On these smartwatches, feel free to ignore the step count
Corrections & Clarifications: Corrects the starting price for the Apple Watch Sport edition to $349.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Raise your hand if you don’t give two shoes about how many steps you took today.
That’s what I thought.
You are the smartwatch silent majority. You kept your mouths – and your wallets – on lockdown as wave after wave of wristworn wearables catered to minutiae-minded fitness freaks. You nodded knowingly as others’ Fitbits, worn with such conviction after New Year’s, ended up stashed with dusty Shake Weights and Abdominizers by spring break.
Well guess what? Your patience is being rewarded. Because as Black Friday approaches, manufacturers are now pointing their wearables squarely at you. The ads this season are full of fashion-first smartwatches. I’m hesitant to even call them smartwatches.
Many of these attractive wearables are more like watches that happen to have added some smarts. Although they are aiming at different price points, three just-announced watches from fashion-minded brands all share a few things in common: they all sport handsome analog faces. They employ some combination of vibrations and LEDs to flag text messages, calendar notices and other alerts from your smartphone. And they all track how many steps you’re taking. Which you’re free to ignore.
They are:
· The Motion BOLD line, which luxury watchmaker Movado introduced earlier this month ($695). Credit HP with the design smarts.
· The Tag Heuer Connected ($1500). Tag Heuer says the watches are the result of collaboration with Google and Intel.
· The Q Grant line, which Fossil unveiled late last month. Fossil gives a nod to Intel for design expertise. Prices start at $195.
Watches from fitness and technology brands are typically packed with more wellness features, like constant heart rate and sleep tracking.
Apple tried to strike a balance between fashion with the Apple Watch last spring, fusing the latest tracking features with attractive designs for the fitness-first, style-conscious and the I-spent-too-much-money-and-I’m-proud-of-it crowds. The fashion-oriented Sport models start at $349. And the gold-cased Watch Edition models start – yes, start – at $10,000.
My two favorite watches from the past year’s crop – the Basis Peak and the Microsoft Band – are both primed and primped with makeovers for this holiday season.
The year-old Basis Peak may have been the ugliest smartest watch of all. It distinguished itself in the smarts department by figuring out when you were exercising or sleeping, so you didn't have to let it know. The new Titanium Edition ($299.99), which is powered by an Intel processor, is still smart. It also boasts handsome styling and a leather band.
The follow-on to Microsoft Band, which was nearly as smart as the Basis Peak but with a great display and an easy-to-use interface, is smaller, smarter and more comfortable than its predecessor. The Microsoft Band 2 ($249.95) is in the shape of a fitness band, like the new Fitbit Charge HR – but with an LED watch face. The long-and-lean display lends itself well to notifications – a key feature for fitness-agnostics who want a connected watch.
Other crossover features on the Band 2, unveiled last month, include a golf app developed with TaylorMade as well as Cortana, the software giant’s personal assistant. Cortana has a couple of cool tricks over and above the usual driving directions and text dictation. I’ve been testing the Band 2 for a couple of weeks, and one of my favorites is the reminder feature. Remind me to defrost the chicken when I get home, I say. And when I pull into the garage, she does.
The Band 2, by the way, is powered by a Qualcomm processor. And, if you’re keeping score, the Fitbit Charge HR has a STMicroelectronics chip inside.
Two new watches – one each from Samsung and LG – integrate LTE connectivity in addition to all the other wellness technology features. Both run on Qualcomm processors.
Samsung’s original Gear S was the first to include cellular. The follow-on, unveiled last month, also does. But it’s apparent from the moment you see the Gear S2 ($299.99) that appearance was top of mind. The first S2 ad, in fact, focuses on the style as well as the innovative rotating bezel interface. There’s only one guy in running shorts during the one-minute spot, and his cameo comes at the 45-second mark.
By now, it should be clear that technology brands are waking up to what fashion brands knew all along: styling matters in a watch. That, and of course, the ability to display the time. Indeed, no matter how impressive the technology, if you can’t see the time whenever you look down at the display, then I’m not sure you should even call it a watch. Certainly, you have no business calling it smart.
Mike Feibus is principal analyst at TechKnowledge Strategies, a Scottsdale, Ariz., market strategy and analysis firm focusing on mobile ecosystems and client technologies. You can reach him at mikef@feibustech.com.