A smartwatch is a wearable computer that resembles a wristwatch. Most modern smartwatches are operated via a touchscreen, and rely on mobile apps that run on a connected device (such as a smartphone) in order to provide core functions.
Early smartwatches were capable of performing basic functions like calculating, displaying digital time, translating text, and playing games. More recent models often offer features comparable to smartphones, including apps, a mobile operating system, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and the ability to function as portable media players or FM radios. Some high-end models have cellular capabilities, allowing users to make and receive phone calls.
While internal hardware varies, most smartwatches have a backlit liquid-crystal display (LCD) or OLED display and are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. They may also incorporate GPS receivers, digital cameras, and microSD card readers, as well as various internal and environmental sensors such as thermometers, accelerometers, altimeters, barometers, gyroscopes, and ambient light sensors. Some smartwatches also function as activity trackers and include body sensors such as pedometers, heart rate monitors, galvanic skin response sensors, and ECG sensors. Software may include maps, health and exercise-related apps, calendars, and various watch faces.
History
Early years The first digital watch was the Pulsar, introduced by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1972. The "Pulsar" became a brand name, and would later be acquired by Seiko in 1978. In 1982, a Pulsar watch (NL C01) was released which could store 24 digits, likely making it the first watch with user-programmable memory, or the first "memorybank" watch.
With the introduction of personal computers in the 1980s, Seiko began to develop computers in the form of watches. The Data 2000 watch, named for its ability to store 2000 characters, came with an external keyboard for data entry. Data was synchronised from the keyboard to the watch via electromagnetic coupling (wireless docking). Its memory was small, at only 112 digits. It was released in 1984, in gold, silver, and black.
These models were followed by many others from Seiko during the 1980s, most notably the "RC Series". The RC-1000 Wrist Terminal from Seiko Epson was released in 1984; it was the first Seiko model to interface with a computer and was priced at around £100. It featured 2 KB of storage, a two-line, 12-character display, and data transfer with a computer via an RS232C interface. It was powered by a computer on a chip, and was compatible with most of the popular PCs of that time, including Apple II, II+ and IIe, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, IBM PC, NEC 8201, Tandy Color Computer, Model 1000, 1200, 2000 and TRS-80 Model I, III, 4 and 4p. The RC-20 Wrist Computer was released in 1985, followed by the RC-4000 and RC-4500.
During the 1980s, Casio began to market a successful line of "computer watches" in addition to its calculator watches, most notably the Casio data bank series. Casio and other companies also produced novelty "game watches", such as the Nelsonic game watches.
Although pager watches were predicted in the early 1980s, it took until the end of the decade for them to become more common. Two models were particularly notable: Motorola and Timex produced the Wrist Watch Pager, while AT&T Corporation and Seiko produced the MessageWatch.
1990s The Timex Datalink, introduced in 1994, was the first watch capable of transferring data wirelessly from a computer. Appointments and contacts created with Microsoft Schedule Plus (the predecessor to MS Outlook) could be downloaded to the watch via patterns of visible light, which were displayed by a computer monitor and then detected by the watch's optical sensor.
In 1998, Steve Mann designed and built the world's first Linux wristwatch. He presented it at the IEEE ISSCC on 7 February 2000, where he was dubbed "the father of wearable computing". The watch later appeared on the cover of Linux Journal in July 2000, in which it was the topic of a featured article. + Cover
Seiko launched the Ruputer in 1998 in Japan, a wristwatch computer with a 3.6 MHz processor. The Ruputer failed to achieve wide success due to its small, hard-to-read screen, cumbersome joystick method of navigation and text input, and poor battery life. Outside of Japan, this watch was distributed as the Matsucom onHand PC. Despite low demand, it was distributed until 2006, making it a smartwatch with a long life cycle. Ruputer and onHand PC applications are fully compatible with each other. This watch is sometimes considered the first smartwatch, as it was the first to display graphics (albeit in monochrome), and third-party applications (mostly homebrew).
In 1999, Samsung launched the world's first watch phone, the SPH-WP10. It had a protruding antenna, monochrome LCD screen, and 90-minute talk time with an integrated speaker and microphone.
2000s
In June 2000, IBM displayed a prototype for the WatchPad, a wristwatch that ran Linux. The original version had only 6 hours of battery life, which was later extended to 12. It featured 8 MB of memory and ran Linux 2.2. The device was later upgraded with an accelerometer, vibrating mechanism, and fingerprint sensor. IBM began to collaborate with Citizen Watch Co. to create the "WatchPad". The WatchPad 1.5 features a 320 × 240 QVGA monochrome touch sensitive display and runs Linux 2.4. It also features calendar software, Bluetooth, 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory. Citizen was hoping to market the watch to students and businessmen, with a retail price of around $399. Epson Seiko introduced their Chrono-bit wristwatch in September 2000. The Chrono-bit watches have a rotating bezel for data input, synchronize PIM data via a serial cable, and can load custom watch faces.
In 2003, Fossil released the Wrist PDA, a watch that ran the Palm OS and contained 8 MB of RAM and 4 MB of flash memory. It contained a built in stylus to assist in using the tiny monochrome display, which had a resolution of 160×160 pixels. Although many reviewers declared the watch revolutionary, it was criticized for its weight (108 grams) and was discontinued in 2005.
In the same year, Microsoft announced its SPOT smartwatch, which it released in early 2004. SPOT stands for Smart Personal Objects Technology, an initiative by Microsoft to personalize household electronics and other everyday gadgets. For instance, the company demonstrated coffee makers, weather stations, and alarm clocks featuring built-in SPOT technology. The device was a standalone smartwatch that offered information at a glance, in comparison to other devices that required more immersion and interaction. The information included weather, news, stock prices, and sports scores, and was transmitted through FM waves. It was accessible through a yearly subscription that cost between $39 and $59.
The Microsoft SPOT Watch had a monochrome 90×126 pixel screen. Fossil, Suunto, and Tissot also sold smartwatches using SPOT technology. For instance, Fossil's Abacus, which was a variant of the Fossil Wrist PDA, retailed from $130 to $150.
Sony Ericsson teamed up with Fossil and released the first watch, MBW-100, that connected to Bluetooth. This watch notified the user when receiving calls and text messages. The watch struggled to gain popularity, however, due to its exclusivity to Sony Ericsson phones.
In 2009, Hermen van den Burg, CEO of Smartwatch and Burg Wearables, launched Burg, the first smartphone watch with its own SIM card. The watch was "standalone", meaning it did not require tethering to a smartphone. Burg received the award for the Most Innovative Product at the Canton Fair in April 2009. Samsung also launched their S9110 Watch Phone, which featured a color LCD and was thick.
2010s
Sony Ericsson launched the Sony Ericsson LiveView, a wearable watch device which was essentially an external Bluetooth display for an Android smartphone.
Vyzin Electronics Private Limited launched a ZigBee enabled smart watch called VESAG, which featured cellular connectivity for remote health monitoring.
Motorola released MOTOACTV on 6 November 2011.Casey Johnston, Ars Technica. "Hands-on with the Motorola Droid Razr and the "Motoactv"." 18 October 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
Pebble is a smartwatch that was funded via Kickstarter, which set a fundraising record for the site, raising $10.3 million between 12 April and 18 May 2012. The watch has a 144 × 168 pixel black and white memory LCD, using an ultra low-power "transflective LCD" manufactured by Sharp. It features a backlight, vibrating motor, magnetometer, ambient light sensors, and three-axis accelerometer.Pebble Smartwatch | iPhone & Android Smartwatch . Getpebble.com. Retrieved on 14 January 2014. It can communicate with an Android or iOS device using both Bluetooth 2.1 and Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy) via Stonestreet One's Bluetopia+MFi software stack. Bluetooth 4.0 support was not initially enabled, but a firmware update in November 2013 enabled it. The watch is charged using a modified USB-cable that attaches magnetically to the watch, allowing it to maintain water resistance. The battery was reported in April 2012 to last seven days. Based on feedback from Kickstarter backers, the developers added water resistance to the device's feature set. The Pebble has a waterproof rating of 5 atm, which means it can be submerged down to and has been tested in both fresh and salt water, allowing one to shower, dive or swim while wearing the watch.
In 2013, startup Omate announced its TrueSmart watch via a Kickstarter campaign, claiming it was the first smartwatch to capture the full capabilities of a smartphone. The campaign raised over $1 million, making it the 5th most successful Kickstarter at that time. The device made its public debut in early 2014. Consumer device analyst Avi Greengart, from research firm Current Analysis, suggested that 2013 may be the "year of the smartwatch", as "the components have gotten small enough and cheap enough" and many consumers own smartphones that are compatible with a wearable device. Wearable technology, such as Google Glass, was speculated to evolve into a business worth US$6 billion annually, and a July 2013 media report revealed that the majority of major consumer electronics manufacturers were undertaking work on a smartwatch device at the time of publication. The retail price of a smartwatch could be over US$300, plus data charges, while the minimum cost of smartphone-linked devices may be US$100.
As of July 2013, the list of companies that were engaged in smartwatch development activities consisted of Acer, Apple, BlackBerry, Foxconn/Hon Hai, Google, LG, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, VESAG and Toshiba. Some notable omissions from this list include HP, HTC, Lenovo, and Nokia. Science and technology journalist Christopher Mims identified the following points in relation to the future of smartwatches:
Insufficient battery life is an ongoing problem for smartwatch developers, as the battery life of devices at the time of publication was three to four days, and this is likely to be reduced if further functions are added. New display technologies will be invented as a result of smartwatch research. The market success of smartwatches is unpredictable, as they may follow a similar trajectory to netbooks, or they may fulfil aims akin to those of Google Glass, another wearable electronic product.
Acer's S.T. Liew stated in an interview with gadget website Pocket-Lint that he believed that companies should be researching wearable technology, and that it could grown to "billions of dollars' worth of industry".