You've likely heard that smartwatches haven't been flying off shelves as of late, and that consumers are more interested in other wearables such as fitness bands (primarily). Analysts have been saying this for some time, but those who are interested in smartwatches see analytical claims as too premature and a real error that doesn't give smartwatches their due. Well, if you believe smartwatches hold great value and are underrated (as I do), then you'll appreciate the response to wearables from processor chipset maker Qualcomm. In Qualcomm's latest discussion of the category, Qualcomm says that it doesn't believe in negative analytic trends:
I don't buy those trends. Android Wear launched June 2014, Apple Watch in April 2015, the first Tizen watch launched September 2014, and the first WebOS watch launched February 2016 -- this is a new category. Categories don't happen in a year...categories take a few years to get established. All these things we're talking about are from the last two years,
said Qualcomm Product Management Senior Director Pankaj Kedia.
Qualcomm also says that it created Qualcomm Wear, a sub-brand of its Snapdragon processor lineup, because it believes that wearables are the trend of the future. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 was designed for smartwatches and can be found in smartwatches such as the upcoming Misfit Vapor while the Snapdragon Wear 1100 was designed for fitness trackers.
In the spirit of going against the analytical conclusions, Qualcomm says that consumers can expect more fashion brands to enter the wearables race in 2017. We can see this is true, with Swarovski already declaring its entrance into Android Wear this year, alongside of brands like TAG Heuer, Michael Kors, Fossil's Armani Exchange, and others.
