Fossil launched its Michael Kors smartwatches back around March of 2016, but the smartwatch seemed design to win people over to the Michael Kors luxury brand more than anything else. Think about it: the Michael Kors Access Dylan smartwatch had the same specs as all other Android Wear smartwatches, but little else, which made the price tag even harder to justify.
It will come as no surprise, then, that the Michael Kors Access Dylan and Bradshaw smartwatches (the Access Bradshaw was added later) have disappeared from the Google Store. Well, the better word may be “removed,” seeing that no smartwatch disappears from the Google Store without Google’s approval. The Access Bradshaw appeared in the Google Store in December, so it is being pulled after just three months on display - certainly not a good sign.
The Michael Kors Access Dylan and Access Bradshaw are not the first smartwatches this year to disappear from the Google Store: Motorola’s second-generation Moto 360 disappeared from the store first, and the more ruggedized Moto 360 Sport disappeared from the Google Store in April 2016. The Moto 360 Sport was announced after the more formal Moto 360, which isn’t a good outcome for any mobile device when you’re in a mobile market. Due to its underwhelming sales in Android Wear and the Google Store, Motorola has decided to exit the smartwatch market indefinitely.
Fossil, the one behind the Michael Kors brand at the Google Store, is one that is trying to break through the wearables segment. The company has purchased Misfit with the goal of making fitness wearables to appeal to the consumer market as a whole. The company says it intends to release 300 wearables this year, but as can be seen by the Michael Kors smartwatches that headed nowhere, Fossil will have to change its strategy moving forward. The company has said since the release of its quarterly earnings report that it intends to appeal to a more budget-conscious segment than before.
The problem with the Michael Kors, brand and Motorola, however, shows the problem with Android Wear: it isn’t selling. With Samsung gone, Motorola exiting, Sony uninterested in making another smartwatch, and now Michael Kors out, it seems as though Android Wear has yet to interest consumers at any interesting level. The Samsung-Apple duopoly can explain much of Android Wear’s state.
