The ‘wear’ in wearables, stands for wear and tear

casio-WSD-F10

Casio Smart Outdoor Watch – WSD-F10. Source: casio.com

Those who understand that “wear” is a verb, will succeed in wearables

Companies, that are showing early success in wearables, address wear as a verb and make it the guiding principle of the holistic user experience for their products. This is why Apple Watch is getting critical feedback lately about needing to move Apple Watch marketing away from fitness and go all-in on the luxury, style and work/productivity markets. Read Cult of Mac’s article “Fitness apps are ruining the Apple Watch. Apple should scrap them.” for a thoughtful exploration of this argument.

Apple products don’t prioritize ‘wear’ as a verb, because Apple does not embrace a design philosophy that considers ‘wear and tear’. If they did, they’d design mobile and wearable products that survive real-world use vs. requiring a consumer to care for their devices as if they were a newborn baby. (more…)