Smartwatches have declined in sales and with the demise of Pebble (Fitbit/Pebble Deal is Confirmed), a supposed decline in Apple Watch sales and key Android Wear partners deciding to back away, Intel believes we are not witnessing the end of the time-telling wearable, according to an interview with Ethan Fosset.
Intel has helped in the development of the first generation of Fossil smartwatches and has confirmed it is set to reunite with Tag Heuer for the Swiss watchmaker’s next luxury smartwatch. Intel has a partnership with New Balance for the RunIQ Android Wear watch and believes that after a few rocky years, there are now clear signs that things are getting better for the smartwatch industry. The partnership with New Balance continues a growing trend of non-tech brands reaching out for the expertise from companies like Intel and it appears that the RunIQ smartwatch is just the start for the sports company.
The two companies have been working together for about two years. New Balance and Intel have a vision around wearable technology and the way it can be embedded into ‘things on the body’ to improve performance for athletes. They believe that when you are running, you do not want a lot of things on you and if you wear a watch you do not want it to be obtrusive, or to weigh a lot. You also do not want to have to carry a phone with you but you certainly need a reliable and accurate heart rate sensor and GPS.
Android Wear is the operating system the companies are talking about as it finally looks as though Google is set to launch version 2.0, arguably the biggest and most important update to its still-evolving smartwatch platform. The companies used a marathon run as a guide post as the bare minimum that was needed in order to have heart rate and GPS running continuously and to be able to have the battery last for roughly five hours
