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Will Smart Bands Survive in the Long Run?

Will Smart Bands Survive in the Long Run? Image Credit: Garmin Signature Series

The wearable band market grew over 150% as more than 7 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2015, according to Canalys, an independent analyst company.

Bands make up a large segment of the fast growing wearables market, which covers electronic gadgets with advanced computing capabilities, worn on the body. Apart from bands, glasses and watches are the other categories of wearables which have become quite popular in recent years.

Fitbit SmartbandSmart bands are commonly categorized into ‘basic’ and ‘smart’. Canalys defines basic bands as serving a specific type of purpose, for example, health monitoring or exercising, which were the major functionalities that started off the 'band' trend that saw more and more people sporting these devices. Basic bands however, are not capable of running third-party applications so users will not be able to receive messages from their smartphones or check if they have any notifications from apps such as Facebook. Smart bands, on the other hand, enable these applications, allowing users to access a far wider number of functionalities via a simple strap on their wrists. Basic bands are favoured by those who associate these devices with healthcare and fitness (as an extension to their gym regime or for monitoring of things such as heart rate and sleep) while smart bands are being adopted by those who require an alternative to their smartphones or a 'smartphone assistant' that can be strapped to their wrists and frees them from having to constantly check their smartphones for messages and notifications. Smart bands are seeing increased traction in the last year as newer models in the market start boasting more and more applications, all the way to enabling users to make m-commerce transactions via a simple tap on their wrists.

Microsoft BandAccording to Canalys, within the wearable band market, Fitbit continues to lead the market with a major year-on-year volume growth with greatly increased shipments of the affordable Mi Band especially in China. Xiaomi takes second place, said Canalys, while Garmin trails behind with the rollout of two new products in its Vívo line. Wearable bands boasts a wide range of prices, from US$20 for the Mi Band to mid-range products costing around US$50 for example, Razer Nabu X, Jawbone UP24, Fitbit Zip to high range products which are marketed at prices US$100 up to US$400 for example, the Fitbit Charge, Garmin Vivosmart, Microsoft Band and Wellograph.  

Xiaomi Mi BandAs smartphones continue to evolve rapidly, and with smartwatches now taking up a fair chunk of the wearables market, there has always been a strong debate among analysts and technologists alike, that bands may start losing their value proposition over the coming years. Smartwatches are offering all the applications that smartbands do and more, and due to their size, enable even standalone connectivity which means that one can leave the smartphone at home and still be connected to the mobile network at all times. At the same time, newer smartphones are already installed with GPS and accelerometers, with those bringing them around being able to measure all the fitness and health indicators which had been the privy of these smart bands. 

For us at PCC Mobile Broadband, the ability to wear a device instead of carrying it around creates an unbeatable value in itself, so smartphones are clearly not a threat to bands. The real question is therefore, whether smartwatches, which are also worn on the wrist and which also carry the entire range of third party applications that smart bands do, will lead to a decline in the bands market. This is where, we expect economics to come into play. Bands are cheaper, and 'cheaper' has its own value proposition. It means that it can be worn for a whole range of casual situations - from walking the dog to sweeping up the leaves in the front yard to doing daily chores such as cleaning the house or bringing the kids to the playground. Strapping a US$20 smart band is more likely for most people in all these situations compared to donning a US$399 smartwatch, which is more fitting for official settings such as the workplace, social functions or travel. Additionally, one can wear the smart band all day and all night including to bed, due to its flat design, making it the only device to provide 24/7 companionship to users. Price as well as the ergonomic form factor and subtleness of the band will therefore determine if the band, specifically the smart band, will grow beyond a fad to become a solid wearable market in the long run. Just our take.

Author

Executive Editor and Telecoms Strategist at The Fast Mode | 5G | IoT/M2M | Telecom Strategy | Mobile Service Innovations 

Tara Neal heads the strategy & editorial unit at The Fast Mode, focusing on latest technologies such as gigabit broadband, 5G, cloud-native networking, edge computing, virtualization, software-defined networking and network automation as well as broader telco segments such as IoT/M2M, CX, OTT services and network security. Tara holds a First Class Honours in BSc Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics, UK and is a CFA charterholder from the CFA Institute, United States. Tara has over 22 years of experience in technology and business strategy, and has earlier served as project director for technology and economic development projects in various management consulting firms.

Follow Tara Neal on Twitter @taraneal11, LinkedIn @taraneal11, Facebook or email her at tara.neal@thefastmode.com.

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