Pebble Exec: Batteries Are Top Challenge for Wearables Right Now

With more than 45 million wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smartwatches projected to ship by 2017, tech manufacturers and major brands are already starting to brace themselves for the upcoming wave.

While the category is already heralded as a hot trend, adoption isn't quite there yet — many consumers still need to be convinced that they want a smartwatch in their lives. The smartwatch aesthetic isn't quite there, either; most are clunky, unattractive and look too much like computers.

During the 2014 Wearable Tech Expo in New York City on Wednesday, Myriam Joire, chief evangelist at smartwatch startup Pebble, said many of these issues stem from one culprit: the battery.

"Battery is the number one challenge with wearables today," Joire said.

"Most smartwatches take a 130-miliamp battery, which can be sucked dry with a big lightbulb in probably 30 minutes to an hour."

Pebble, like many wearable companies, is trying to stretch battery life as long as possible, so consumers can leave devices on for more than a week's time. But bigger batteries mean bigger devices, and that's not what consumers want around their wrists.

Joire believes the adoption of flexible batteries in the years ahead will help move the market forward, allowing them to go disguised inside the wristband itself.

"It's a 'pick your display poison' situation for wearables right now: you have Pebble with a black-and-white, daytime-readable, low-powered display and and then you have beautiful high-resolution or AMOLED displays that are hard to read in daylight that use more power," Joire said.

"There's no magic pill — you have to pick one," Joire said. "Wearables will continue to suffer from this for the next two years. There's no smartwatch that is as bright as the phone in daylight because the battery would drain in an instant."

Joire called Pebble's display "a compromise" while the industry, especially batteries, catches up.

"We'd like to have a colorful display with more resolution, but in daylight, you wouldn't be able to read it," Joire said. "And you aren't using smartwatches as much indoors because you have your phone nearby."

But Joire hinted the company is looking into more colorful display options, too.

"Nothing is stopping us from making two watches — and perhaps we are — but that's the choice [to stay black and white] we have to make right now."
Challenges at retail

While smartwatches wait for tech advancements to help consumer adoption, there's room for all wearables to get more play in the retail environment as well.

Robin Shea, senior marketing strategist for DCI-Artform — which represents clients such as Jawbone, which makes the UP24 fitness tracker — says there are major challenges in retail that prevent wearables from reaching their true potential.

For example, many items such as the Fitbit are sold in plastic packaging, which limits shoppers from touching and trying on products. Most wearables don't have demo stations, so it's difficult for them to see how they might fit into their lifestyle.

"Many retailers keep wearables behind glass or keep them tied up with security locks," Shea said, adding that consumers need to become comfortable with the technology before making a pricy purchase.

Fitbit became the leader in the wristband fitness tracker space in 2013, thanks to its Flex, which continues to be the company's biggest seller, according to research firm Canalys. The firm also estimates that annual smartwatch shipments alone will reach 8 million in 2014.

Posted by : Gizmeon