Text by Masakazu Honda
Masakazu Honda is a well-known journalist in the technology field, and he talks about the new smartwatches he saw at the International CES 2019 (short for Consumer Electronics Show) held in January.
I would like to say that the International CES 2019, held in Las Vegas at the beginning of the year, was a riot of smartwatches...but the reason why there hasn't been much excitement may be because the Apple Watch Series 4 is so popular.
Apple's recently announced first quarter financial results (October to December 2018) showed that the product, which was released in September, continued to sell well. Although sales figures for individual products were not released, the wearables division, where the Apple Watch, which underwent its "first full model change," accounts for the majority of sales, saw sales increase by 33.3% compared to the same period last year. However, the fact that "production could not keep up" suggests that there is potentially even more demand.
However, that doesn't mean there weren't any topics at all. There were also several topics about smartwatches, which don't compete directly with the Apple Watch. For example, Withings, which appeals to a certain customer demographic with a design that combines an activity tracker with an analog watch, exhibited the "Move ECG," a model of the company's smartwatch that adds an electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement function.
The hybrid smartwatch, which combines an analog watch face with life tracking functions, can record an ECG, which can detect an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (AF). For example, if you feel palpitations, you can take an ECG on the spot and send the data to the appropriate organization via your smartphone.
The same feature is available on the Apple Watch Series 4, but this is the first hybrid watch to offer it. It also tracks steps, stairs climbed, and swimming, and boasts a battery life of up to 12 months.
The defining feature of hybrid watches is that they have been "IoT-ified into ordinary watches." While typical smartwatches answer the question, "What is the correct answer when you put the value of a smartphone into a watch?", hybrid watches are still based on traditional wristwatches.
