Android Wear decline continues but there’s a future for Sony

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 8, 2017 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_Smartwatch_3_Lineup

Despite the hype today around Android Wear 2 finally launching after facing delay after delay, the truth is that Google’s vision of wearables, or lack thereof, is in free fall. Most original partners have all but abandoned ship, and with little attention from Google to truly push the platform forward, marketshare is quickly eroding.

I’m a staunch believer in wearables and was actually a “watch guy” long before computerized versions arrived so perhaps my perspective is skewed. However, seeing how Apple Watch continues to chug at a healthy momentum with over 60% marketshare and having played with the Sony FES Watch U and Wena Wrist in person, I can’t help but think there is something absolutely here. The difference between Apple Watch and Sony’s take with wearables like the FES Watch versus products from the Android Wear camp is all about style and design.

Sony_Wena_Wrist_Features

(Note that for the remainder of the article, I’ll refer to Sony’s other initiative in wearables which include the FES Watch, FES Watch U, and Wena Wrist as FES Watch as they’re all related and fall in line with their wearable aspirations which don’t include Android Wear)

Sony_Wena_Wrist_Features_PaymentIf a wearable doesn’t look good, I’m not going to wear it, no matter how functional it is, yet like Google Glasses, Android Wear was designed by the IT department with little regard to why someone wears a piece of jewelry. If wearables are to succeed, they need to attract a much broader audience, and design, a strong skill set of Sony, will be critical to that. The other key to success in wearables will be branding, something which Fitbit possesses yet they’re struggling in the wearable market as well. After all, you’re not paying exponentially more for a OMEGA versus a Fossil because it can tell the time any better.

The more cracks I see in Android Wear, the more I’m convinced that for once, Sony saw something others didn’t and smartly exited the market before it imploded. As Rene Ritchie so excellently wrote:

 It could be that there is no real “Smartwatch market”, just an Apple Watch market. 

And I think that could be true. Consumers might just care less about Android Wear and after two years and countless OEM partners coming and going, it sure does seem that way. It’s worth noting that the Sony FES Watch series is anything but that and that’s why I’m bullish on what Sony could achieve with wearables. If (and it’s a big IF) Sony can continue down this path of mixing their excellent design prowess with specific and tactical usage of technology, like the ability to know if you have notifications or make contactless payments (two things the Wena Wrist can do), there might be a bright future for Sony to pursue.

Sony_FES_Watch_Style

It won’t be in the way we’ve seen with Android Wear where bulky designs accommodate shoving as much hardware as possible into the thing. Instead it will be discrete and subtle, the way technology should be. Hardware aside (something that we know Sony can nail down), software and marketing will be another key of success with wearables, areas Sony has traditionally struggled with. How easy will that FES Watch, or future iterations of it, be to set up? What partners will work with Sony to ensure notifications are coming through and that payment is accepted in as many places as possible? All these will be important aspects of a piece of jewelry you’ll want to wear, because it also offers features that will improve your daily life.

Software challenges aside, will consumers know Sony even made this piece of hardware/jewelry? Where will Sony sell it? Hopefully not just on Amazon and in a corner at Best Buy but in malls and departments stores where the broader consumer shops.

It’s certainly a big IF but if Sony is able to identify those challenges and put together measures to address them, as miniaturization of computers continues to progress (fun fact, Apple AirPods have more computing power than the original iPhone), there is little reason for that tech to not seep into our watches, bracelets, necklaces, and earnings and in turn, create a limitless market, one that Sony could own a part of.

Other thoughts:

One big problem with Android Wear is just how much is being crammed into these watches. Much like how a single piece of jewelry doesn’t offer everything we’d want when being fashionable, perhaps neither should a wearable. One thing I love about the Sony Wena Wrist is that it looks like a typical watch with three specific “smart functionalities.” Sony didn’t try to throw the whole kitchen sink at it like LG is doing with Watch Sport, part of their newly launched wearables with Android Wear 2.

Instead spread out the functionality across numerous devices when appropriate and offer key improvements. I might not need a “smart ring” with GPS but if I can do payments with it, it could be a worthy addition.

It’s also mind boggling to see no one from the Android Wear camp appropriately targeting women with different design options and aesthetics beyond half-assed measures. It’s what happens when the “PC guys” trying to make something that’s meant to be as much functional as personable. They end up shoving a PC into it which can be seen with the above photo. Take this into consideration: my wife and I both wore our Apple Watches during our wedding.