Amazfit X Concept Coming to Indiegogo
According to rumors, the Amazfit X smartwatch concept will be launching on Indiegogo in early April. The device has a curved AMOLED screen, with a touch-sensitive panel on one side for control rather than physical buttons. The curved screen means that the overall screen size can be bigger than the average smartwatch, curving around the wearer’s arm somewhat. The specs are still fairly unknown (no word on heart rate, GPS, ECG and so on yet) but the big news here is that the company is designing something that looks to stand out from the mass of Apple Watch clones. And with an all-metal finish, it promises to have a premium look and feel to it.
The NPD Take:
- First off, we to realize that an Indiegogo launch is by no means a guarantee of a launch product, but we’ll be able to track consumer interest in the product easily (and we’ll keep you posted).
- Having said that, it’s encouraging to see new design styles emerging in the smartwatch arena as companies look to differentiate, rather than simply creating “me-too” clones at a lower price point.
Huawei Watch Coming Soon
Huawei is expected to launch its latest smartwatch, the Watch GT2e, at the end of the month. The original plan was for a launch event in Paris and it’s pretty safe to say that the event won’t be taking place, but that shouldn’t’ stop a more virtual launch. If rumors are to be believed the new “e” version – and upgraded version of the current GT2 – will have a sleeker design, with more subtle buttons than the previous model. There’s no word as to whether the new version comes with a cellular option, which could be a blessing: a cellular version will almost certainly not reach US shores anyway.
The NPD Take:
- Huawei really doesn’t have a presence in the US market anymore. What started off as pushback against its cellular devices quickly scaled up to be a widespread embargo of Huawei products overall. As such, the device is unlikely to make an impact in the US with very limited retail distribution.
Fitbit Charging 4wards?
It’s clearly the week for wearable rumors. The last one we’ll mention this week is the possible launch of a Fitbit Charge 4 with the possibility that it will include GPS. The previous Charge 3 launched in mid-2018 so a refresh is clearly overdue.
The NPD Take:
- Yes, the activity market is starting to decline as more consumers migrate to smartwatches (including those from Fitbit). But having said that, 18 percent of the US adult population still own an activity tracker and Fitbit is the dominant brand. As such, a new tracker launch makes perfect sense to keep the brand strong, and hopefully later migrate these tracker users to a Fitbit smartwatch.
- Of course it has to come with GPS. While still far from a guaranteed addition, Fitbit needs to add this key feature to slowly narrow the gap between smartwatch functionality and that of activity trackers. In addition, without new features, Fitbit will face increasing price pressures in the activity tracker market.