Do you believe smart watches will replace mechanical watches in future?

[Borealis Watch Admin]

In my opinion they won't for some reasons.

• Smart watches are a consumer product and mechanical watches are for watch collectors
• Smart watches tend to get outdated in less than a couple of years while a mechanical watch will work as long as serviced
• Smart watches can not be passed as a heirloom time piece while a mechanical watch can

With this I still think that smart watches will increase market share in future and mechanical watches will be a niche market though not much different from nowadays as mostly only watch collectors or WIS do understand the importance of having a mechanical watch and its intricate appeal.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Millbarge]

You pretty much nailed it.

 

[James_]

Smart watches are about to explode in popularity which makes me sad for some reasons, but I understand why they will be far more popular than mechanical. Mechanical started becoming a niche market as soon as the quartz watches were introduced. With the introduction of cell phones into the public it made mechanical even more of a niche because who needs a watch when you can just look at your phone.
Obviously we here understand the absurdity of this lie, but the real question is do you think smart watches will make mechanicals even more of a niche? Or is there a possibility that with more people wearing smart watches will all watch sales see an increase?
I'm curious because when I have talked to friends about why they don't wear a watch they say "I've just never worn one. Why would I start now?" Could it be that smart watches help usher in a new generation of watch enthusiasts? Or will smart watches just be another piece of technology that people use?

 

[Borealis Watch Admin]

Actually your thoughts are interesting as in fact by wearing a smart watch a very small percentage of those that will use one may actually in the end start appreciating mechanical watches. In the end I think that the ones that will loose more market share will end up being quartz watches as those have no "soul" and will get replaced by either mechanical watches or smart watches.

 

[Chriscentro]

I wonder will smart watches get outdated quickly when new phones models are out every few months and the watches eventually will not be compatible with new phones?

 

[James_]

@Borealis I don't think quartz will take that big of a hit because people only realize quartz has no soul when they start getting deep in the rabbit hole that is watch enthusiasm. At the beginning of WISdom, which is where some people choose to stay forever, the only difference they see between a beautiful mechanical chronograph and a quartz chrono is the serious difference in price tag. It is only when you really begin to understand and have a love for watches that you are able to justify the price difference and buy the more expensive, better option. I think even if many people switch from smart to normal watches, most of them will likely just buy quartz. But I do think more people will end up wearing watches because of this, but I doubt the percentage of people who seriously become interested in watches will increase above what it is now.
@Chriscentro For the type of people that have to have the newest phone all the time they already have plans for that where you can upgrade to a new phone every 6 months or year. I bet they will implement the same plan for smart watches. More money. I also bet the the smart watches will be able to upgrade for a year or two before they become useless to current cell phones.

 

[Borealis Watch Admin]

Hi James,

I didn't explain myself well. What I meant is that quartz watches will be more elastic in that sense as people that currently have a quartz watch will easier start using a smart watch while the ones having a mechanical one are WIS and will be less flexible to switch to a smart watch.

Many that have a quartz have it as it is more precise and more affordable. So moving to a smart watch will be faster for them.

We are already a niche and usually niches tend to be unharmed.

 

[JB Liguori]

Interesting, but it's not a watch for me.

 

[GaryCole]

I agree, I prefer classic watches, smart watches are not for me and I don't believe thaty someday they replace mechanical watches