Smartwatches are a pretty hot topic these days, especially with the new Moto 360 and LG G smartwatches set to hit shelves soon. The concept of smartwatches seem to be picking up speed as time passes, making it feel more and more like this is no passing fad, but a permanent addition to our growing array of smart devices. This seems even more likely given that rumor after rumor of a long-awaited Apple iWatch has been tossed around yet again.
The idea of an Apple iWatch isn’t anything new. In fact, I think a lot of people were expecting an iWatch to be among the first smartwatches ever released given Apple’s influence on the smartphone industry. Times have changed, though, and if an iWatch is to be, it comes after several iterations of already released smartwatches from manufacturers like Sony, Pebble, Qualcomm, Samsung, Motorola, and LG. It’s safe to say that an iWatch would be considered late to this party.
But does that mean that it would be considered unwarranted or even unwanted? Hardly. In fact, I imagine a lot of people have been holding out on getting a smartwatch specifically until an Apple-made smartwatch was available. It’s hard to deny that Apple is pretty good at making sure that all of its products communicate very well with each other, so here’s assuming that a smartwatch wouldn’t be an exception to the rule.
That being said, however, it can also be assumed that the iWatch probably won’t worth with anything but the iPhone, which could either work out just fine for them or it could end up crippling sales. I think at this point that Apple is pretty safe making an iPhone-only compatible smartwatch, but that’s just assuming that people with iPhones actually want a smartwatch. Despite all of the headlines that smartwatches have been making and how often we see reviews and content pop up about them on tech websites, I can count the number of times I’ve actually seen smartwatches worn in public on one hand. They’re available, but when it comes to demand I find it hard to believe that they’re actually thriving that well at the moment.
Maybe, just maybe, the iWatch can change that.
Perhaps it’s old fashioned of me to look to Apple to make a trend happen, and truth be told my expectations aren’t that high. Then again, anything that’s ever been popular in my life for the past 15 years or so seems to have started with Apple, even if similar products existed before it. Mp3 players existed before the iPod, but the iPod was undoubtedly the most mainstream of them all. Smartphones really took off because of the iPhone in 2007. Tablets became popular when the iPad was released in 2010 (although the iPad was not the first tablet to be made). So while Apple may very well be late to the party when it comes to smartwatches, it would seem silly to think that they wouldn’t be able to pull off another major success when it comes to releasing a new gadget.
Smartwatches may be doomed. Like I said, they’re there, but they’re not really that hot of a product yet. If the Moto 360, LG G watch, and iWatch can’t make things move, I’m probably going to hang my hat up about the whole thing entirely. But I feel like I can’t do that just yet - there’s still time to make it work, and for some reason I’m putting my money on Apple for this one.
Readers, what are your thoughts about an iWatch? Is this the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for, or have you already set your sights on another? Let us know your thoughts below!
