HTC smartwatch plans allegedly put on hold
Industry insiders have suggested HTC has abandoned its plans to launch a smartwatch
HTC has apparently abandoned its plans to launch its own smartwatch, following poor critical reception for the Qualcomm-built design the company was planning to adapt for its own wearable.
According to Pocket Lint, “sources familiar with the matter” have said that HTC has abandoned its wearable plans for the time being, and will instead wait until there’s more demand for wearable technology, rather than push ahead with a device that would have been lost in a sea of Android Wear devices.
With HTC having returned to Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system for a Windows edition of the excellent One (M8), it would need a wearable that could work with both Android and Windows Phone. Based on word from industry insiders, that was supposed to be Qualcomm’s Toq.
The Toq smartwatch was introduced as a proof of concept earlier this year, in order to let developers get to grips with the company’s Mirasol colour eInk display technology. However, the large, square shaped display, mediocre battery life and limited third party support haven’t exactly been well received – especially now that Google’s Android Wear smartwatch operating system has arrived.
With the competition already heating up, thanks to LG, Samsung and Motorola’s Moto 360, HTC would have needed something special in order to stand out. We also saw the LG G Watch R, Asus ZenWatch and Samsung Gear S last week at IFA, which all have standout features, so a basic HTC smartwatch would have likely fallen by the wayside.
With Apple rumoured to be revealing the iWatch at its iPhone 6 launch event tomorrow, it might have been a wise decision to postpone development until it’s clear exactly what customers want from their wearables.