In my personal opinion, over the last few years the wearable market has been ‘dipping its feet’ in the big ocean of the main-stream consumer. I say dipping because, until now it has really only been on the horizon of the techie/innovators/early adopters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_lifecycle).
Fitness devices such as the Jawbone Up/Fitbit have been confined to those that are interested in tracking fitness etc and only those interested in the Startup scene or KickStarter market have adopted Smartwatches such as the Pebble/MetaWatch. Even big tech companies such as Samsung and Motorola have had limited success, so far.
Love them or hate them, this Friday Apple will launch the Apple Watch, after some thought and design, on their part. With the support of the iPhone/iOS ecosystem behind it, it is sure to be a big winner, not just for themselves but for making the wearable market mainstream*. In a twitter conversation this morning with my friend & broadcaster David McClelland @DavidMcClelland, he nicely stated that ‘Apple has a precedent for resetting the market it enters’ and I could not agree more. This is when the Wearable Market gets real! and the Rogers' Bell Curve of the Innovation Adoption Lifecycle implodes!
*I believe this is a Win:Win for everyone, as the mainstream market will now be taken for real, boosting usage and adoption for every manufacturer of wearable tech, in the Consumer Market and the Business Market alike!
But it should be all about benefit to the user!
iOS users have seen some Apple App Store updates over the last few weeks, with Apps extending their reach to the wrist & Apple Watch and this is only the beginning, though not all Apps will go that way and should not go that way! Remember it is all about glance and short interactions that can replace those interactions, that would have meant you removing your iPhone from your pocket. Though, even though I say that, we will probably see new and currently unthought-of use cases appear over the next few months as the market grows and users get to grips with wearable tech as part of their day-to-day mobile interactions!
The Watch is ticking!
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