China's wearable device shipments drops

  According to IDC's Quarterly Tracker Report on China's Wearable Device Market, Q1 2022, China's wearable device market shipments in the first quarter of 2022 were 25.84 million units, down 7.5% year-on-year. Among them, the headset market will ship 15.96 million units in the first quarter of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Among them, only true wireless earphones maintained a year-on-year growth of 3.2%, but due to the overdraft of demand in the promotional season at the end of last year, limited product function upgrades and the epidemic in some regions, the market growth rate slowed down significantly.

The watch market shipped 7.16 million units in the first quarter of 2022, down 15.3% year-on-year. Among them, 3.86 million units of adult watches were shipped, down 1.7% year-on-year; 3.3 million units of children’s watches were shipped, down 27.2% year-on-year. In this quarter, the watch market focused on optimizing channel inventory to prepare for the "618" promotion this quarter. At the same time, the restrictions on outdoor activities and the impact of the epidemic on consumer sentiment have caused a decline in shipments in the first quarter to a certain extent.

The wristband market shipped 2.63 million units in the first quarter of 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 33.6%. The wristband market is affected by the competition of product forms, the epidemic situation at home and the upcoming launch of new products, and the continuous downward trend is obvious.

How to compete with Apple Watch?

 The mid-to-low-end demand is squeezed by smart wearable devices, and the Swiss watch industry has shifted its focus to high-end products.

According to data from the Swiss Watch Industry Federation, the Swiss watch industry will achieve its best record in 2021, with revenue reaching 21.2 billion Swiss francs (about 21.5 billion US dollars), an increase of about one-third year-on-year. Sales in the U.S. market rose 28 percent.

Meanwhile, sales are falling. Swiss watchmakers sold 15.7 million watches last year, half of what they were a decade ago. The association said the decline in sales was mainly due to the direct competition between budget watches and smartwatches made by Apple.

An overall boom in luxury goods has fueled a recovery in demand for high-end watches as the pandemic subsides.

As for smart wearables on the rise, the association said that while some analysts predict that classic mechanical watches will soon be "swept out" by smartwatches, demand for higher-priced models shows that consumers' interest in traditional watches is enduring. decline.

Georges Kern, chief executive of Breitling SA, believes that an expensive watch is more like a collectible jewelry, and the traditional low functionality is not a hindrance, but the core of its appeal:

"People want to balance the overkill of the digital age."

What If Smart Watches Have Payment and Internet Access?

Experts once predicted that the future trend of the mobile phone market is either getting bigger or smaller, and now even smart watches have added the payment function. Does it mean that in the future, people only need to have smart watches, and they don't need to carry them at all? Mobile phone out?

In the short term, this phenomenon is impossible to happen. Mobile phones have indeed greatly helped human life, but not only for payment, but also for online entertainment and other functions.

More and more consumers are pursuing large-screen mobile phones to meet their entertainment needs, such as watching videos or playing games, which cannot be done with a watch unless the watch is equipped with a projection function.

However, smart watches can be used for children with smart watches with call and payment functions, as well as positioning, which can ensure the safety of children. It is still relatively easy to use. Some adults also buy smart watches to calculate their own movement. time, do some auxiliary functions, these functions are not bad.

Huawei Released New SmartWatch -Cheaper Than Apple But Similar Experience

In the smart watch industry, Apple Watch has always been the benchmark of the industry, and countless watch manufacturers have taken it as their goal. Many consumers who love Apple Watch falter at the high prices.

Fortunately, Huawei also launched its new smartwatch. It is really much cheaper than Apple.In terms of experience, the two smartwatches are not much different. If you want a smartwatch, you might as well try Huawei Watch GT3 (I'm not paid!).

Design

There are two sizes to choose from, the 42mm version and the 46mm version. The 46mm version uses an innovative bow-shaped design that surrounds the lugs, with a 1.43-inch AMOLED high-definition color screen, and the case is made of stainless steel, making the overall wear very nice. The 42mm adopts 3D curved glass and a 1.32-inch dial, which is small and exquisite, and the wearing experience is very good.

In terms of dials, the very popular Astronaut dial a while ago is from Huawei watches. In addition, you can use thousands of styles such as sports, simplicity, and mechanics that it provides. Change a dial every day to change a mood, it is really a happy day with it.

The surprise is that this time its crown also supports rotation. You can use the crown to select apps and go directly to apps like Apple Watch. And with the high refresh rate of the screen, you can feel a different silky smoothness. 

Health

The health monitoring of the smart watches has always been a feature that users pay more attention to. After all, too many people want to have an understanding of their health through watches, which will help them to adjust their schedules and embrace. A good physical condition.

Huawei Watch GT3 supports functions such as heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, altitude blood oxygen monitoring, and apnea warning. Smart watches are determined to serve people's health, and they hope that everyone will use this to get better health.

Sports

Sports is naturally a topic that smart watches cannot do without. Almost all smart watches have a variety of sports modes. This time, Huawei Watch GT3 can accurately monitor your movement route with the help of dual-frequency five satellite systems, and it has a moon phase display to help you understand the changes in tides, and it also has an altitude barometer, which can monitor the current air pressure at the same time. It can effectively remind you of bad weather and provide a great degree of protection for your outdoor adventure.

Battery life 

The battery life of smart watches has always been a point that many people are more concerned about. This time Huawei Watch GT3 can be said to crush Apple in terms of battery life, because it can have an ultra-long battery life of 14 days in a typical use scenario. Of course, this is 46mm performance. But even 42mm has a long battery life of 7 days, which is simply an unattainable peak for the Apple Watch.

WristMac - First Ever Apple Smart Watch May Be Sold at $50,000

A WristMac (the old predecessor of Apple's smartwatch) that went on sale in 1988 but has never been worn, will be publicly auctioned in the near future, with an estimated price of between 25,000 and 50,000 US dollars.

It is reported that this antique smart watch is manufactured by Seiko and can be connected to Mac using AppleTalk. Now, the online auction house ComicConnect.com is about to auction an original unused WristMac, which will accept bids from November 22 to December 18. The bid on the website starts at $1.

Stephen Fishler, CEO and co-founder of ComicConnect, said: "This is an amazing discovery. It is one of the earliest examples of wearable computing technology. And it has been very popular since its inception. It's hard to find one." It is reported that this WristMac was sold for less than $50 in the closed auction of the Mac warehouse in Connecticut. What is even more rare is that it has not been opened.

According to reports, in 1991, Apple’s first laptop, Macintosh Portable, used to send e-mails was installed on the Atlantis, but similarly, every astronaut would wear WristMac, which is similar to the current Apple Watch.

Repairer Pawned Customers' Watches for Online Gambling

Addicted to online gambling, a watch repairer from a luxury care company in Hangzhou, pawned a number of famous watches of customers, and the money was used for online gambling. The most expensive watch he pawned is worth about USD 120,000. According to information from the Hangzhou Binjiang Public Security Bureau, the suspect Yue has been detained in accordance with the law by the police, and the case is being further processed.

Yue is a watch repairer in a luxury care company in Hangzhou. With superb craftsmanship, his monthly basic salary is as high as 2,400 yuan, plus allowance and commission. However, such a young man who was supposed to have a prosperous life is contaminated with the bad habit of online gambling.  Not only did he fail to save any money, but also fell deep in gambling debts. In desperation, Yue had a bad idea.

In October of this year, Yue took advantage of his position to take an "Omega" watch worth about USD 6,200 yuan that was being repaired by the company to a pawn shop to mortgage for USD 3,600, and continue to use the proceeds for online gambling. Online gambling is a bottomless pit, but Yue was addicted to it and couldn't help himself. He quickly lost the mortgage money.

It was the first time that he smuggled a watch out of the company without being detected. He became more and more encouraged, and he successively took out Jaeger-LeCoultre, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and other expensive watches from the company to continue to mortgage for his online gambling funds. But unfortunately, as more and more watches are mortgaged, he didn't make any money back.

In November, when a customer came to the company to get a repaired watch, the company director inquired Yue about the situation. Yue used various excuses to prevaricate and delay in every possible way. Later, he simply stopped answering and responding to the supervisor's calls and messages.

Contacting Yue several times to no avail, the company director chose to call the police for help. According to statistics from the company's director, the total number of stolen watches is about USD 226,000! The most expensive is a Patek Philippe watches, whose market price is up to USD 117,000!

When the policemen in charge of this case, Tang Huan, contacted Yue to find out about the situation, Yue could no longer conceal what had happened. He finally chose to surrender to the police on November 16. Yue said that he wanted to get rid of the debt-laden predicament as soon as possible this way, and to turn losses into profits. But when he found that this didn't work out at all, he was stuck in it and couldn't help himself. Up to USD 80,000 of illegal proceeds were all invested in the bottomless pit of online gambling, which he deeply regrets.

What Is An Automatic Watch?

What Is An Automatic Watch?

An automatic watch, also known as self-winding watch, is a mechanical watch in which there is no quartz battery but instead a mainspring that is wound automatically as a result of the natural motion of the wearer. Unlike a manual watch, which must have its mainspring wound by hand at regular intervals, automatic watches can get enough energy to power themselves simply through being worn enough long. 

What Is Automatic Watch Movement?

Automatic watch movement is the mechanical component inside the watch that power the watch (so the watch hands can
move).

A normal mechanical watch has a spiral (mainspring). When wound, the metal spiral is ​​tightened. Then as it loosens, it starts to drive the movement of the watch. After the tension is fully released, you need to wind the watch again (to tighten the spring again). But you don't have keep winding an automatic moment. It does this by using an off-center weighted rotor which spins as you move throughout the day. As it turns, it activates a ratchet system which keeps the watch wound.

Newly bought automatic watches are usually in a stopped state. So buyers need to wind them the first time they wear them. Then as long as you wear enough time every day, the automatic rotor will replenish enough energy to the timepiece.

Generally, an automatic watch should be worn for more than 8 hours a day to give it enough energy. It is recommended to wear the watch on holidays as well. In the wearer does not wear enough long or not have enough movement to power it, he can wind it manually.  But it's recommended that automatic watches be manually wound as little as possible, because frequent manual winding will compromise the fine movement parts. 

China's Wearable Devices Shipments Reached 63.43M Units First Half 2021

Wear smart watches on the wrists, smart glasses over the the nose, and wireless earphones hanging around the ears... In recent years, the smart wearable industry has developed rapidly, and wearable devices such as smart watches and earphones are favored by more and more people. Experts said that with the further development of 5G, AI, cloud computing and other technologies, the smart wearable device market will usher in more development opportunities.

The new fashion of smart wear

In previous movies, wearable devices such as smart watches and glasses were often used as a symbol of science fiction, bringing the audience into the "future world". However, with the advancement of science and technology and the development of the Internet of Things technology, smart wearable devices such as watches that can monitor human body data and glasses that can play music have now become ordinary consumer goods. The once "light of science fiction" has entered reality. Smart devices have become a new technology trend.

The so-called smart wearable device is the general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed for daily wear. Related equipment can collect a variety of human body data, provide visual, tactile, auditory, health monitoring and other interactive experiences. It can also be used as an extension of mobile phone habits and provide functions such as message notification, listening to music, and making phone calls. At the same time, smart wearable devices also have the characteristics of high integration, small size, and strong practicability, making them more popular in the consumer market.

Some experts said that under the general trend of wearable devices' continuous update and iteration and decentralization of new functions, China's wearable device market is maintaining rapid development, with shipments increasing year by year. The data shows that domestic wearable device shipments have increased from 38.76 million units in 2016 to 107 million units in 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of close to 30%. In the first half of 2021, China's wearable device shipments reached 63.43 million units, an increase of 43.51% over the same period last year.

Good partner for Sports and health 

As a "veteran" product among many smart wearable devices, smart watches are relatively mature in terms of popularity, application adaptation, and complete functions, and their practicality in sports and health monitoring is favored by consumers.

"For smartwatches, doing sports and health-related functions well is just like the time of traditional watches. It is a hard standard." Li Yan is a technology "enthusiast" with more than 10 smart watches. From a pure digital enthusiast to a software developer, he has been dealing with smart wearable devices for nearly 7 years.

Li Yan told reporters that from just monitoring walking and running to being suitable for swimming, cycling, boating and other sports, after several generations of product changes, smart watches have more complete functions in sports monitoring and reminding. "Users only need to set the exercise items and goals, and the watch will automatically calculate the exercise time and the corresponding calories burned. The more times you use and the longer the wearing time, the more accurate the relevant data."

In addition, some smart watches also have a sports incentive mechanism, such as achieving a goal to get corresponding medals or limited edition theme rewards. Some merchants that are the main sports selling point will also give certain price discounts based on the completion of sports goals when users change their watches to encourage users to exercise scientifically.

In terms of health monitoring, most smart watches have achieved more accurate all-weather data monitoring and recording. Through multiple integrated sensors, smart watches can collect information such as heart rate, blood oxygen, cadence, etc., and through long-term data accumulation and trend trends, analyze and promptly remind users of possible heart disease, exercise defects and other health problems.

"We are testing a sleep monitoring software applied to smart watches, which can help users better understand their sleep conditions and further improve their sleep quality." Li Yan said, with the continuous enrichment of software applications, smart watches can become more A good partner for people's sports and health.

Breakthrough and innovation to promote development

Wake up in the morning, the curtains are slowly opened, the coffee machine in the kitchen automatically starts to brew; when you go to the garage, the mobile phone map software has planned the travel route and projected it on the car screen... With the development of the Internet of Things technology, everything is connected. The concept of smart wearable devices is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the application scenarios of smart wearable devices in daily life are also expanding, becoming an important entrance and application terminal for people to integrate into smart life.

"In the past, the starting point of a set of automated processes required the user to actively trigger it. With the support of smart wearable devices and IoT technology, users can complete it through'thoughts'." Li Yan introduced, through sensing the user's sleep and motion Through comprehensive analysis of, location and time, smart watches, bracelets, etc. can accurately determine whether the user has gotten up, and then rely on the Internet of Things to issue instructions to a series of devices at home to achieve non-sense operation.

 In addition to the optimization and innovation of user experience and functions, smart wearable devices are also constantly exploring new territories in product types. Not long ago, smart running shoes implanted with motion sensors and chips were officially on sale. In long-distance running, smart running shoes can perform more accurate distance and speed monitoring. It is reported that long-term use with smart watches or bracelets can provide users with more professional data and analysis reports such as cadence analysis, running posture, and athletic potential. It has greater application development in self-health management, athlete training and selection scenarios. space.

Limited by many factors such as technology, price, usage habits, etc., among all wearable products, smart watches, bracelets and earphones currently occupy most of the market share, while the market scale of other types of products is relatively small. In this regard, some people in the industry said that relevant companies should continue to explore the rich functions of existing smart wearable devices, while relying on 5G, big data, Internet of Things, etc. to continuously break through and innovate, broaden the "track", and promote smart clothing and assisted medical devices. The research and development of other smart wearable devices has created more opportunities and greater space for the development of the smart wearable industry.

(Source: http://paper.people.com.cn)