According to Stratistics MRC, the global smartwatch market will be valued at around 25.44 billion USD in 2022, and is expected to reach 64.93 billion USD in 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 16.9%. As wearable devices such as smartwatches have gradually become mainstream, consumer expectations will greatly affect each brand and manufacturer’s decisions. According to our research at Allion, it was found that as long as wearable devices have a display, users expect it to provide a similar user experience as a smartphone. Brands and manufacturers now face the challenge of providing an exciting user experience while meeting strict requirements such as extended battery life and improved connectivity. The challenge for brands and distributors is meeting the high expectations of consumers and simultaneously evaluating ODM products. In this article, we will give you an in-depth analysis of the potential risks within the smartwatch market.
Analysis of Potential Risks
After researching online customer reviews of various smartphone-related products, we’ve concluded the following scenarios and found the most commonly encountered issues with these products.
1. Inaccurate Measuring
Due to smartwatches being equipped with precise sensors, the user’s health data, such as blood pressure, heart rate, or sleep data, can be monitored at any time. Smartwatches can also track exercises, such as your step count, burned calories, or distance traveled during exercise. This allows the user to better understand their performance and health, a main reason why smartwatches are different from traditional watches. When the data from these products are abnormal or inaccurate, users will stop wanting to use them.
The figure below shows the test we ran for two smartwatches. We tested two watches simultaneously by having each user run for 3 kilometers. The results for each smartwatch had huge differences.
2. Disconnecting With Smartphones
Mobile phones can be considered an indispensable product in our modern lives, so the connection between smartwatches and our smartphones is very important to the average user. During our testing, it was found that even though the smartphone showed it had successfully connected to the smartwatch, the smartwatch would always show the opposite. Sometimes the smartwatch would suddenly disconnect from the smartphone without warning, resulting in the user missing notifications and having unsynchronized data. This issue will not only be inconvenient for users but will also give more incentive to return the product.
3. Battery Life Issues
Battery life and durability in electronic devices will decrease over time. For a brand-new device, batteries generally last for 5 to 7 days on one charge. As the battery deteriorates, they barely last for two days. In our experiments, there was even a device that took less than 12 hours to run out of batteries. Extended battery life is also an important issue that consumers will pay attention to.
4. App Issues
Another issue that consumers are concerned about is the user interface. In our experiments, we found the user interfaces of smartwatches were complex, not intuitive, and even had abnormal functions. For example, the messaging function for one of them could not be transmitted simultaneously with the connected mobile phone. Failure to send or receive messages on a smartwatch can lead to a lot of inconvenience for users. Some other functions that users expect to be supported by the product are not supported, giving more incentive to return the product.
5. Unpredictable Issues
Smartwatches are designed with sensors on the back that read data when pushed against the skin. We found some smartwatches with poor material or design that generate heat and burn the user’s wrist after wearing it for long periods. Issues such as skin rashes or more dangerous accidents such as explosions have occurred in the past, and will significantly reduce the user’s willingness to purchase these products.
Faster, Easier, Better！
Customized Consulting Service for wearable devices
Allion can provide the following solutions to solve the potential risks and issues mentioned above. Meet your customer’s needs by effectively improving your product’s quality, reducing customer complaints, and reducing returns. Repurchase rates will naturally increase when you provide users with valuable products.
- Testing Method Developing
- Software Quality Assurance
- User Scenario Simulation
- User Experience
- Ecosystem Interoperability
- Wi-Fi / Bluetooth Signal Measurement
- Wireless Interference Test
Faster：
Allion has professional experience with testing wearable devices. No matter which stage your product is in, certification tests, compatibility tests, and even customized tests can be carried out for you simultaneously to save time. Our efficient approach can help our clients accelerate and shorten their product development phase.
- Quickly build a wearable devices related ecosystem
- Quickly design development verification strategies
- Quickly obtain validation planning
Easier：
By implementing AI and automation solutions, Allion ensures that every test is “qualitative, quantitative, and reproducible”, helping our clients to improve product performance in a more efficient manner.
- Provides less labor-intensive testing methods
- Provides more efficient and cost-effective solutions
- Provides more accurate results
Better：
With more than 30 years of expertise, specialized technical team, and comprehensive testing environments and equipment, Allion is committed to providing clients with more improved quality of service based on extensive experience of User Scenario Testing.
- Provides more complete user scenario testing solutions
- Provides more complete verification testing plans
- Professional issue isolation and debugging support
For more information or to discuss consulting needs, please feel free to contact us.