Wearable Computing Editor: Bernt Schiele n MPI Informatics n [email protected]

Smartwatch Innovation: Exploring a Watch-First Model Kent Lyons, Technicolor Research

n recent years, there has been a by the user’s mobile phone. But are A Sustaining Innovation I lot of commercial activity related these devices really about making for a Smartphone to —but this is not the phone notifications better, or are there One view of smartwatches is as improv- first time we’ve seen smartwatches. In other opportunities? What user-cen- ing the mobile phone experience: a sus- 2002, Microsoft announced the Smart tered need might a fulfill? taining innovation in the context of Personal Object Technology (SPOT) smartphones. As noted, many smart- watches, which became available in Disruptive Innovation watches depend on a mobile phone for 2004. Around that same time, Fossil Theory operation—examples include the Apple released its Fossil Wrist PDA, which ran One approach for analyzing smart- Watch, Android Wear watches, and the Palm OS. These early devices did watches and their possible positioning watches. Although some smart- not see widespread success, and all were is to use Clayton Christensen’s theory watches are gaining independence from pulled from the market. So although of disruptive innovation.1 Christensen the phone (with direct Wi-Fi connec- I’m pleased with the current activity, articulated several types of innovation tions instead of being tethered with as a wearable computing researcher, I and disruption. Bluetooth), the applications and over- also know it’s important to examine First, there are sustaining innovations, all experience is still closely tied to the contemporary smartwatches to ensure which aim to improve existing products mobile phone experience. they address real user needs. This will or services. This typically happens by An obvious example of how smart- be essential for long-term success. making small, incremental improve- watches target improving the phone Certainly, the technology ecosystem ments in an iterative fashion. Occasion- experience is the role of notifications. of today differs from that of the early ally, there are radical sustaining innova- All of the smartwatches expose notifi- 2000s. Smartphones alone are radi- tions, which introduce a different type cations from mobile phone apps onto cally different. When the early smart- of technology but have the same goal the user’s wrist. By having a watch, watches were made, neither the iPhone as sustaining innovations of better solv- the user gains a “glanceable” view of nor Android smartphones were on the ing an existing problem. Christensen the notification, which would other- market. In the intervening years, we also pointed out two different forms of wise require pulling out a phone. The have seen the huge adoption of these disruptive innovation. One is a low-end watch provides improved access time mobile platforms and associated shifts disruption, where a new entrant makes for the notification2 and enables some throughout the industry. The app store a product that is cheaper and worse quick interactions for simple tasks. For model of both the iOS and Android has than an incumbent and then, through example, the watch can be used as a also opened up opportunities for third sustaining innovations, improves the remote control for the music player or parties to develop software and deploy offering. The other is new market dis- to respond to messages with preselected it at scale. Today’s smartwatches use ruptions, which take a technology and responses. The watches also provide this modern mobile infrastructure, use it to solve a different problem, thus ways to escalate to the phone when with Bluetooth links to a user’s phone, creating a new market. tasks become too complex. For exam- to leverage mobile apps as well as to Using this framework, we can see ple, one of the commands available for more broadly connect to cloud services. both how the current smartwatches are an Android Wear notification is to open Not surprisingly, one dominant use being positioned as well as understand the associated app on the phone. of smartwatches is as a platform for opportunities for future products and In this smartphone context, the interacting with notifications ­provided research. smartwatch provides an enhanced

10 PERVASIVE computing Published by the IEEE CS n 1536-1268/16/$33.00 © 2016 IEEE experience, making some common as notifications and applications. This ­smartwatches—in particular, the com- tasks faster. However, does the benefit approach would be a radical sustain- bination of date or day of week with of the watch outweigh the associated ing innovation: taking the traditional the time. In contrast, some participants (actual or perceived) burden of wearing performance values of a watch and raised concerns about adding extra it? A question often asked is, why wear enhancing them with a radically dif- information and preferred more tradi- a smartwatch? Many people have aban- ferent technology—in this case, the tional watch faces (“it has no confus- doned wrist watches for the modern general-purpose displays, applica- ing writing or symbols”3). Addition- equivalent of a pocket watch (the smart- tions, and so on of smartwatches. One ally, participants only used a few of phone). People seemingly feel that the of the advantages of targeting exist- the digital watch features in general. phone is good enough as a time piece, ing (digital) watch users is that they In some cases, participants didn’t even or they have otherwise adapted to not have already committed to the idea of know about basic capabilities of their having time on their wrists. From this wearing a watch. The watch is already watch (such as the watch timer). More perspective, the phone is already pro- providing value to the user, and this broadly, if we think about enhancing viding the needed functionality of time approach extends that with additional the capabilities of a watch with smart and application notifications. Although capabilities. features, it will be very important to the smartwatch might save a few sec- The smartwatches from Pebble are consider the associated increase in com- onds when checking a notification, this somewhat in line with this view. For plexity. Adding too many new features is not a fundamentally new function. example, one of the key design aspects or the wrong type of features might lose A similar argument might be made of the Pebble is a focus on a long battery the watch-like feel of the device. against smartwatch apps. The smart- life, making the product more like a phone is already capable of running the watch than a phone. Instead of needing A Disruptive Innovation application and has more resources to to charge the watch daily like a phone, Given this analysis, it is not clear that do so (larger user interface, faster pro- they targeted an experience in which a smartwatch is about being a better cessor, and so on). Does making that the watch could last longer (advertising watch, or that there is large user-cen- information faster to access justify the up to a week between recharges). This tered value for being a companion to a associated tradeoffs? In other cases, feature was accomplished through dif- smartphone. It seems that the utility of some people indicate that they have ferent technology design choices, such a smartwatch could be in some other too many phone notifications already, as using a bi-stable LCD, more conser- domain. This perspective aligns with and putting them on the wrist would be vative CPU, and buttons instead of a Christensen’s last category of innova- even more disruptive. touchscreen. The use of physical but- tions: disruptive. It is unlikely that Returning to the notion of sustaining tons also more closely resembles inter- smartwatches are low-end disruptions innovations, quicker access time might actions on a digital watch relative to the (they are not a cheaper, worse version not be the right dimension that needs to touchscreens of other smartwatches, of current products). However, they be improved for these individuals. Or, if which are closer smartphone interfaces. could be a new market disruption. In access time is going to drive adoption, In my recent work, I took this perspec- this context, smartwatches would be it might need to be applied to address tive as a hypothesis. I conducted a sur- viewed as taking a technology and different user needs. vey of current digital watch wearers to applying it to a different domain to understand their current watch practices solve a new problem. The technol- A Radical Sustaining with the idea that those findings could ogy in this case is closely related to Innovation for a Watch be used to better inform smartwatch mobile phone technology (small color Given the name smartwatch, another designs.3 Based on the data collected, touchscreens, fully capable computing view we can take of these devices there are several notable findings and platforms in very small form factors, is how they serve the role of being a gaps between current smartwatches and and so on). watch. More specifically, what would it digital watches. For example, many of If we consider this hypothesis, then it mean for a user to replace a traditional our participants were concerned about is not about making a better watch or digital dumb watch (with its associated the durability of their watches, wore enabling smartphones. “Smartwatch” simple LCD and minimal interactive inexpensive watches (relative to smart- could be a misnomer for this category capabilities) with a smartwatch and watch prices), or articulated desires for of device. Although the technology is richer interactions? a specific aesthetic that is fulfilled by the anchored in both smartphones and Such a device would primarily be a large ecosystem of digital watches but is watches, these might be poor models watch, doing everything a traditional lacking in current smartwatch designs. for the role of a “smartwatch.” And if watch would do. However, it would Many of the participants liked this is the case, there is an open ques- also bring along more capabilities, such the digital watch face provided on tion—what is a smartwatch for? What

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What other interactive computing tasks sible future and might be the key for might be accomplished by having this their long-term success. type of wearable? Having used prototype wearables Toward Watch First day in and day out for years myself, If we move toward a watch-first model one area that seems underexplored is for smartwatches, or even if we take taking advantage of the fact that the other more sustaining views of smart- device is with the user for long peri- watches, there are still some challenges ods of time. While developing new to overcome. While being mounted on behaviors is often a difficult task for the wrist affords a quick glanceable uses, once a person comes to expect interaction, the wrist does not afford the device to be there, they can start more complex or longer interactions. (a) to depend on it. This type of capability This aspect can be seen by examin- links back to early ideas presented in ing the dispositions of a watch.7 For ­“Man-Computer Symbiosis”­ by J.C.R. interactive use, the arm with the watch Licklider4 and was the inspiration for must be raised, and the second hand is some early wearables.5 This notion of needed to touch the watch. This pose long-term use likely complements the would not afford longer term use. microinteractions6 afforded by a wear- One way to overcome this issue able and creates a qualitatively different would be to allow input when the watch experience relative to a handheld mobile is in the glanceable state without requir- experience. ing the second hand. There have been (b) It might also be interesting to consider a variety of novel sensing approaches what it means to think of the watch as that can sense hand movement from 8 Figure 1. Example of a detachable two- a first-class compute device instead of the wrist that might be suitable. handed watch interaction. The user can merely a peripheral. Although current Another approach would be to make (a) detach the watch, (b) use two hands smartwatches allow for short bursts two-handed use easier. For example, or thumbs for input, and quickly return of interaction, it is not clear that tran- the watch face could be easily detach- the device to its traditional watch mode. sitioning to the phone to handle more able with a magnetic or mechanical complex tasks is the right model of use. clasp (Figure 1), letting the user detach For a long time, email and Web the watch, use two hands or thumbs for user-centered task is the smartwatch browsing were tasks that were seen as input, and quickly return the device to uniquely positioned to solve? too difficult to accomplish on mobile its traditional watch mode. As an industry and academic com- devices; you needed a desktop PC (or Another issue with smartwatches is munity, we do not seem to have many laptop) to accomplish those tasks. that there are already a lot of cultural likely candidates, and finding these However, as the phone hardware and meanings associated with watches. This could require a significant amount of software improved, those tradition- influences mental models of the device. exploration—and there will likely be ally desktop tasks became effective on My discussion around what the smart- many dead ends. One bright side is that mobile devices in many circumstances. watch is intended to do captures some today’s smartwatches have software Today, many large technology compa- of those aspects. Furthermore, while APIs and app stores, which make it nies are shifting their products away the watch is a technical artifact that has reasonably straightforward for devel- from desktops and laptops and are already been adopted and is generally opers and researchers to extend these adopting a mobile-first strategy. well understood, converting the watch platforms with new capabilities. Some Is there an analogy for the relation- into an interactive device can create smartwatches, like the Pebble, also have ship between this new generation some confusion. If the smartwatch user provisions for extending the device with of smartwatches and smartphones? receives a notification alert with a vibro- hardware add-ons. What would be needed for a smart- tactile stimulus, the natural response Although using a smartwatch for watch to replace a smartphone? Few is to glance at the watch to see the notifications does provide fast access people would argue that a smartwatch message. However, in a social setting, times, it might be that a notification is of today could replace a smartphone, looking at your watch also has strong the wrong type of content or that it does just as early smartphones were poor signals—it can indicate that you’re not fully take advantage of having a rich replacements for PCs. However, this concerned about the time, need to go, compute platform worn on the wrist. watch-first approach could be a plau- or are bored with the conversation.

12 PERVASIVE computing www.computer.org/pervasive Wearable Computing

The onlooker only sees the glance at References the watch and is largely unaware of the 1. C. Christensen and M. Raynor, The additional context of the interaction. Innovator’s Solution: Creating and As such, it is easy to draw the wrong Sustaining Successful Growth, Harvard conclusion when observing such an Business School Press, 2003. MOBILE AND UBIQUITOUS SYSTEMS interaction. 2. D.L. Ashbrook et al., “Quickdraw: This effect is likely a problem beyond The Impact of Mobility and On-Body How to smartwatches, where the incorporation Placement on Device Access Time,” Proc. SIGCHI Conf. Human Factors of interactive technology into other in ­Computing Systems (CHI), 2008, Reach Us wearable items, such as jewelry, might pp. 219–222. create similar unintentional social sig- Writers 3. K. Lyons, “What Can a Dumb Watch nals. Maybe the smartwatch should look For detailed information on submit- Teach a Smartwatch? Informing the ting articles, write for our Editorial less watch-like to alleviate this issue? Design of Smartwatches,” Proc. 2015 Guidelines ([email protected]) More broadly, there is a challenge of ACM Int’l Symp. Wearable Computers or access­ www.computer.org/ (ISWC), 2015, pp. 3–10. exposing the wearable user’s interaction pervasive/author.htm. with the device in a way other people can 4. J.C.R. Licklider, “Man-Computer Sym- Letters to the Editor understand, so they know when the user biosis,” IRE Trans. Human Factors in Send letters to Electronics, Mar. 1960, pp. 4–11. is (or is not) interacting with it and what Brian Brannon, Lead Editor he or she is doing with the technology. 5. T.E. Starner, “Wearable Computing IEEE Pervasive Computing and Contextual Awareness,” PhD the- 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle sis, Massachusetts Institute of Technol- Los Alamitos, CA 90720 ogy, 1999. [email protected] have been using and researching I wearables for most of my career, so 6. D.L. Ashbrook, “Enabling Mobile Please provide an email address or day- Microinteractions,” PhD thesis, Geor- time phone number with your letter. I’m excited by the prospect of smart- gia Institute of Technology, 2010. watches. However, we still must be On the Web cautious and look beyond the novel 7. K. Lyons and H. Profita, “The Multiple Dispositions of On-Body and Wearable Access www.computer.org/ technology to understand what role Devices,” IEEE Pervasive Computing, pervasive for information about these devices can play in a user’s life. vol. 13, no. 4, 2014, pp. 24–31. IEEE Pervasive Computing. How are smartwatches being posi- 8. M. Fukumoto and Y. Suenaga, tioned with respect to technologies with Subscription Change “‘FingeRing’: A Full-Time Wearable of Address which users are already familiar: dumb Interface,” Conf. Companion on Send change-of-address requests watches and smartphones? Are these Human Factors in Computing Systems for magazine subscriptions to (CHI), 1994, pp. 81–82. the right metaphors, or are there bigger [email protected]. Be sure to opportunities in adopting a watch-first specify IEEE Pervasive Computing. model and applying smartwatch-like Membership Change devices to solve other problems for the of Address user? If the latter is the case, there needs Send change-of-address requests to be a lot of exploration to uncover the for the membership directory to possible uses of this type of technology. Kent Lyons is principal [email protected]. Ideally, we could develop user-centered scientist at Technicolor Missing or Damaged Copies methods for finding and evaluating new Research. Contact him at If you are missing an issue or you market disruption technologies. kent.lyons@technicolor. received a damaged copy, contact com. [email protected].

Reprints of Articles Acknowledgments For price information or to order reprints, send email to pervasive@ The notion of “watch first” came about in discus- computer.org or fax +1 714 821 4010. sions with Michael Terry as we developed the inter- face for our Pebble Application, WatchPop. Thanks Reprint Permission To obtain permission to reprint an to Cheng Xu for her ideas around detachable watch article, contact William Hagen, IEEE interactions and to David Nguyen for his discus- Selected CS articles and columns Copyrights and Trademarks Manager, sions on designing new devices with Clayton Chris- are also available for free at at [email protected]. tensen’s theory. http://ComputingNow.computer.org.

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