CES 2015: Smartwatch market is on standby waiting for the Apple Watch

THE world’s largest tech show is featuring new cars, phones, and even a battle over fancy new washing machines. But there’s one product companies are too afraid to touch.

ANALYSIS. WALKING around the huge show floors at the Consumer Electronics Show you see battles everywhere. Between TV manufacturers, smartphone manufacturers, car manufacturers and even companies pushing their washing machines. Yes, there is a washing machine war happening at a tech expo. But this year, there are no smartwatch battles, and that’s because of one thing.

Apple Watch.

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Before September last year, every electronics manufacturer, every fashion label wanted to get their own smartwatch on the market. They couldn’t roll them out fast enough, Samsung announced three watches at Mobile World Congress in March and released a new one a few only months later. LG, who were pioneers in the technology with the original G Watch, watched the reception of other watches, including the Motorola 360, so quickly released the circular G Watch R.

LG were showing their G Watch R during the 2015 CES — one of the few companies featuring a smart watch. Picture: David Becker / Getty

Many people thought CES 2015 was going to be full of smartwatches in every booth, both big and small. It made sense. The Consumer Electronics Show is a conference full of early adopters, the watches are easy to make, and if you had a killer feature it immediately would have the attention of the world’s biggest tech press.

But alas, no real smartwatches. Not from the big guys, the middle sized guys or the ones building out of their garage. Sure, we saw Audi use a new LG watch to bring a car out on stage, but that’s all it was for.

The Apple Watch has the whole industry on standby. Maybe it’s because they want to see if there are any tricks up the company’s sleeve at release, or how the market reacts to the way you interact with the watch. But really, the industry is just banking on Apple to fix its image problem, to make the smartwatch cool and must have.

Samsung released their Gear S smartwatch last year.

Before Apple released the iPad in 2010, tablets were in a similar situation. They existed, companies were making them, but consumers didn’t know what to use them for and didn’t buy them. The iPad and Apple then came along and changed all of that. Now in 2015, the entire industry is hoping that Apple can do what it does best.

Convincing people that their idea is right. That this new type of product they have is something people need.

Apple has never attended the CES, and is known to try and steal thunder from its competitors by leaking information or announcing events at the same time. But maybe this year’s thunder stealing action happened back in September.

Originally published as CES 2015: Smartwatch market is on standby waiting for the Apple Watch