And to answer Pere's questions, no I don't see any more smart watches now than I did 2 years ago. I do notice more Apple watches than AW when I notice someone is wearing one. But even they are not having great sales, I believe. I used to get asked often if I had an Apple watch on. And would then explain it was an Android watch. Then the "what does it do" questions. Not so much anymore. It's been a long time since someone has asked what it is or what it does. Seems like the interest level just never caught on, except for techie folks, and folks that always wear a watch anyway so might as well be a smart watch (that's the category I am in).
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This has been my experience as well. The few people I've seen with smartwatches have an Apple Watch or fancy FitBit. The questions and intrigue I used to get is FAR less than it was a year or two ago.
I think you're all on to something. While I don't mind replacing my phone every year or two, I don't want to buy a new watch (especially at these prices) every year or two. That's a big draw back. If they want me to keep investing, the prices need to come way down.
Also, though my Watch Urbane (1st gen) is said to be getting 2.0, I haven't really seen a ton of new features added and I stopped putting silly little apps on my watch a long time ago.
I wear the watch every day at work and usually take it off shortly after I come home. If we go somewhere, I slap it on. What it is to me is a watch, first and foremost. I didn't wear a watch for years, but then started working in healthcare and needed one for taking vitals. So I got used to wearing one at work again. At a glance of my wrist, without removing my phone, I can see the time, the temp outside, the date, and my watch and phone battery levels.
Then, it's a notification butler. I do like the additions they've made to the OS and apps to allow more interaction with notifications without getting my phone out, but it's still easier to grab the phone for many notifications.
Maybe this will change with standalone apps and such with AW 2.0, but that's really all the watch is for me (and a quick way to start music playing). And that's all I NEED it to be. I have the Pixel XL. It's got a big beautiful screen. If I'm doing anything that takes more than a second or two or trying to look at something with any detail, I'm getting my phone out. At this point, that functionality won't really change as this watch gets older. Battery longevity and those kinds of things will become concerns, sure, but the core functions that I rely on the watch for are super basic. There's no need to replace it every year or two like a phone that gets noticeably sluggish after a while. If a watch got sluggish in the same way, I'd think twice before buying the next model.
I think the biggest mistake that manufacturers have made is to try and follow the same gameplan with these watches as they've found to work with phones. It's a different device and a different market. Moto, IMO, absolutely made the right decision to not keep reiterating year after year with these devices.
