LG, Motorola, and Huawei Don’t Have Plans to Launch New Smartwatches This Holiday

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Published 14 Sep 2016

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Moto 360 Sport

Smartwatches are still a fledgling market, despite the fact that many companies already have several different models out there in the wild. And it looks like many manufacturers are taking a break this holiday season.

According to a report from CNET, some of the heavy hitters in the Android Wear army are taking a breather as they see how the market levels out, to see which features customers want, what should stick around, and what, ultimately, should get the axe. The report states that LG, the Lenovo-owned Motorola, and Huawei, companies who have released popular, well-reviewed Android Wear-based wearables in the past, won’t be releasing new smartwatches in time for the holiday shopping season this year.

LG, for its part, actually released a new Android Wear device earlier this year, the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, but the company is taking a break for the rest of the year, along with the other aforementioned companies. That means both Huawei and Motorola will be waiting more than a year before they release another smartwatch. (Though, Motorola did release the Moto 360 Sport, for what it’s worth, at the beginning of the year.)

It’s an interesting move, considering huge companies like Samsung and Apple both have new smartwatches on the way, with new features tucked inside. At the same time, though, consumers appear to be hesitant in adopting smartwatches in their current state, so it would make sense for companies to wait and see what really takes off, if anything, and build upon that.

For now, that looks like more noteworthy fitness features, along with other aspects, like smarter notifications.

Android Wear 2, which was unveiled earlier this year, should help new smartwatches expand on many interesting features, but there doesn’t appear to be a need to rush. At least, not anymore.

Do you own a smartwatch?

[via CNET]