My thoughts on user behaviour after three months with Gear Fit & Samsung S5 mini.

1. @LukeSz
Smart Watches
Changes in User Behaviour
and Popular Use Cases
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My thoughts on user behaviour after three months with Gear Fit & Samsung S5 mini.

2. @LukeSz
Fascinating world of smart devices
Smart watches will disrupt how we use mobile devices,
whilst mobile phones offer little innovation.
Nearly all mobile phone manufactures have released
smart watch devices and Samsung definitely leads the
way with a number of product launches.
I’ve been testing Gear Fit from Samsung and I found it
fascinating how my interaction with the mobile phone
changed and how it will impacts user behaviour.

3. @LukeSz
After nearly 60 years from the 2-way
wrist radio watch, smart watches are
finally taking off
Dick Tracy
Source: Google Trends

4. @LukeSz
What can Samsung Gear Fit do?
Notifications of Emails, SMS, calls, apps,
particularly useful when configured.
Simple interaction with your phone, e.g. reject
calls, quick reply to messages using templates.
Fitness tracking, pedometer, sleep tracker
Heart rate monitor
Control media (e.g. Spotify on your phone)
And more… but the above are the main features.

5. @LukeSz
Observation #1
Keep the phone in your bag
Once configured you can
receive SMS, Email, various app
and call notifications to your
watch. You can stay connected
without carrying your phone
everywhere and checking it all
the time. It’s important to set
your watch to only receive
certain notifications, you don’t
want your phone to vibrate
every time someone likes your
post on Facebook.

6. @LukeSz
Observation #2
Work starts as soon as you wear it
Four out of five people check their phones within the
first 15 min of waking up.
Think about the old days when sitting at your desk was
the official start of the day, recently it was opening your
emails on your mobile device.
Putting the watch on felt like starting my work day. I
was immediately connected to my calendar, emails and
notifications.

7. @LukeSz
Observation #3
Finally a solid use case for “voice to
text” recognition
85% of iOS users don’t use Siri. Voice recognition’s
never really taken off, simply because typing is
more efficient when you have a keyboard.
But, with the smart watch there is no keyboard and
it would be useful to dictate messages. Users will
be much more likely to use “voice to text” service.
Currently, Gear Fit can only send pre-defined
messages.

8. @LukeSz
Observation #4
Bluetooth is finally essential
Bluetooth was announced 16 years ago, it’s useful but you could
live without it, unless of course you drive a cab!
Pairing Gear Fit with my phone was the first time Bluetooth felt
essential. It doesn't drain the battery, it’s good enough for data
synchronisation and its range is adequate.
Here’s one surprising use case…with Gear Fit you are less likely
to lose your phone, or leave home without it. Your watch vibrates
when it disconnects from the phone (i.e. you are too far from the
device) and you know that your device is not in your range.

9. @LukeSz
Observation #5
Smart watch is the way forward
Gear Fit can be described as a “remote control” of your
phone.
Smart watch makes the communication easier and more
accessible. The interaction with your phone is more
subtle.
It completely changed the way I use my mobile, more
then any other innovation in my new Samsung S5 mini.

10. @LukeSz
Observation #6
New digital touchpoints
Smart watches will fragment the user behaviour further and change the way
businesses communicate with customers. I can see that there will be a lot of
innovation in the following areas:
In-store opportunities to provide additional information to customers
via smart watch apps. [offline and online experience]
Micropayments will be possible using smart watch apps, much more
convenient than paying with card or phone. [new payment methods]
Users will be connected with the device all the time. This adds
another dimension to localised advertising. Advertisers will be able to
send messages to smart watches or use vibrating alerts, as opposed
to e.g. smartphone notifications that are often ignored. [local ads]

11. @LukeSz
Observation #7
New health features
Gear fit can measure your heart rate, it syncs
with your phone where you can input all of
your daily nutritional info.
The new S Health app is good and I believe
the intention is to use it as a central point for
your health data in the future.
The health features are still relatively basic, I
found the heart rate monitor useful, but I
wear my watch quite loose and it doesn’t
work unless the watch is tightly strapped to
your wrist.

12. @LukeSz
Observation #8
Two factor authentication and security
Two factor authentication is easier with Gear Fit. I use
the smart watch to receive various access codes (e.g.
from my Google Account) it’s much easier to access
codes without reaching for the phone. It opens up some
interesting opportunities for security apps.
Electronic access cards (e.g. companies with door
security etc.) can be easily replaced with a smart watch
app. Smart watch would provide much more scope to
make to add new features and are probably cheaper to
run too.

13. @LukeSz
Gear Fit
Look into the future
This is what I’d like to see in the future releases
Voice to text integration
Accepting calls and perhaps mic in the device
Better integration with GPS and navigation apps
Integration with more Android and iOS
Perhaps more gesture based actions, currently only supports
“wake up” gesture, i.e. the screen turns on when you raise your
arm

14. @LukeSz
Thanks for taking the time to look
at the presentation.
If you have any comments please get in touch via Twitter
@LukeSz, LinkedIn or email me directly
luke.szkudlarek@gmail.com.