The reason wearable tech hasn’t taken off is that people just aren’t that interested. The fact that the technology is all still a little under-developed and expensive doesn’t help. There’s no doubt in my mind that wearable technology will get better, cheaper and will become a much bigger deal. This market trend just needs more time to develop.

It seems there is a tipping point for the phrase “knowledge is power,” where it actually tips backwards into “TMI.” When someone tells you they took 4,000 steps today, a little “so what” bell goes off in your head. Having said that, I do think that wearables, and even the glasses, are here to stay. Just not as huge as we first thought. There’s always going to be a thirst for more, more, more information from a certain breed of consumer. hen there’s the rest of us who have families. That alone is TMI!

Wearable tech has ended up focused on the watch, partly, I think, because it needs a battery to work and there’s “room” in the watch. Embedded in clothing, even with better batteries, you’d have to ask “How are you going to charge your jeans jacket, exactly?” Most people are just not that committed.

Wearables are turning out to be health aids more than fashion statements. That’s a good and useful thing for people with heart arrhythmia or old folks who might have “fallen and they can’t get up” problems. None of this is fashionable or sexy. The demographic skews older, not young. And the placement of the wearable has to be near an artery or vein, I think.

I finally bought an Apple Watch (Series 4), and it’s useful for some things besides health but I’m thinking it will be hard for me to wear during Miami’s long muggy summer. Seems like for most, it’s a solution looking for a problem.

I was an early skeptic and I now count myself as a convert. My new Galaxy watch is helping to change my behavior. The step count provides incentive to walk another X steps to hit the daily goal. The motion detector pings me if I sit at my desk too long. I shouldn’t have needed a watch to raise my awareness like this. But I did. I suspect more skeptics will convert as word of mouth helps to create new believers. How about solar powered jacket heaters?

Largely wearables have been a solution looking for a use case (a.k.a. technology for technology’s sake). There are absolutely plausible use cases but they don’t scale at the level major tech firms like Apple need them to. Runners tracking performance often prefer a wearable, but a Bluetooth sensor and a phone can accomplish the same. Heart rate monitoring in a watch is very convenient, but the majority of watch buyers don’t fit the heart monitoring demographic.

Mobile phones are universally embedded globally in the daily lives of vast numbers of people. There has yet to be a killer wearable app to unseat it despite so many clunky aspects of carrying around a phone and all the taps it can take to accomplish some things.

Keep your eyes on wearable technology for commercial purposes. Theatro is a perfect example. A wearable, voice-activated communication device for the hourly employee. Keeps the people in the front lines engaged to their company and attentive to their customer of the moment. Eyes up/hands free. Yes wearable technology will make significant strides forward but not necessarily in my jean jacket.

I’m good with the Apple Watch because it’s more convenient than carrying a phone and it does additional things, like monitoring heart rate. But I still love a classic watch so I won’t be wearing one any time soon.

At the Travel Goods Show this past week technology was everywhere in gadgets, bags, backpacks, and luggage but not in apparel and accessories. Consumers love technology, they just aren’t that excited about wearing it.

Wearable tech was a trend that simply never took off. The wearable technology hasn’t quite hit the economies of scale to extend significant value to the consumer. Add to that that the consumer is already continuously connected with several tech form factors, including smartphones, watches, and other devices that are already monitoring your every move. It’s very much a wait and see proposition.

If wearable tech means clothing and fashion, it is a fool’s errand. If wearable technology means replacing technology that I have to use my hands for, then we are just seeing the beginning.

I haven’t worn a watch in over five years. I never had to, I always had a phone to tell me the time. If I could totally replace my phone for EVERYTHING I use it for, I may go back to a watch. But, better yet, if I could do that with glasses, I am golden. I would have to lose the typing and have it all voice interactive.

We aren’t far away. Perfection will come.

For wearable tech to be an in-demand product, it has to be affordable to those who would wear it. How many bike messengers can afford Levi’s smart jean jacket? In the same vein, how many CEOs or high level executives (who could potentially afford the product) are going to invest in a piece of denim?

It’s always fascinating to see how some of the most innovative thinking often neglects the basic mechanics that make retail happen— such as supply and demand.

To me, wearable technology is about as boring as karaoke. It was cool to think of once upon a time. I love the Apple Watch, but until wearable technology creates a position and benefit I do not already occupy, I’m kind of tired of the conversations. That’s just me.

Wearable tech hasn’t quite taken off in the mainstream sense for many reasons, not the least of which is the price. There’s also the issue of meaningful use cases. Yes, health and wellness is one, but that market seems to be saturated before it really takes off — witness what’s happened to Fitbit. Those that want this have bought a device, and the Apple Watch by far is the success story here above all others. Is it a hit like the iPhone was? Definitely not. Not yet. Will it be? Maybe, but as many here have said, it still needs a better use case.

I see it coming soon as voice interfaces improve and AI helps power more useful “assistant” types of functionality that could move from our phones to our wearable devices. Of course, none of this makes it fashion, per se. Will we all be wearing denim jackets wired and powered to replace our phones? I just don’t see that happening any time soon.

There may have been initial fascination with the new wearable tech, but consumers are starting to notice how distracting and inconvenient it is to have your wrist buzzing notifications several times a day. The constant connection to our smart devices has many people worried about the effect on their mental health and many are starting to find ways to decrease the influence of tech in their lives.

Apple Watches were a novelty when they were first introduced, but I don’t see as many as I used to. Millennials and younger generations pride themselves on not wearing watches and they say “Why would I wear a watch when my phone has the time?” Since most people have their phones on them at all times and can perform many of the same functions as wearables, it make wearables a tough sell.

Until there is a truly must-have wearable technology, they will still be a novelty.

Wearable technology has to be in-fashion in order for it to go out of fashion. When the right product comes along it will be a hit. It’s yet to be created.