Get the latest tech news

Crowds are ditching the Apple Watch for Wear OS and other smartwatches, and there's a very good reason why

New stats reveal smartwatch sales declined last year, but Apple particularly hit an all-time low.

(Image credit: Counterpoint Research)On the flip side, Wear OS-powered watches and those running proprietary OSes scored some brownie points from customers as smartwatch sales saw a steady uptick this past year despite an overall slump across the globe. The recent decision of OEMs like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and OPPO to join the Wear OS family, which was mostly dominated by Samsung and Google, has not only resulted in a diverse range of watch designs and styles to pick from but has also made smartwatches much more accessible for those on a tight budget. For instance, the next could see a "rounded-edge bezel turned into a squeezable, touch-sensitive control interface," along with a smartwatch "Fit Score" that informs the user of the"differences in wrist size, skin color, hair density, BMI, fat percentage, and the likes."

Get the Android app