Motorola is taking a step back from smartwatches, only to come back stronger. According to the company's head of global product development Shakil Barkat, Motorola will not be releasing a new smartwatch anytime soon due to its lack of appeal among consumers.
So if you were rooting for a Moto 360 successor, you're out of luck. But the Lenovo-owned company is not ruling out the possibility of smartwatches in future as Barkat did hint that Motorola will reenter the space when the wearable technology improves.
"We don't see enough pull from the market at this point to put out a new [smartwatch]," Barkat told The Verge. "We believe the wrist still has value and there will be a point where they provide value to consumers more than they do today."
The ailing smartwatch industry has failed to strike an appeal among consumers in a big way. While the global market for smartwatches crashed, the demand for the wearable grew significantly in India. During Q3 2016, the total smartwatch shipments flunked more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year. With this, Motorola's decision to step back seems a wise one.
But the tech giant will be missing out on an important upgrade next year, when Google announces its Android Wear 2.0 platform. With the new software, most OEMs will refresh their smartwatch lineup (except for Apple, which runs its own WatchOS).
For Motorola, the Moto 360, which was released in 2015, remains the flagship model. The company had a good start and was met with a lot of appreciation for embracing a traditional wrist watch design with a circular display, while other companies opted for the square and rectangle look. Slowly, the trend changed and most of the smartwatches these days come with a circular dial, resembling the traditional wrist watch design (who would want to wear a small smartphone on the wrist anyway).
The future of smartwatches in 2017 remains a mystery and we'll know how it would shape up when the first quarter results arrive.
