AT&T CEO Predicts Connected Smartwatches
The smartwatches currently on the market are capable of doing an amazing number of tasks but they can’t do any of them unless they’re connected to a compatible smartphone. According to the CEO of one wireless giant, that could be changing in the near future.
Glenn Lurie, CEO of AT&T Mobility, spoke at the Code Mobile conference in Half Moon Bay, California, this week and had some interesting predictions on the future of the smartwatch. The most intriguing is that soon most smartwatches will be able to connect to wireless networks independently from smartphones. “When you’re thinking about trying to solve real problems, I think the device [smartwatch] has to be connected,” Lurie commented.
Obviously, AT&T has a stake in connecting anything and everything because they can charge you for use of their wireless network but there are still drawbacks to producing a wearable device with a direct connection. While Samsung introduced a version of the Gear S that included a 3G connection last year, it wasn’t a big seller. One major problem is the way a 3G or 4G connection can suck up the already meager battery life of the devices, forcing the owners to charge them even more often.
Lurie admits to being a bit frustrated by the lag in developing smartphones with a direct connection but expects progress in the near future. “It’s gone slower than I would have liked,” he said, “but a year or so from now, the majority of devices out there will be fully connected.”
Given the speed with which technology moves these days, Lurie’s predictions could come true very soon. All it would take is for one maker of smartwatches to launch a connected device with all the bells and whistles that will cause customers to crave it while also improving the battery life. After all, in today’s tech-crazy world, anything is possible.
