Strategy Analytics Wearables Service brings you daily coverage of the new decade’s largest consumer electronics convention: CES 2020. 

Or day 1-2 coverage can be accessed as below:

CES 2020: Day 1 - What to Expect in Wearables
CES 2020: Day 2 - Smartwatches

Our day 3 blog will focus on feature watch announcements from the show floor.  Feature watches are those devices withOUT a high level OS and NOT capable of running third party apps, largely consisting of proprietary OS watches withOUT 3^rd party apps (such as Huawei Watch GT2, Amazfit Bip), sports watches (such as Suunto, Polar), child/elder tracker watches (such as Coolpad, Omate), and semi-smart hybrid watches with analog movement and activity tracking (such as Guess and certain Fossil models).  Major feature watch announcements from the show floor include:

• Huami has announced two new Amazfit feature watches at CES this year: the outdoor adventurer’s Amazfit T-Rex, and the mass market Amazfit Bip S.
  • The Amazfit T-Rex is a ruggedized muilti-sport watch offering military grade durability (MIL-STD-810G), 20 day battery life, and an affordable retail price point of $139. While the material quality is noticeably cheaper than high end competitors like Garmin, Haumi has found success moving large volumes at lower price points.
  • The Amazfit Bip S is an everyday smartwatch with design styling very similar to the Apple Watch. The device sports GPS, a heart rate monitor, and adds better water resistance than its predecessor (now up to 5ATM) – all for a retail price point below $100.
• Withings has announced the ScanWatch hybrid feature watch. The ScanWatch focuses on health tracking and most notably adds sleep detection in combination with ECG, in order to detect ailments such as sleep apnea and heart arrhythmia. The device offers a 30 day battery life and an analogue movement along with a small PMOLED display to show heart rate, steps, notifications, etc. The ScanWatch lacks GPS, however, which has become table stakes for outdoor workouts. The ScanWatch will be offered in 2 sizes, a 38mm case for $299, and a 42mm case for $299. The previous generation Withings Move ECG watch, which was announced at CES 2019, had struggled to gain FDA clearance, so it remains to be seen if the same regulatory clearance will be granted for the ScanWatch.
• Omron is showcasing the Omron HeartGuide, featuring FDA clearance for taking blood pressure readings directly from the wrist, and also the Omron Complete, which takes EKG readings in addition to blood pressure. The device sports 7 day battery life, comes in 3 sizes, and will cost $499 retail for US consumers only. Achieving FDA clearance is a major milestone in the road towards realizing the healthcare revenue potential of wearables.
• Omate has announced the Omate x Nash O6L child tracker watch, uniquely sporting a virtual SIM card with prepaid cellular service via a partnership with Skyroam. Three years of unlimited 4G video calls are included with the device, as well as unlimited voice calls, voice messages, text messaging and location services. Omate is pushing their “wearables-as-a-service” business model to the mass market and is the first company to bundle prepaid service with a wearable device at the point of purchase – a trend Strategy Analytics has been predicting for several years. The Omate x Nash O6L will be available in March in the US and Mexico on Amazon at a discounted price point of $179 (the standard price will be $229). An EU version is also expected in Q2 2020.
• Coolpad has announced the Dyno 2 children’s watch, targeting parents who want to keep a closer eye on their children, as well as provide a controlled introduction to wireless technology at a young age. The second generation Dyno drops the flat-tire screen shape in favor of a fully round display and switches to gender neutral coloring of the bands.The device sports standalone cellular connectivity, activity tracking, and gives parents the ability to control/approve contacts, set safe zones (via GPS), and switch on/off the cellular connection through a companion app for the parent’s smartphone.

Feature watch sales volumes are expected to grow 22% globally in 2020. Child trackers account for roughly 1 in 3 feature watches globally and are particularly popular in China.  Sports watches have been around for some time, and Bluetooth connected versions from vendors like Suunto and Garmin are in demand among more serious and especially multi-sport athletes.  Hybrid semi-smart watches – watches with traditional mechanical movements and often coin cell batteries, but also adding activity tracking and notification capabilities - are increasingly being offered as options from traditional wristwatch makers.

Exhibit 1: Withings ScanWatch