Dive Brief:
- Google is planning on releasing two new flagship smartwatches in Q1 of next year, according to Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google, and as reported by the Verge.
- Interestingly, the watches won’t be branded as Google or Pixel, but instead by the manufacturer. Chang didn’t reveal the name of the manufacturer but said it was a company that has built Android Wear devices in the past.
- In separate but related smartwatch news, Pokemon Go is now available on Apple Watch, according to Venture Beat.
Dive Insight:
Both announcements are interesting coming on the heels of eMarketer's dramatically reduced wearables forecast for next year, which cut growth down to 24.7% from 60% in October. Earlier in the fall, the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker Q3 report also saw a 51.6% decrease in smartwatch shipment volume over 2015.
Part of that drop was attributed by the IDC to Google delaying its latest Android smartwatch in Q3, something the company now looks to be rectifying in Q1 2017. But beyond early adopters, consumers have seemed generally uninterested in wearables and marketers have difficulty finding a distinct use case for them, especially given the small screen real estate.
Price sensitivity might be one of the biggest issues affecting buyers, as smartwatches are often pricey but offer few clear features to differentiate from a smartphone. Google clearly isn’t being scared off by the reports of indifference, though, and Pokemon Go might give the Apple Watch a needed boost, especially during the holidays, as newly-gifted devices are taken for a spin.
Such confidence from two of the biggest tech players suggests that the smartwatch market may indeed open again in the future despite what industry analysts forecast.