Who’s going to buy a smartwatch? Here are 2 reasons why you should

The smartwatch industry has gained traction with the Apple Watch releasing at the end of April. People are gradually starting to realize the potential, yet question the premise of its existence. Although this developing technology has been praised by the early adopters, the masses have yet to understand the value proposition that the smartwatch brings to the table.

Here are the two main arguments that are preventing the smartwatch from crossing the chasm

• 1) People don’t see the purpose of a smartwatch. “It does the exact same thing as my phone, so what’s the point?”
• 2) The “computer on your wrist” look is unattractive.

We’ll go on to disprove these common misconceptions that we attribute to naiveté. We’ll show you the purpose of a smartwatch and after reading this blog, you should be able to determine it’s value, and if this technology is right for you.

What’s the point of a smartwatch?

Many people have failed to see the value proposition behind a smartwatch. The contrarian viewpoint says that they serve the same purpose as a smartphone. Now, before we question the birth of this industry, let’s define the main intent of a smartwatch.

The smartwatch should provide you with a way to stay connected, and add a layer of convenience to your life that a phone in your pocket or purse cannot provide.

Don’t worry, we’ll explain how it can make your life a little more convenient later in this post!

But for now, lets dive into who the target audience is.

Who does it benefit the most?

Since the main intent of the smartwatch is to work with your phone to send you notifications without distracting you, we see the value in increased productivity. Generally, people that are doing nothing all day, wouldn’t see the point of a smartwatch. However, people that are busier throughout their day, have deadlines, always on the go, or engaging with people or tasks for extended periods of time, would see tremendous value in a smartwatch.

If you find yourself doing some of these things at work, or in your daily routine, then you may find value in a smartwatch
-Dealing with people face to face

If you’re talking to people throughout your day, it’s probably pretty hard to keep up with anything but work. Think Customer Service, Sales rep, or anyone that requires face to face interaction. Glancing at your wrist for timely notifications and determining if they require a response is much less disruptive than pulling out your phone in front of someone ceasing conversation.

-Working in a Fast Paced environment

If you are always on the go, the time you spend looking at your phone is very limited. Food service, event planning, or healthcare related professions(i.e nurse, technician)could benefit greatly from a smartwatch.

-Working on deadline oriented tasks

Let’s say that you’re putting in overtime at work, and have to finish a report before you leave. You probably can’t afford to

get distracted by things like facebook, twitter, or any other social media outlet on your phone. A disciplined person may turn their phone on silent to temporarily “disconnect” from the world. Great!

Until you finish the report, check your phone, and see 4 missed calls from your best friend saying “Where are you??”

You forgot to pick him up from the airport, and he ended up taking a taxi to your place, 3 hours after you were suppose to pick him up.

Wearing a smartwatch would have reminded you that your friend needed a ride, and you could have called him back to let him know that you would be staying late, and to call cab.

Being alerted, at a quick glance, would have saved your friend 3 hours of his time, and also have allowed you to continue working on your report, distraction free. There is a MAJOR benefit to alerts without distractions. Using a smartwatch as a way to filter the necessary info from your phone to your wrist, takes being productive and “in touch” to a whole new level.

How does it help?

Being notified at a glance is clearly the value proposition, but there are a few key features that a smartwatch has the competitive advantage over the smartphone. Here’s a list of the most useful features of a smartwatch, and scenarios that they prove their worth.

• Instant notifications help with decision making (And Freedom from the outlet!)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. “I need a charger, my phone’s about to die!” It seems like we’re spending more time next to an outlet than usual nowadays. One cool thing about a smartwatch is that you can charge your phone from another room, and be free to roam around while still being connected to your phone. The days of texting while plugged in are over!(insert pic of guy in corner with phone plugged in)

Ex: Imagine yourself playing basketball, or lifting weights in the gym. Usually people don’t exercise with their phones on them, so being able to receive texts or phone calls while exercising, is a great benefit!

Ex: controlling music in the shower

This only applies to the pebble watch, but you can connect your phone with a bluetooth speaker, bring that speaker into the bathroom, and control your music from your wrist!

2) Sensors that track heart and fitness

Tracking your health and fitness is easier than ever before. Smartwatches have the ability to track your steps while walking, distance, and pace while running heart rate throughout the day.

If you’ve been sitting for a while, some smartwatches will alert you and tell you it time for a stretch break. Another great feature is that you can set goals for yourself (i.e 3 miles per day or 10,000 steps) and your watch will act as a personal coach to tell you how far you are from achieving that daily goal. Someone holding you accountable for your target is just the kind of motivation that some people need!

3) Acts as a remote to control music from a distance.

If you’re using an Android device, android watches will only work with Android 4.3 or later. Google has made it easy to check whether your smartphone is compatable with the smartwatch by going to http://www.android.com/wear/check/ from a mobile browser.

Some smartwatch brands, such as the Samsung, LG, and Motorola, have the ability to store music on them. This is extremely useful in places like the gym, because people do not like to keep their phone in their pocket while working out. Now you can put your things in a locker, and use a pair of bluetooth headphones to listen to music while you workout. You have just reduced the amount of items that you need to carry at the gym. Great!

The standard wristwatch has been around for ages.

There are only two reasons why someone would wear a wristwatch

• A fashion accessory
• To tell the time (obviously)

If all else fails, a watch should be able to tell me the time and look good. If smartwatches can do both of these things well, then all of the additional features become a BONUS.

As of now, a smartwatch being a fashion accessory is just not there yet in the eyes of many people.

I don’t believe so! These things look amazing, and I’ll dispute the ugly theory right below.

They are unappealing in style

There are dozens of styles of smartwatches on the market. However, the preliminary watches did have a bulky, unattractive look to them, but now that we’re in the 2nd/3rd generation of smart watches, they have a much more elegant and refined look. Take the Moto 360 and Asus Zen Watch for example. The smooth body styles paired with a classy watchface would look just as sophisticated as a high-class, standard watch. Manufacturers have been listening to the reviews on the bad styles of watches and are quickly responding with better looking watches within each generation.

You can customize your smartwatch with any watch band

Pretty much every smartwatch on the market has the ability to change the watch band. All you need is any 22mm watch band, and you’re good to go! If all else fails with expectations of a smart watch, then you should at least be inclined to buy these watches because they look good.

If you are looking for replacement watch bands for your smartwatch, then eBestSmartWatches is a great place to find some different styles from stainless steel to leather to silicon.

Overall, the smart watch is still in its infancy and will continue to develop and grow as more users realize the capability and use for these devices. However, it is necessary that the uses of these devices be fully defined so that critics do not make posts claiming that the watch is useless or pointless. Hopefully manufacturers will put more emphasis on the intent of the watch. These devices are here to stay and only will continue to get better and better.

Instant notifications help with decision making (And Freedom from the outlet!)