The Apple Watch, once thought to be the impending standard-bearer for wearable mHealth devices, is falling on hard times.
News reports indicate Apple is scaling back the health functions of its multi-function wristwatch after "repeated failures" during the testing stage. A report from the Wall Street Journal indicates sensors designed to measure such vital signs as blood pressure, heart rate and stress couldn't get accurate readings through impediments like hairy arms, overly dry or sweaty skin and problems with the wristband. Other reports indicate Apple is steering away from healthcare sensors that could require regulatory approval from the FDA.
The WSJ article also indicated people within Apple began referring to the Watch project as a "black hole," sucking in the company's energy and resources while not producing anything of value.
Forbes contributor Peter Cohan – whose article asks the question, "Should Apple Scrap its Watch?" – even suggested Apple is teasing its plans for a self-driving electric car as a means of deflecting attention away from the Apple Watch "in order to prove that the company has not lost its ability to innovate."
Apple, which publicized its plans for a watch last September (the company had actually started the project in 2011) but has kept much under wraps since then, will reportedly unveil its entry into the frenetic smartwatch market in April, with 6 million units already being ordered and analysts expecting twice that number sold by the end of the year. That's a far cry from the 30 million to 60 million watches sold in the first year that Morgan Stanley had originally forecast last August.
The company will likely market the watch with some health and fitness features that would synch with the iPhone through the HealthKit platform.
Apple's struggles with the Apple Watch aren't that surprising, given the industry's inability to gain traction among healthcare providers. The market may be booming from a consumer-facing perspective, but questions about data accuracy have hounded many a model's healthcare-related features. Analysts say a smartwatch – be it one from Apple, Samsung, Motorola or any other vendor – won't find its way into the doctor's office or the electronic medical record until it's proven that a watch can capture reliable data and present it in a way that doctors can and will use.
Until that happens, the smartwatch will find favor with health and fitness fanatics, celebrities and those who have the disposable income to spend hundreds of dollars on an accessory – but not with the general public or the healthcare market.
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