Why so little Android Wear sell? – Hypertext

Android Wear born as a very promising project, but sales are far from expected. We review some of the causes that can explain it.

Android Wear not sell practically anything, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the last six months of 2014 were only sent a 720000 units system smartwatches with Google , very poor considering the support of the company’s Mountain View and manufacturers like LG , Samsung, Sony or Motorola . There seems necessarily linked to wearables, as with much less power, a company like Pebble recently announced they have reached the figure of 1 million units sold. Even Samsung itself actually sent Galaxy Gears 800000 units in two months in 2013, when the market was more skeptical.

I recognize that from the time when Google announced the Android SDK Wear started my hopes. The idea of ​​the future on your wrist was very seductive, so my dream remained intact and even rising as they come in the news, coupled with great hype that caused many people the teaser of Moto 360 . Finally, after the IFA fair in Berlin I could try it and all previous hype was buried. I think my feelings with the product, reflect very well the reasons why not sell.

• Autonomy Although the Moto 360 and later models like the LG G Watch R have improved with software updates, autonomy remains one of the major problems faced not only with Android Wear smartwatches but the whole market in general. Have in many cases even less than a day’s battery is something that many people, especially in a market called to replace traditional watches, not customary. And if new units are created, must come without major compromises. And take note, it seems that Apple Watch not comply

• Maturity . No you can ask for miracles to a product newcomer market, but the feeling I left Android Wear when I tried it in the Moto 360 and after using it a few times in other models is to be a worst level of maturity that Android 1.6 Donut in 2009 when I tried Android for the first time in a HTC Magic. Many slowdowns, some

sporadic hang … Overall, little acceptable for “devices of the future”

Applications : In the theory is sold perfect. Dreaming of the ecosystem of Google and Android applications on your wrist is a wonderful thing, but in practice, a smartwatch with Android Wear serves very little, since not only the number of applications is low, but the quality also leaves much to be desired. In most cases, applications do not have a complete, standalone version , acting only as a way to respond to notices without access to all information. For those who lived, Android Wear feels right as empty as when Google released Honeycomb sense. A desert. And to top it off, launch applications still not something intuitive, having to resort to third-party launchers

utility . Linking with the previous point, we must talk about the uses of Android Wear. It may sound nice to see Google Now cards (service not use battery consumption) on our wrist and manage music controls, but little else. Even using it on something that was conceived, Android Wear unresponsive. It is something we see in Whatsapp or Gmail. Trying to dictate a long text is impossible to complete the process, not to mention lacking possibility of introducing punctuation. If I can dictate well with my Android or iPhone, why not Android Wear, plan for it

Price ?: Although I do not consider that € 200 is a bad price for a good smartwatch, I do believe that is somewhat high for the single market that focuses Android Wear, which is the Android. Given that the average selling price of smartphones with this system is $ 254 per device, pay 200 for a watch will be almost a luxury for many markets.

Overall, I would summarize that Android Wear provides no added value , not how Google conceived, but how it works in practice. Disburse € 200 as green smartwatch is not something most people want to do, and in fact, I’ll bet most of those who have been given away or sold included in packs, like when LG launched the G3 by the G Watch .

Recommendations