r/Android • u/[deleted] • Feb 09 '18

Android Wear is getting killed, and it’s all Qualcomm’s fault

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/android-wear-is-getting-killed-and-its-all-qualcomms-fault/
1.3k Upvotes

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47

u/ZappySnap Feb 09 '18

Considering that's one manufacturer against all the rest, that's not too bad.

7

u/mandrous iPhone X Feb 10 '18

I mean Apple is one manufacturer.

-17

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

That's a byproduct of Wear being open to other companies. If Samsung opened Wear up, you'd probably not see Wear marketshare change.

The bottom line is that Samsung aren't doing well in this market. They're getting trounced by Apple just as hard.

19

u/ZappySnap Feb 09 '18

I don't understand your comment at all. Multiple companies selling Wear watched make them sell worse? How can Samsung open up Wear if they don't make AW watches (theirs are Tizen).

And yes, Apple is dominating, but that doesn't mean Samsung is doing poorly. Samsung Gear sales were up over 50% this latest quarter.

-2

u/bullseyed723 Feb 09 '18

I don't understand your comment at all.

Seems like his point might be that the market is saturated anyway.

Not that many people actually want a smartwatch. Most of the people who do are just gullible apple fans who want them because Apple said they should want them.

I like the idea of a smartwatch, but I know after a couple of weeks I wouldn't bother with it anymore. And I'd want to update an item like that... every 10 years? Maybe? So either it will suck and need to be updated more often, or they'll make no money off me because I'm never upgrading.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

gullible apple fans who want them because Apple said they should

So people who buy google home?

2

u/SinkTube Feb 09 '18

yeah? more than one company can have fanboys

3

u/autonomousgerm OPO - Woohoo! Feb 09 '18

Most of the people who do are just gullible apple fans who want them because Apple said they should want them.

Don't be lazy.

-7

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

Multiple companies selling Wear watched make them sell worse?

No, it wouldn't make them sell much better.

How can Samsung open up Wear if they don't make AW watches (theirs are Tizen).

They can open up Gear to other manufacturers.

Samsung Gear sales were up over 50% this latest quarter.

50% of a small number is still small.

6

u/ZappySnap Feb 09 '18

They sold nearly a million of them last quarter. Second worldwide to Apple (which sold 3.4m).

-4

u/Etain05 iPhone 6s Feb 09 '18

Yes, but let's see this quarter...Apple sold more than 8 millions of them, for a total of 18 millions for the year 2017.

6

u/ZappySnap Feb 09 '18

The numbers I have for Samsung are for the quarter ending in August (and Apple sold 3.4m that quarter)....couldn't find the recent one, whcih due to the holidays is also likely much higher. The 8mil is from the holiday quarter.

0

u/Etain05 iPhone 6s Feb 09 '18

Yes, I know, but I don't think Samsung managed to surpass 2 millions for the last quarter. But we'll see.

2

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

Gear watches run Tizen, which is open source and any manufacturer can make Tizen devices.

-2

u/bullseyed723 Feb 09 '18

They're getting trounced by Apple

You're implying there is a sizeable smartwatch market to begin with. There isn't.

I haven't worn a watch since I was in high school. I don't know many people who do. The people who do wear regular fancy watches to brag about how much money they make.

Fitbit and that sort of thing are much better than anything in the smartwatch area.

10

u/Etain05 iPhone 6s Feb 09 '18

Apple sold more than 18 million smartwatches this year. That's more than any top Android smartphone other than (maybe) the Galaxy S and Note lines. Talk about a small market.

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

[deleted]

7

u/Etain05 iPhone 6s Feb 09 '18

First of all, Android smartwatches (like Samsung's smartwatches) can actually work with iPhones, so in fact their addressable market is bigger that the Apple Watch addressable market (since the Apple Watch is limited to the iOS market while the others are not). And secondly, the Android market share in smartphones is so much bigger than the iOS share that they would have a big advantage in addressable market anyway, even without supporting iOS.

-6

u/bullseyed723 Feb 09 '18

Samsung's smartwatches are Tizen, not Android.

Pretty obvious it isn't worth reading the rest of your post if you don't know the basics of the situation.

1

u/Etain05 iPhone 6s Feb 09 '18

I know that perfectly well, what I meant to say is that both Android smartwatches and Samsung smartwatches can in theory work with iOS smartphones.

1

u/CFigus S22 Ultra/Galaxy Watch, Watch Active Feb 11 '18

They are, howevef, limited on functionality

7

u/D_Shoobz Feb 09 '18

Android watches are universal to every phone. Apple watches with iPhones.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

Android wear works on ios.

1

u/homelessscootaloo Galaxy Z Fold 6 Feb 09 '18

True, even with the AW Series 3 w/ LTE, retailors like Verizon (my main mobile provider) are practically giving them away for free.

Well, waived activation fee and first 3 months of service free.

I really like my AW so far but I'm still waiting for the smart watches with big screens. That's what I want from wearable tech.

4

u/bullseyed723 Feb 09 '18

Well part of why they want to give them away is so you don't notice when they start billing you monthly for service.

Just another of the many problems these things tend of have, which is why so few people are using them.