From activity trackers to Google Glass, wearable technology is becoming more common and useful, but until smart watches stop simply duplicating existing functionality and offer something new, they’re destined to remain curiosities and novelties rather than the necessities their makers would have us believe they are.
Smartphones (and feature phones before them) replaced watches because they were able to perform all of a watch’s key functions — keeping time, serving as a status symbol and acting as a fashion accessory — as well as placing and receiving calls, sending and receiving messages and eventually connecting to the Internet.
Today, calling high-end watches “timepieces” seems less poncey than it would have a decade ago precisely because they’ve become objets d’art; the 21st century wristwatch is fundamentally decorative and ornamental.
Though smart watches have come a long way since the Casio calculator watches that peaked in popularity in the mid-1980s among the pocket-protector set, they’re little more than crippled second screens for smartphones — great for seeing you have a message while you’re doing the dishes, but no good at helping you reply to it.
So, beyond letting you tell the time using an array of different digital watch faces, smart watches seem to exist to notify you of things — messages, calls, alarms — happening on another device. That’s a bit like being sent an e-mail telling you you have an e-mail.
Therein lies the crux of the smart watch dilemma: beyond the horological use, all smart watches’ utility depends on another device. And in most instances, the range of supported handsets is extremely limited. So not only does your smartwatch limit your choice of handset, but without a handset it’s usefulness, and its smartness, is massively curtailed.
Even with a compatible handset, a smart watch does more to limit your options than expand them. You see, smart watches communicate with mobile phones using Bluetooth. Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth doesn’t allow multiple simultaneous connections, so if you’re hoping to use your phone’s Bluetooth with your car’s audio system, or a pair of wireless headphones, it’ll render your smart watch dumb for the duration.
Then there’s the problem of battery life. Aside from the Pebble with its e-ink display (which may last as much as a week), most smart watches are rated for little more than a day before they need to be charged. Another device to remember to plug in? Great!
Finally there’s the inclusion, on some, of features like cameras that are usually reserved for smartphones. Aside from taking the sort of pictures of strangers you ought not to be taking, what would you want a battery-sapping camera on a wristband for?
Some will argue that smart watches are perfect for runners or cyclists looking to track their activities, but there are better, dedicated sports watches and smartphone apps for this purpose.
On balance, the very idea of the smart watch seems to amount to little more than another device for electronics companies to manufacture and market to unsuspecting punters keen for the latest technology. Like the laser disc, the first generation iPad and Betamax, smart watches looks set to punish early adopters.
Samsung’s recently launched Galaxy Gear is a case in point. It feels like a testing-the-waters prototype released because the Korean giant makes so many components it can afford to release products that fail (and doesn’t feel any shame in doing so). One gets the impression that Samsung would rather preempt a rumoured Apple product in case one comes to pass.
And what if smart watches did come to include all of the features of a smartphone and more without needing to be tethered to one in any sense? Do we really want to take calls with our wrists to our ears? Or plug headphones into them? Or type messages on them?
Smart watches promise an inelegant solution to a poorly defined problem.
The mobile phone replaced the watch because it usurped its role. So far there’s no compelling argument to suggest the smartwatch will be able to do likewise. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media
- Craig Wilson is deputy editor of TechCentral. Engage with him on Twitter
