Counter-argument: There WILL be a future for smart watches

A few weeks ago, we published a great piece about smart watches and the passing fad they may ignite. This article points out that you’re essentially paying upwards of $150 to avoid having to remove your phone from your pocket, and that smart watches are just a stopgap before the next big thing comes out (Google Glasses, in this case).

Both of these arguments are valid and I completely agree, but these are also reasons why smart watches will have a future for consumers.

Smart watches keep your phone safe in your pocket

I recently bought a watch just because it was easier looking at my wrist instead of having to fish out my phone from my pocket to see the time; for this reason, having a watch lowers the risk of dropping your phone. I would know because that’s exactly what happened to me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see what time it was and before I knew it, my phone was on the ground. I ended up not having a good enough grip on it when I took it out of my pocket. You might say I just have clumsy hands, but this kind of thing simply happens to the best of us.

So, really, getting a smart watch (or any kind of watch for that matter) just to save you from having to fish out your phone from your pocket is a really nice convenience that could also save your phone from destruction.

Expensive, but it’s not just a simple watch

As far as the price of smart watches, $100 for the Pebble smart watch isn’t that bad of a price for the technology you’re getting. A lot of people spend much more on less sophisticated designer watches, so spending a hundred dollars on a watch that has Bluetooth, a digital display and can do more than just tell the time is quite impressive.

The next big thing isn’t here yet

As far as smart watches being a stopgap, that may be true, but who really knows when Google Glasses will be available to the public? (Google co-founder Sergey Brin says Google Glasses may possibly be releasing next year). When they eventually do hit the market, will they even be marked at a price that a majority of the public can even afford? And even if they were affordable, how long would it take for Google Glasses to be in style and be a normal part of life? A couple of years? Maybe even longer?

Conclusion

Overall, it’s hard to tell at this point what the fate of smart watches will be in the future; it’s still too new of a technology to really analyze and figure out. Smart watches might be here to stay for a long time or they really could just be a stopgap. In any case, I wouldn’t write them off just yet.

For me, smart watches are devices that I could see myself really getting into and I’m sure I’m not the only one.