De Grisogono Samsung Gear S2
£15,962
Tech giant Samsung has joined forces with Swiss watch creators De Grisogono to create this stunning diamond-studded smartwatch. Powered by the Gear S2 function with a menu of digital applications and features, the 41mm hybrid is finished with sparkling white and black diamonds on the navigation bezel. Technology meets luxury at its finest!
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Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon
From £2,170
Luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Horizon smartwatch comes in six models – each resembling one of LV’s analogue watches. Powered by Android Wear, Tambour Horizon offers all the usual apps, as well as access to exclusive content via the LA Pass app, such as digital versions of Louis Vuitton’s city guides and insider access to news about the brand and its products. This smartwatch is definitely a must for all Louis Vuitton lovers out there!
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Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45
£2,695
Following the success of its first Connected Smartwatch, the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 is the watch for indecisive people. You’d expect to be able to customise the digital face of your smartwatch when buying from Tag Heuer, but the Connected Modular 45 takes this to a whole new level. Lugs (rose gold, titanium or ceramic) and straps can be easily changed, and if there are days when you feel like living an analogue life, you can swap the smartwatch module for an automatic watch module.
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Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch
£895
Working both autonomously and with iOS and Android apps, the Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch is the smartwatch for all watch connoisseurs thanks to its timeless and clean design. The Swiss watch’s main features include activity and sleep tracking but don’t worry – with its five different models, what it lacks in functions, it makes up for in design!
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Two-thirds (66%) of UK consumers do not want to use a smartwatch app to make payments or purchase goods. That’s according to new State of Finance research from experience management company, Qualtrics, which examines financial technologies and payment preferences across the UK.
The finance-focused research, which surveyed over 1,000 UK consumers, also found that 81% of those questioned say that they have never used a smartwatch to pay for items.
Although the debit card has overtaken cash as the preferred form of payment, the research found that 97% of consumers still use cash at least some of the time. Surprisingly, over a third (36%) are still paying with cheques — almost double those who use wearables.
Commenting on these findings, Luke Williams, CX strategy lead at Qualtrics, said: “While it’s great to see both retailers and financial institutions investing in new and innovative forms of payment, it appears that consumers are not yet ready to transition away from cards and cash.
“Financial institutions need to think carefully about what payment approaches work for their customers and the technologies that will meet consumer demands. There is no substitute for offering experiences that consumers want to engage with, and payments are no different. The key is not imposing technologies that you think consumers should use, but listening to customers and tailoring your approach to their individual needs.”
(Source: Qualtrics)
A new study from Juniper Research finds that the global number of banking apps accessed via smartwatches will reach the 10 million mark in 2017, rising to more than 100 million by 2020.
The research found that the use of smartwatches to access ‘push’ banking information services has been steadily gaining traction over the past 12 months. A number of global banks have launched apps for the wrist, while the launch of Apple Watch in April 2015 further accelerated the demand for wearable banking apps.
Identifying Wearable Banking Use Cases
However, the new research, Worldwide Digital Banking: Mobile, Online & Wearable 2015-2020, notes that while wearable based banking information services has emerged as a key trend, it is perceived by many as a gimmick at present.
Juniper believes that while wearables, including smartwatches and glasses, are not suited for conducting complicated financial instructions, wrist based wearables will become a key device for multi-factor authentication - for banking transaction approval in the future.
“Digital banking has experienced a substantial progression towards personalised computing. We do believe that, keeping pace with technology evolution, wearable banking will witness a faster adoption rate than mobile banking especially amongst millennials”, added research author Nitin Bhas.
The Future of Digital Banking
The research also observed that although banks have introduced a number of innovative new services in the space, such as AR (augmented reality) banking apps and a cashless money box, these generally have a short life span with the consumers.
Juniper believes that banks and financial institutions will need to offer customers more targeted services, aimed at specific user needs. This will be enabled through customer analytics and big data management platforms from vendors such as Oracle, Infosys, Fiserv and SAP.
