Can Apple ignite the wearables market?

Can Apple reverse the current downturn in the wearable device market and make this type of product mainstream? Foreign media published an article by digital media consultant Jon Maples to discuss this and the current status of the market, and put forward five points that iWatch must achieve, including fashionable design, clear user benefits, accurate tracking, careful processing of tracked data, and locking in an influential community.

The following is the main content of the article:

We walked out to the street at 8am during the SXSW conference and waited in line outside a conference venue. Why were we in line so early? Because sports giant Nike was taking a big step into the wearable industry with the launch of the FuelBand sports wristband. We had the opportunity to be one of the first people in the country to get the product; the company planned to sell 100 units per day during SXSW.

We were greeted by a Nike representative who took us into a venue that had been transformed into a dazzling FuelBand showroom. He showed us the FuelBand and guided us through the trial. From then on, we began using the FuelBand to "quantify ourselves" and collect all kinds of data in our lives. Nike's own unit of measurement, "Fuel Points," allowed us to assess our activity and compare it with ourselves and our friends.

Two years later, I logged my last Fuel Points. I had stopped caring about the data a long time ago for a number of reasons: the wristband didn’t capture all of my activity, it wasn’t very accurate or sensitive to movement, and it didn’t really help my life.

The main reason is that the last time I logged a Fuel point, it broke. It showed a fault code of "801" and I needed to go to a Nike store to get it replaced. This has happened many times.

I had enough. I dropped the device on the table and never picked it up again. I realized that tracking my life was no different than not tracking it.

I'm not the only one who's ditched the FuelBand. In April, Nike announced it was shifting its digital focus from hardware to software, disbanding the entire FuelBand team to focus on "other digital projects."

Even as companies like Nike have stumbled in the wearables market, wearable computing products are still seen as the next big growth area in the tech industry. Credit Suisse believes the market will grow to $30 billion by 2018 from $5 billion in 2013. IDC says more than 112 million wearable devices will be sold by 2018.

Now may also be a good time to develop wearable products. Sensors for various functions have become smaller, cheaper, and more accurate. Displays have also become smaller, and the industry may even be about to usher in flexible glass screens. It is conceivable that devices equipped with multiple sensors may be able to track your exercise and provide location-aware functions such as mapping and shopping.

If sales are high enough, wearables will not only expand companies' product portfolios, but also allow them to generate all kinds of big data, which can be used in a variety of areas, including personal communications and location-based precision marketing.

Many problems

However, so far, companies seem to have failed to create wearable products that people really want. Most products are either suitable for geeks who are keen on new technologies or for sports enthusiasts who need data very much, such as athletes preparing to participate in triathlons. Of course, those products still have technical problems and health concerns, but their two core problems are still poor design and insufficient product value.

Most of the products look more like something you'd see in the movie Minority Report than something you'd see in a high-end watch store. They're generally bulky and unattractive to women in particular. The FuelBand looks a little different, but it's just a beefed-up Livestrong bracelet at best. Most of the products, especially Google Glass , don't meet the needs of the general public .

Beyond the design issues, there seems to be little demand for the features that wearable product manufacturers are touting. What problems do they solve? There are very few that you can name. Most wearable devices track your activity, but the data may not be accurate. Some also track sleep. Samsung 's related devices combine some activity tracking functions with mobile phone connectivity, but they are too bulky and ugly.

Want to attract the attention of mass consumers? It's best to cater to their real needs. When it comes to turning technology into a product that everyone desires to own, no company can compare with one giant: Apple.

Apple's wearable moment

Apple CEO Tim Cook is clearly betting big on wearables. According to Bloomberg, the company has recruited more than 100 designers to create such products. They have also recruited professionals from various industries, including fashion, medical, sports and watch brands. Apple has also invited many sensor experts. All of this is to make a fashionable and luxurious wearable device that provides users with communication and important information (including location, fitness and health data) tracking functions.

This isn’t the first time Apple has entered a space that has left many companies floundering. There were MP3 players before the iPod, there were cell phones before the iPhone , and there were tablets before the iPad. Apple is good at picking the right time to create truly valuable products in markets where others have failed, and creating an unprecedented ecosystem. Apple doesn’t invent products so much as perfect them.

The wearables market is a bigger challenge. The long-rumored iWatch seems to have a wide variety of functions rather than focusing on one amazing value point. The iPhone can replace three devices (mobile phone, music player and Internet terminal), and it is not yet known which existing devices the iWatch can replace. Its core value seems to be collecting data and pairing with the iPhone. This will be valuable to some consumers, but will it be enough to drive the entire industry to achieve the sales expectations of analysts?

iWatch must do 5 things

What does the iWatch have to do to become a hot-selling product? To ignite the market, Apple must do the following:

1) Must be fashionable and avant-garde

With the exception of Nike FuelBand and Misfit, the vast majority of wearables are poorly designed, at least not for mass consumption. Apple obviously has talent from all walks of life, but the company needs to bring a stylish watch that men and women can feel respectable. This is different from any market Apple has entered, because the watch will be compared to Tag Heuer, Rolex, Swatch and other famous watch brands. Jony Ive needs to deliver a first-class design.

2) User benefits must be clear

Apple needs to make it clear to consumers why they need its products and what their main purpose is. In the past few years, Apple has not been concise in its marketing and product positioning. It also has a habit of launching some half-finished products (such as Passbook). Its smartwatch cannot have these problems. Apple needs to figure out "how do you want users to describe your product" and must clarify the user benefits.

3) Accurate tracking is required

If you do that, a lot of problems are forgivable to consumers. However, if there are problems like inaccurate readings and errors in the algorithm, users will definitely be furious. In retrospect, the failure of FuelBand is likely due to its inaccurate activity data. After all, if Nike can't accurately monitor activity data, what else can FuelBand be used for? People will expect much more from Apple's products than Nike. The data it tracks, and the way it tracks data, must be perfected before it ships.

4) Tracked data must be handled with caution

People hate Google Glass partly because it looks geeky, but also because it raises big privacy issues, given that it has a camera. The iWatch will also obviously be able to collect quite a bit of personal and sensitive information. It will undoubtedly be important to keep that information from leaking and to keep it secure. Having clear rules around how data is handled, especially health data, will also be important and will benefit users.

5) You must target an influential community

Who will lead the trend of using iWatch? Apple is said to want to use athletes to promote the product, taking a page from Nike's FuelBand. However, this trick did not work for Nike, and the failure of FuelBand was due to both the product itself and poor marketing. Making sure that the company locks in the right influencers is just as important as doing a good marketing campaign. Relying solely on professional athletes may not win Apple over the masses. Apple needs to reach out to pop culture - such as Louis Vuitton designer Kanye West and other cultural trendsetters.

The stakes are high for Apple and Tim Cook. The iWatch would be Apple's first post-Jobs product outside of its core product category. Will the company be determined enough to ship a product that works, or -- if it fails to live up to the high standards of consumers -- to abandon the project and use its ample cash flow to do something else?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.