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comment by aerowid
aerowid  ·  3722 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Wearable tech needs to find a genre-defining product | Digital Trends

Why should wearables be less complex? Sure, what on the market now is, but I see no reason wearable systems couldn't be more complex than smartphones and more convenient





kleinbl00  ·  3722 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Wearables are necessarily less complex. If it's strapped to your body somehow, it's less convenient to manipulate. an Iphone 6 plus on an armband isn't a wearable, it's a phablet you've anchored to your bicep. A Nexus 6 on your wrist is a Nexus 6 you can only use one hand on.

Complexity requires dexterity. Wearables are less dextrous than non-wearables. Pocket watches had latching covers to protect their watch glass because opening a watch glass cover was a natural, easy motion when the pocket watch was in your palm. Wristwatches don't because it's cumbersome and inconvenient, even though wristwatches actually need more protection than pocket watches.

bioemerl  ·  3722 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Wearables need to

A) look good. Phones aren't something you wear.

B) overcome the stigma against wearing a large screen.

C) last long enough to not be annoying or go dead midway through the day.

D) work in bright sunlight, survive harsh environments, etc.

I honestly don't see watches replacing phones. Not now, not ever. They will become a very good tool to help use of phones, but I can't see it going further than that. It will become a "Tracker" that you can see and monitor your day and life through, where the phone is a "portal" to the internet and to other people.