Where are the opportunities for smart watches?

Is there a real big chance in the fickleness and bustle of the smart watch market?

Let's take a look at the wonderful usage scenes depicted by smart watch manufacturers:

Wearing smart watches, people don't always have to take out their phones, a glimpse of the watch, SMS, telephone panoramic, micro-mail, micro-blog at any time to deal with, through speech recognition can send instructions to smart watches, smart watches record tasks and timely reminders; Leisure and entertainment occasions, the life of consumer information pushed to the smart watch, affordable and convenient ...

In the eyes of researchers, smart watches are the next gold mine to look forward to. Business Insider's Research institute BI FDI report that 2018 Global Smart watch sales will reach 91.6 million units, revenue will reach 9.2 billion U.S. dollars. They expect to have one pair of smart watches in every 20 smartphones in the future.

But the reality is far from being expected. Zhu Gang, who has studied wearable equipment in Samsung, Lenovo and other companies, believes that the demand for smart watches is likely to be a pseudo rigid requirement. "From the perspective of user needs, people's demand for smart watches has not been established, and the decorative needs of users are not established." ”

In his view, because of the existence of mobile phones, most people have not worn watches. Even if you wear a watch, it's not about time, it's about decorative needs, or a status symbol. Most of the watches come from traditional mechanical watch manufacturers rather than technology companies. The price is at least 2000 yuan, rather than the price of a very strong plastic under 2000 Yuan smart watch.

"If people lift their arms and watch the news with their smart watch, it's like a side-level lift that was used when you were a child, and you're tired for a few minutes," he said. Zhu Gang.

Interestingly, more and more applications are starting to sharpen their heads and squeeze them into tiny screens. Samsung Galaxy Gear has more than 50 localized applications in China. These applications appear on smart watches more like castration than the full application on the phone.

This does not blame application developers, as hardware is just beginning. Reviews have been released in several smart watches, are currently in the stage of selling concepts, whether Samsung or domestic manufacturers of smart watches, just a semi-finished. Optimistic, with the technology companies have to test the water smart watch, in the constant trial and error, the pioneers into martyrs, about the best application of smart watch state can surface.

Expansion or just need? Just past September, a big wave of smart phones and other new attacks. Unlike ever before, the smart watch as a force has joined the Athletic corps and even robbed the limelight of the mobile phone.

Eric, the founder of Smart watch Pebble, recalls the idea of inventing smart watches, which is a great solution because it's hard to pick up the phone when the weather is cold, and picking up the wrist and choosing to call back. After the Pebble, a series of manufacturers have joined the competition on the wrist.

In the past two months, Samsung issued Galaxy Gear, Qualcomm released Toq, Sony upgraded smart watch 2, Chinese manufacturers in the shell Electronics Geak Watch, the fun technology Inwatch also published and sold. Recently, A.I watch, which can be plugged into a SIM card, has joined the smart watch camp.

But for most users, the function of the current intelligent watch is the extension of the function of the mobile phone, from the function of each intelligent watch, it is divided into several categories:

One is the notification class. Smart watch reminders function more like notification extender roles. For example, Sony smart watch 2 Missed call notifications, SMS/MMS, e-mail and calendar. Samsung Galaxy Gear can use Bluetooth to sync smartphone phone calls, SMS, applications such as microblogging, micro-letters, zaker and other social, information applications, such as push notifications are included.

Second, social class, picture class application. For example, Sony Smartwatch 2 has included Renren and Sina Weibo, and Samsung Galaxy Gear has included microblogs, micro-letters and path.

Third, the call function. These smart watches can now either assist in dialing calls, or can be plugged into a SIM card independent call, such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear, the latter such as A.I Watch. However, smart watch calls need to use a hands-free device, the privacy of the call can not be said.

The only current gimmick that can be played by manufacturers is similar to wearable equipment, which monitors the user's environment and body status through a unique sensor function. Pebble is one of the main functions of the motion module. At present the domestic Geak watch and Inwatch also will the sports health module as the selling point to yell. Recently, Apple has been tapping talent from the health, medical and fashion industries to develop iwatch. Can want to see the future, iwatch also will be the motion module as the main function.

How many applications can be hosted? The reality is relentless when people are looking forward to the innovative products of smart watches.

On the one hand is from people and mobile phone information seamless docking query. It is conceivable that, as the nearest electronic device to the human body, smart watches are more intrusive to users than other devices.

"Smart watches look like an information portal, but for users, their information services do not have the most essential requirements, nor do they meet the requirements of intelligence." An industry insider analyses this.

People are used to the frequent push on the phone, but does it really need to be filled with seamless notifications when people are not making it easy to carry a smartphone? At present, the Intelligent Watch manufacturers do not solve the problem of the balance between message notification and user information carrying capacity. People prefer smart watches to be quiet, and it's really important to get the attention of the user to appear properly.

"Is it really good to wake you up at three o ' clock in the middle of the night just to tell you someone forwarded your microblog?" Someone like this. The notification function of the intelligent watch.

Another question comes from the usefulness of smart watch functions.

Comparing smartphones to larger-screen evolution, the use of small screens with smart watches seems to be a bit of a trend. In front of a screen like the previous function of mobile phone size, it is difficult to imagine smart watch can be like a mobile phone by users repeatedly toss, reload system and repeated uninstall installation of a large number of applications, due to the display and input restrictions, the use of watches can be carried far less than people think.

For example, Samsung Galaxy Gear has Evernote, Pocket, Path, line and other applications, in the localization, also has and go where, Baidu voice assistant, the public comments, Flight Butler, Baidu map, etc. nearly 50 software. But what these apps have in common is that they're mostly just using cameras and voice. It's just a castration or a simplified version, compared to a full mobile app.

For example, Evernote is a strong text class application, but on the smart watch more is used to store photos. Instant messaging applications, such as micro-letters and line, can only use simple voice response or listening functions.

If users want to send text messages through smart watches, most of them use smart watch voice assistants, and users need to talk to their watches and send text messages through speech recognition into problems. Because of the accuracy of speech recognition problem, once the error can not change the spelling, can only be sent back.

In contrast, it is finally found that in the field of Intelligent Watch, the most suitable for the current most mature applications can only be sports health management applications. People are not convenient to carry a big screen smart phone, with smart watch can solve the movement monitoring and necessary information communication, sports field synthesis for smart watch.

Applications rely on hardware improvements the seemingly lively smart watch market is only at an early stage of immaturity. "The current 1.0 version of the smart watch manufacturers are not survive, are part of the transitional products." "A person engaged in wearable equipment can predict this. and the opportunity to carry on the software application of the transitional product is very slim.

One of the reasons for pessimism comes from the fatal flaw in hardware. It takes almost a day to charge a smart watch, the endurance is still very elementary; as the main function of the camera accessories are around 8 million pixels, far less than the current smart phone 13 million pixel standard; High power consumption, easy to heat, for the skin of the wrist watch, there is no comfort to speak; The cottage sense and plastic feel extremely strong, far inferior to mechanical watch even some electronic or sports watch. and traditional watch manufacturers inadvertently involved in the field of smart watch, I'm afraid to pull low.

However, the current status of smart watch application of the chicken may slowly have the antidote.

One is the real birth of flexible display and application. The message about the flexible screen has been endless. The latest rumor is that Samsung will launch its first smartphone product with a flexible display in October. If the flexible screen is indeed used, "the watch can become a hand ring, wear comfortable increase, and the display mode is not restricted by narrow screen, the appropriate application can be used in smart watch space." "Zhu Gang said.

Another comes from the improvement of speech recognition technology. The development of speech recognition and intelligent watch is complementary to each other, and the requirement of speech recognition and voice command control is more rigid on the condition that the cell phone screen is restricted. "Voice recognition technology in speech wake-up and harmonic pattern cipher technology can be well applied to smart watches." Zhang Jidong, deputy general manager of the Mobile Internet division of Hkust, said voice recognition and speech wake-up functions can be a typical application of smart watches. The former user can make their own voice as the password to open the device, the latter will be the user does not touch the device to wake the device.

Another key issue is the solution of the power dissipation problem. Such as Millet Technology CEO Lei in August this year's Internet conference, said that the biggest problem of smart watches is the battery, in addition to how the chip volume is small enough, it is difficult to integrate a lower power chip into a watch.

Smart watches can be a real large-scale business for a while, but that does not prevent the market from being laid out by the truly forward-looking. There are rumors that millet technology has begun to mass production of the first smart watch products.

Conclusion: Smart watch still has a lot of hardware fatal. It takes almost a day to charge a smart watch, the endurance is still very elementary; as the main function of the camera accessories are around 8 million pixels, far less than the current smart phone 13 million pixel standard; High power consumption, easy to heat, for the skin of the wrist watch, there is no comfort to speak; The cottage sense and plastic feel extremely strong, far inferior to mechanical watch even some electronic or sports watch. and traditional watch manufacturers inadvertently involved in the field of smart watch, I'm afraid to pull low.