Smartwatch

A smartwatch is a portable wearable computer that looks like a wristwatch. Most modern smartwatches have a screen that you can touch and they need to connect to a phone to work properly.

Early smartwatches could do simple things like showing the time, doing calculations, and playing games. Newer smartwatches can do much more, like running apps, connecting to the internet, and even making phone calls.

Smartwatches usually have a screen that lights up and a battery that can be charged again and again. Many also have tools to track movement, heart rate, and other health information. They can also play music, show maps, and have many different designs for the screen.

History

Early years

The first digital watch was the Pulsar, introduced by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1972. The "Pulsar" became a brand name and was later acquired by Seiko in 1978. In 1982, a Pulsar watch was released that could store 24 digits, making it one of the first watches with user-programmable memory.

With the introduction of personal computers in the 1980s, Seiko began to develop computers in the form of watches. The Data 2000 watch, named for its ability to store 2000 characters, came with an external keyboard for data entry. Data was synchronized from the keyboard to the watch wirelessly. Its memory was small, at only 112 digits. It was released in 1984 in gold, silver, and black.

These models were followed by many others from Seiko during the 1980s, most notably the "RC Series". The RC-1000 Wrist Terminal from Seiko Epson was released in 1984; it was the first Seiko model to interface with a computer and was priced at around £100. It featured 2 KB of storage, a two-line, 12-character display, and data transfer with a computer via an RS232C interface. It was powered by a computer on a chip and was compatible with most popular PCs of that time. The RC-20 Wrist Computer was released in 1985, followed by the RC-4000 and RC-4500.

During the 1980s, Casio began to market a successful line of "computer watches" in addition to its calculator watches, most notably the Casio data bank series. Casio and other companies also produced novelty "game watches".

Although pager watches were predicted in the early 1980s, it took until the end of the decade for them to become more common. Two models were particularly notable: Motorola and Timex produced the Wrist Watch Pager, while AT&T Corporation and Seiko produced the MessageWatch.

1990s

The Timex Datalink, introduced in 1994, was the first watch capable of transferring data wirelessly from a computer. Appointments and contacts created with Microsoft Schedule Plus could be downloaded to the watch via patterns of visible light, which were displayed by a computer monitor and then detected by the watch's optical sensor.

In 1998, Steve Mann designed and built the world's first Linux wristwatch. He presented it at the IEEE ISSCC on 7 February 2000, where he was dubbed "the father of wearable computing". The watch later appeared on the cover of Linux Journal in July 2000.

Seiko launched the Ruputer in 1998 in Japan, a wristwatch computer with a 3.6 MHz processor. The Ruputer failed to achieve wide success due to its small, hard-to-read screen, cumbersome joystick method of navigation and text input, and poor battery life. Outside of Japan, this watch was distributed as the Matsucom onHand PC. Despite low demand, it was distributed until 2006. Ruputer and onHand PC applications are fully compatible with each other. This watch is sometimes considered the first smartwatch, as it was the first to display graphics and third-party applications.

In 1999, Samsung launched the world's first watch phone, the SPH-WP10. It had a protruding antenna, monochrome LCD screen, and 90-minute talk time with an integrated speaker and microphone.

2000s

In June 2000, IBM displayed a prototype for the WatchPad, a wristwatch that ran Linux. The original version had only 6 hours of battery life, which was later extended to 12. It featured 8 MB of memory and ran Linux 2.2. The device was later upgraded with an accelerometer, vibrating mechanism, and fingerprint sensor. IBM began to collaborate with Citizen Watch Co. to create the "WatchPad". The WatchPad 1.5 features a 320 × 240 QVGA monochrome touch sensitive display and runs Linux 2.4. It also features calendar software, Bluetooth, 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory. Citizen was hoping to market the watch to students and businessmen, with a retail price of around $399. Epson Seiko introduced their Chrono-bit wristwatch in September 2000. The Chrono-bit watches have a rotating bezel for data input, synchronize PIM data via a serial cable, and can load custom watch faces.

In 2003, Fossil released the Wrist PDA, a watch that ran the Palm OS and contained 8 MB of RAM and 4 MB of flash memory. It contained a built-in stylus to assist in using the tiny monochrome display, which had a resolution of 160×160 pixels. Although many reviewers declared the watch revolutionary, it was criticized for its weight (108 grams) and was discontinued in 2005.

In the same year, Microsoft announced its SPOT smartwatch, which it released in early 2004. SPOT stands for Smart Personal Objects Technology, an initiative by Microsoft to personalize household electronics and other everyday gadgets. For instance, the company demonstrated coffee makers, weather stations, and alarm clocks featuring built-in SPOT technology. The device was a standalone smartwatch that offered information at a glance, in comparison to other devices that required more immersion and interaction. The information included weather, news, stock prices, and sports scores, and was transmitted through FM waves. It was accessible through a yearly subscription that cost between $39 and $59.

The Microsoft SPOT Watch had a monochrome 90×126 pixel screen. Fossil, Suunto, and Tissot also sold smartwatches using SPOT technology. For instance, Fossil's Abacus, which was a variant of the Fossil Wrist PDA, retailed from $130 to $150.

Sony Ericsson teamed up with Fossil and released the first watch, MBW-100, that connected to Bluetooth. This watch notified the user when receiving calls and text messages. The watch struggled to gain popularity, however, due to its exclusivity to Sony Ericsson phones.

In 2009, Hermen van den Burg, CEO of Smartwatch and Burg Wearables, launched Burg, the first smartphone watch with its own SIM card. The watch was "standalone", meaning it did not require tethering to a smartphone. Burg received the award for the Most Innovative Product at the Canton Fair in April 2009. Samsung also launched their S9110 Watch Phone, which featured a 1.76-inch (45 mm) color LCD and was 11.98 millimetres (0.472 in) thin.

2010s

Sony Ericsson launched the Sony Ericsson LiveView, a wearable watch device which was essentially an external Bluetooth display for an Android smartphone.

Vyzin Electronics Private Limited launched a ZigBee enabled smart watch called VESAG, which featured cellular connectivity for remote health monitoring.

Motorola released MOTOACTV on 6 November 2011.

Pebble is a smartwatch that was funded via Kickstarter, which set a fundraising record for the site, raising $10.3 million between 12 April and 18 May 2012. The watch has a 32-millimetre (1.26 in) 144 × 168 pixel black and white memory LCD, using an ultra low-power "transflective LCD" manufactured by Sharp. It features a backlight, vibrating motor, magnetometer, ambient light sensors, and three-axis accelerometer. It can communicate with an Android or iOS device using both Bluetooth 2.1 and Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy) via Stonestreet One's Bluetopia+MFi software stack. Bluetooth 4.0 support was not initially enabled, but a firmware update in November 2013 enabled it. The watch is charged using a modified USB-cable that attaches magnetically to the watch, allowing it to maintain water resistance. The battery was reported in April 2012 to last seven days. Based on feedback from Kickstarter backers, the developers added water resistance to the device's feature set. The Pebble has a waterproof rating of 5 atm, which means it can be submerged down to 40 metres (130 ft) and has been tested in both fresh and salt water, allowing one to shower, dive or swim while wearing the watch.

In 2013, startup Omate announced its TrueSmart watch via a Kickstarter campaign, claiming it was the first smartwatch to capture the full capabilities of a smartphone. The campaign raised over $1 million, making it the 5th most successful Kickstarter at that time. The device made its public debut in early 2014. Consumer device analyst Avi Greengart, from research firm Current Analysis, suggested that 2013 may be the "year of the smartwatch", as "the components have gotten small enough and cheap enough" and many consumers own smartphones that are compatible with a wearable device. Wearable technology, such as Google Glass, was speculated to evolve into a business worth US$6 billion annually, and a July 2013 media report revealed that the majority of major consumer electronics manufacturers were undertaking work on a smartwatch device at the time of publication. The retail price of a smartwatch could be over US$300, plus data charges, while the minimum cost of smartphone-linked devices may be US$100.

As of July 2013, the list of companies that were engaged in smartwatch development activities consisted of Acer, Apple, BlackBerry, Foxconn/Hon Hai, Google, LG, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, VESAG and Toshiba. Some notable omissions from this list include HP, HTC, Lenovo, and Nokia. Science and technology journalist Christopher Mims identified the following points in relation to the future of smartwatches:

• Insufficient battery life is an ongoing problem for smartwatch developers, as the battery life of devices at the time of publication was three to four days, and this is likely to be reduced if further functions are added.
• New display technologies will be invented as a result of smartwatch research.
• The market success of smartwatches is unpredictable, as they may follow a similar trajectory to netbooks, or they may fulfil aims akin to those of Google Glass, another wearable electronic product.

Acer's S.T. Liew stated in an interview with gadget website Pocket-Lint that he believed that companies should be researching wearable technology, and that it could grown to "billions of dollars' worth of industry".

As of 4 September 2013, three new smartwatches had been launched: the Samsung Galaxy Gear, Sony SmartWatch 2, and the Qualcomm Toq. PHTL, a company based in Dallas, Texas, completed a Kickstarter campaign for its HOT Watch smartwatch in September 2013. This device enables users to leave their handsets in their pockets, since it has a speaker for phone calls in both quiet and noisy environments. In a September 2013 interview, Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky stated that his company was not interested in any acquisition offers. Two months later, he revealed that his company has sold 190,000 smartwatches, most of which were sold after its Kickstarter campaign closed.

Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside confirmed during a December 2013 interview that his company was working on a smartwatch. Woodside further discussed the difficulties that other companies had experienced with wrist-wearable technologies.

In April 2014, the Samsung Gear 2 was released, one of few smartwatches to be equipped with a digital camera. It has a resolution of two megapixels and can record video in 720p.

At the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, a large number of new smartwatches were released from various companies such as Razer Inc, Archos. Some called the show a "wrist revolution". At Google I/O on 25 June 2014, the Android Wear platform was introduced and the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live were released. The Wear-based Moto 360 was announced by Motorola in 2014. At the end of July, Swatch's CEO Nick Hayek announced that they will launch a Swatch Touch with smartwatch technologies in 2015. In the UK, London's Wearable Technology Show debuted several new models from smartwatch companies.

Samsung's Gear S smartwatch was launched in late August 2014. The model features a curved Super AMOLED display and a built-in 3G modem. TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington said that "we're finally starting to see displays that wrap around the contours of the wrist, rather than sticking out as a traditional flat surface". The corporation commenced selling the Gear S smartwatch in October 2014, alongside the Gear Circle headset accessory. At IFA 2014, Sony Mobile announced the third generation of its smartwatch series, the Sony Smartwatch 3, powered by Android Wear. Fashion Entertainments' e-paper watch was also announced at the show.

On 9 September 2014, Apple Inc. announced its first smartwatch, called Apple Watch, with an early 2015 release date. On 24 April 2015, Apple Watch began shipping worldwide. Apple's first wearable attempt was met with considerable criticism during its pre-launch period, with many early technology reviews citing issues with battery life and hardware malfunctions. However, other outlets praised Apple for creating a device with the potential to compete with "traditional watches" instead of just smartwatches. The watch's screen only wakes when activated by lifting one's wrist, touching the screen, or pressing a button. On 29 October 2014, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Band, a smart fitness tracker and the company's first venture into wrist-worn devices since SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) a decade earlier. The Microsoft Band was released at $199 the following day.

In October 2015, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Gear S2. It features a rotating bezel for ease of use, and an IP68 rating for water resistance up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. The watch is compatible with industry-standard 20 mm straps.

At the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Razer released the Nabu Watch, a dual-screen smartwatch. The first screen integrates an always-on illuminated backlit display and handles standard features such as date and time. The second OLED screen, activated by raising one's wrist, allows access to additional smart features. Luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer also released TAG Heuer Connected, a smartwatch powered by Android Wear.

On 31 August 2016, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch, with improved specifications. There are two models of the watch: the Samsung Gear S3 Classic and the LTE version Samsung Gear S3 Frontier.

The top smartwatches that debuted at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show included the Casio WSD-F20, the Misfit Wearables Vapor and the Garmin Fenix 5 series. On 22 September 2017 Apple released their Apple Watch Series 3 model which offers built in LTE cellular connectivity allowing phone calls, messaging and data without relying on a nearby smartphone connection.

In 2018, Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy Watch series.

In its September 2018 keynote, Apple introduced a redesigned Apple Watch Series 4. It featured a larger display with smaller bezels, as well as an EKG feature which is built to detect abnormal heart function.

In Qualcomm's September 2018 presentation, it unveiled its Snapdragon 3100 chip. It is a successor to the Wear 2100, and it includes greater power efficiency, and a separate low power core that can run basic watch functions as well as slightly more advanced functions, such as step tracking.

2020s

In 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval for an Apple Watch app called NightWare. The app aims to improve sleep for people suffering from PTSD-related nightmares, by vibrating when it detects a nightmare in progress based on heart rate monitoring and body movement.

As of January 2025, smartwatches have advanced significantly, integrating sophisticated health-monitoring features, enhanced connectivity, and practical everyday functionalities. Recent models, such as the Apple Watch Series 10 and Google Pixel Watch 3, include innovations like sleep apnea detection and alerts for abnormal pulse rates. Huawei has introduced technology capable of analyzing cough patterns to identify potential pulmonary issues.

Market and popularity

Smartwatches became very popular in the 2010s. Today, many people use them to track their fitness and they work together with smartphones.

A study from statista showed that by 2023, people spent about $44.15 billion on smartwatches, and this number was expected to grow to $62.46 billion by 2028. Some of the biggest companies making smartwatches are Apple Inc, Fossil Group Inc, Garmin Lt, Google LLC, Huawei Technologies Co, Samsung, and Xiaomi.

Typical features

Many smartwatches made in the 2010s can work all by themselves. Some are made for sports and have a GPS tracking unit that can remember your activities. After exercising, you can put this information on a computer or online to see how you did or share it with others. Some watches can even show maps, your current location, and save special places you visited.

Sport watches often include activity tracker features, like those on GPS watches for training, diving, and outdoor activities. They might have training programs, show your speed, track your route, work with a dive computer, and connect to a heart rate monitor. These watches are usually connected to a smartphone using Bluetooth. When connected, the watch can show information like calls, SMS messages, emails, and calendar events from your phone.

LTE

Main article: LTE (telecommunication)

Starting around 2015, some smartwatches started to include LTE support. This lets them connect directly to 3G/4G mobile networks for calls and messages without needing a smartphone nearby.

Security and health issues

Some very cheap smartwatches and fitness trackers sold online may not be safe. Tests showed they can collect too much personal information, store it insecurely, and not let users delete it. Users also cannot always know if their data is being sold or shared.

In the United Kingdom, new rules started in 2024 to make sure smartwatches and other devices meet safety standards.

A study in 2024 found that some smartwatch straps have chemicals that could be harmful. Experts suggest using straps made of silicone instead of certain other materials.

Social implications and biases

Some smartwatch designs work better for people with lighter skin than for those with darker skin. This happens because the devices use special lights to check heart rate, and these lights do not work as well on darker skin.

As smartwatches become more popular, there are concerns about privacy. They collect personal health information like activity levels and sleep patterns. This data is stored online and sometimes companies can access it. There have been cases where companies shared this information without asking users first. For example, a company faced legal issues for sharing health data with advertisers. Another case involved a service that let users share their locations, which accidentally revealed sensitive places like military bases.

Operating systems

See also: Mobile operating system

AsteroidOS

Main article: AsteroidOS

AsteroidOS is a special software system made for some smartwatches that work with Android.

Flyme OS

Flyme OS is a software system built using Android, made by Meizu.

InfiniTime

InfiniTime is the main software for the PineTime smartwatch made by Pine64. It is a free project that works with Android, Linux computers, the PinePhone, and SailfishOS. It helps with music, calls, messages, directions, and keeping time in sync.

As of January 2022, InfiniTime version 1.8 includes features like secure Bluetooth connections, different watch faces, a flashlight, a simple drawing tool, a stopwatch, an alarm, a timer, counting steps, monitoring heart rate, a game similar to pong, a number puzzle game, and a metronome. The software keeps getting updated with new features.

HarmonyOS

Main article: HarmonyOS

HarmonyOS is a software system made by Huawei for their smart devices. Starting in 2021, it has been used in Huawei Watches, replacing an older system called LiteOS.

Sailfish OS

Main article: Sailfish OS

Sailfish OS is a software system based on Linux that works on different devices, including smartwatches.

Tizen

Main article: Tizen

Tizen is a software system based on Linux made for many devices, including smartwatches. It is part of a project led by the Linux Foundation and managed by a group of companies including Samsung and Intel. Samsung has used Tizen in several of their smartwatches like the Samsung Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Samsung Gear S, Samsung Gear S2, and Samsung Gear S3.

watchOS

Main article: watchOS

watchOS is a special software system made by Apple Inc. for use on Apple Watches.

Wear OS

Main article: Wear OS

Wear OS, formerly called Android Wear, is a smartwatch software system made by Google Inc.

For children and the elderly

In China, since around 2015, smartwatches have become popular with schoolchildren. They are often colorful and made of plastic, and they usually only show the time or let children make and receive calls when a button is pressed. These smartwatches cost between US$100 and US$200.

These watches are also sold in other countries. Some smartwatches can help older or disabled people by letting a caregiver know their location if they fall or get lost.

Smart strap

A smart strap is a special band that can make a smartwatch even smarter. It has built-in sensors that can add new features. For example, a smart strap might include a small camera, a heart sensor, and tools to measure body information.