Mobovi TicWatches no more?
Mobovi looks to be dropping out of the smartwatch category. The company has not launched any new variants in the past 14 months the its website no longer features the TicWatches. While it was a small blip in the US smartwatch category, the apparent demise of the TicWatch is another example of the weakening Wear OS category. Fossil and Tag Heuer recently switched platforms and, at least in the US, Wear OS is now only supported by Google itself (Pixel Watch), Samsung’s range of smartwatches and OnePlus.
The Circana Take:
- The smartwatch category began with a flurry of vendors, all hoping to make their mark in the new category – or, in the case of Tag Heuer, Mont Blanc and others – to protect their existing luxury watch business by offering a high-end alternative to their customers. But just as with the smartphone business, which is dominated by a small number of vendors, the smartwatch market has proved to be far more challenging to make an impact in.
- Less competition at the low-end of the market could be good news for OnePlus and this could – potentially – mean a chance of redemption for the company in the carrier line up for both its watches and the associated smartphones. But notably, OnePlus’s upcoming OnePlus Watch Lite will also not use Google’s Wear OS, suggesting another blow for the operating system.
Take me (out of) the ball game
E. Gluck Corporation, the maker of Armitron watches, has filed for Chapter 11. The company, which has touted itself as the “official timekeeper” of the New York Yankees (with an Armitron clock above the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium) is placing most of the blame on its failed entry into the smartwatch business. In 2021, E, Gluck acquired WITHit, a company specializing in wearable tech and smartwatches, as it saw its consumers looking to move away from traditional watches, instead buying smartwatches. But the move backfired: according to the company’s CFO, Adam Gelnick, the deal “did not deliver the benefits that management anticipated” and the market proved to be “more fragmented, competitive and difficult to scale than projected.”
The Circana Take:
- The smartwatch market has proved to be a tough space for companies than do not also sell smartphones. Consumers typically look for a synergy between these two devices to ensure that there is clear compatibility, not to mention the tech brand recognition that assures customers it will be a good product.
- There are obvious exceptions to this, such as Amazfit, which is doing well and of course, Garmin. Both of these companies have a strong niche with sports-focused consumers.
- The macro-economic market is also obviously not helping. Consumers are focusing on “must purchase” products rather than nice-to-haves… and for the majority of consumers – particularly those that have not yet bought into the category – the smartwatch is, at best, a nice-to-have.