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| VIEW EVENT INFORMATION: Pebble |
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Wearables Have Got Some Work To Do |
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About the organization Pebble:
Type: Business
Sub-Types: Electronics, Electronics Hardware, Electronics Software, Telecommunication, Telecommunication Hardware, Telecommunication Software |
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Notable Organizations: Pebble, Techcrunch
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| It’s a wait and see moment for wrist-worn devices. After a few years of betting heavily on the space, this most recent CES didn’t offer much; save for two or three smartwatch announcements, some partnerships and a couple of middling bands, the industry seems to have largely shifted its focus toward the connected home and the seemingly attainable dream of sticking Alexa in everything.
Some of the hesitation on the part of manufacturers no doubt owes much to the delay of Android Wear 2.0 — which really couldn’t have come at a less opportune time, missing both the holiday rush and the biggest tech show of the year. The latest version of Google’s wearable operating system is due out next month — likely February 2.
When it arrives, it’ll greet an industry licking its wounds. The disappointing CES was really par for the course following a fairly lackluster — and in some cases toxic — 2016. In October, IDC published a pretty dismal report noting what it deemed “significant” declines with total shipments dropping 51.6 percent year-over-year. In December, we noted a study from eMarketer that dramatically cut expectations for the wearable space, stating, “Smartwatches in particular have failed to impress customers.”
Some of the biggest players in the space had a rough go of it last year. Fitbit’s stock had a rough go of it, and Intel seems to have backed away from some of its more bullish ambitions in the space. Toward the end of the year, it was revealed that Microsoft’s ambitions for the Band were pretty much dead in the water, ending sales for the 2, with no sign of a third device on the horizon. What’s going on with Jawbone is anyone’s guess, but it sure isn’t pretty.
The company recently rebuked Fitbit’s claims that it was essentially bankrupt, which arose as a lawsuit against the company was dropped. But even if Fitbit’s claims were indeed overblown, things have been looking pretty rough for Jawbone of late, with the recent exit of its CFO as the company reportedly looks for funding and considers a move away from consumer-facing devices.
And then there’s Pebble. The crowdfunding darling that was at the front of the smartwatch boom didn’t make it through the year at all. The company made one final play with two new smartwatches and a new mobile device for runners and only managed to deliver one of the three. Soon after, it was revealed that the company would be absorbed into Fitbit, with the Pebble brand end-of-lifing. |
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