Google leapt back into the smartwatch market this week with its first significant update to Android Wear in three years. Yet the launch of the new operating system, and accompanying watches from LG and Verizon comes at a moment of crisis for the wearable technology industry.
Once tipped as the next big tech market after smartphones, wearables pioneers such as Fitbit and Jawbone are struggling and laying off staff, while others, including Motorola and Pebble, have abandoned the market.
Last week, Apple hailed record sales of its Watch, widely seen as the market leader, in the holiday quarter after revenues for the device declined earlier in the year. “We couldn’t be more excited about Apple Watch,” chief executive Tim Cook said, hailing the “huge potential for wearables going forward”.