairly specialist market has now become much more mainstream, and customers are looking for a brand with the specialist expertise and a legacy they can trust."<\/p>\n

And what about smartwatches - once feted as the ultimate smartphone accessory with multiple tracking functions and apps?<\/p>\n

Image caption The first edition of the Apple Watch gave the market a boost <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ben Wood argues that they are "a solution that's looking for a problem" - but robust sales of the Apple Watch and Google's current rollout of a new operating source for Android-powered watches, Android Wear 2.0, suggest the industry has not given up on them yet.<\/p>\n

In December 2016 Apple CEO Tim Cook said sales growth was "off the charts" following the release of the Apple Watch 2 in September, and Android watchmaker Samsung showed the biggest growth year-on-year in IDC's report.<\/p>\n

"The smart wearables market is changing," said Ramos Llamas from IDC.<\/p>\n

"Health and fitness remains a major focus, but once these devices become connected to a cellular network, expect unique applications and communications capabilities to become available."<\/p>\n

And this will allow them to make a bid for freedom, he believes.<\/p>\n

"This will also solve another key issue: freeing the device from the smartphone, creating a stand-alone experience."<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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