Reply to post: It's a nasty combination

It's a nasty combination

I suspect the phenomenon is the combination of two effects: Market saturation and Osborne Effect. Everybody who actually wants an Apple Watch either already has one, or is waiting for the next generation before parting with their hard-earned. The rest of the population can't justify spending that much money without a really compelling reason.

The question people are asking themselves before deciding whether or not to buy a smartwatch is, What will I be able to do with it, that I can't do without it? And the number of people who think Look really cool is a satisfactory answer is limited.

The next generation of smartwatches have to offer a reason, not so much why you would be better off with one, but why you would be so much worse off without one.

Biomonitoring is certainly an interesting application for smartwatches, if it can be done non-invasively. Blood glucose level is obvious, but what about hormone level monitoring? Whether it's about trying for a baby or just identifying the few hours a month during which everyone not on HRT enjoys gender-atypical hormone levels. Who wouldn't want to know that? And the ability to monitor levels of endogenous v. exogenous opioids in the bloodstream ought to make addiction recovery as tolerable as possible. (Expect stiff opposition from those running "twelve-step" programmes; a three-week detox during which you can still go to work and after which you don't crave drugs, but can stop anytime if you did fall off the wagon, wouldn't be good for those earning money out of prolonging addicts' suffering.)

Alternatively, the "killer app" could turn out to be a totally frivolous game that requires the use of a watch to play. Spend real money and time accruing points in a stupid computer game and posting my useless achievements on social media might well be the answer to the big question .....