Are you willing to switch to a smartwatch?
With the recent announcement of Android Wear, the official Android flavour for wearable devices alongside the pioneers which will be among the first to utilize the OS, more notably Motorola's Moto360, it got me thinking: "How many people will actually take the leap?"
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| The Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 |
Well for myself, I bought one of those fancy swiss watches, to be specific, a Tag Heuer, the swiss watch for hipsters apparently. The Moto360 is expected to arrive at a price as high of $400 which costs about a sixth of a watch with Tag Heuer branding. I expect if Malaysia ever gets to see the Moto360 officially launch over here, it will come slapped with a price tag of about MYR 1599 which is still pretty reasonable for an early adopter I suppose.
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| The elegant looking Moto360 |
However, am I jumping the gun? Comparing a smartwatch to a swiss watch, that's like comparing apples to oranges some might say. Let's see why people buy swiss watches, other than the number one reason which is snob appeal, the other reason would definitely be the elegant design of said timepieces; which brings us to one of the problems that people have with previous smartwatches, the design. Some say the design of previous smartwatches looked like it was meant for nerds only, which I wholeheartedly agree. The lack of appeal to the masses have resulted in a slow adoption rate of the product line. The original Pebble, while being an innovator, to be honest, resembled those hippy kid watches, like ODM watches, which I hate to admit, at some point in time owned one too.
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The first generation Pebble
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| ODM, close enough? |
Things seem to be changing for the better, seeing how the initial renders of the Moto360 are, I'm pretty confident that they have finally nailed the design aspect in order to appeal to the general public. They are using sapphire glass too, which is the same material that they use for swiss watches. With sapphire glass, the watch face will definitely look crisp clear; which brings us into another point that we should consider, the display and the battery life of such a device.
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| A smartwatch that actually is a watch when it's needed |
Wearing my current watch, I can check the time no matter the condition, pitch black or blaring bright. If you have used your smartphone under the sun, it is a common problem that most have difficulty seeing what is actually being displayed. Okay, let's say the upcoming smartwatches have a display that can counter this problem, how about the battery life of such devices. With a digital display that is constantly on, one would figure that the battery will probably go dry in a day or so. Compared to an automatic watch that runs on the sole action of wearing it, the smartwatch seems quite troublesome if one has to charge it everyday. Of course, the added features the smartwatch will have is to be considered too, so what I ask of is a battery life of 2 or 3 days and I will be sold on this idea.
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| Something the typical swiss watch can't do |
Am I excited about the idea of premium looking smartwatches that are actually meant for serious people? Definitely. Am I going to get one as soon as it's available? Not necessarily. With the arguments I presented atop, how do you feel about the emergence of smartwatches? Are you willing to stop wearing the swiss watch that you invested so much in? Do leave your thoughts below.
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