There is one thing that is guaranteed torile up consumers. There was once no fee. Mobvoi is known for making affordable Wear OS watches. If you want all of the new sleep features, you will have to pay $4.99 a month.
New features will include sleep aid songs, artificial intelligence sleep insights, historical sleep data, and more sleep related metrics like maximum and minimum heart rate and SpO2. In-depth data like SpO2 and min / max heart rate will only be available to subscribers. 50 sleep aid songs will be given to members, as opposed to the 12 available for non- subscribers. The upgraded sleep features are only available on the TicWatches that are connected to the Mobvoi app. If you use a different app for your fitness and health tracking, this isn't a big deal.
If users sign up by December 31st, Mobvoi will offer a discounted service called the "VIP service". A six-month free trial will be given to the second edition of the watch. You are not getting much bang for your buck at that price.
This isn't the first time a company has turned to subscription services. A paywall of $10 a month or $80 a year was used to move more in-depth sleep and health metrics. Last year, the Oura Ring courted consumer ire when it introduced a $6 monthly subscription for insights that were previously free after purchasing the hardware. The hardware is free while the monthly subscription is steep.
There is some logic to why subscription fatigue is popular. Hardware sales aren't enough to keep the lights on For companies with ambitious plans, this is true. Diagnostic capabilities like EKG and arrhythmia detection are required by regulatory approval. There is a chance that companies will have to deal with regulatory agencies as the line between medical devices and consumer Wearables blurs. Wearable makers have to find a way to pay for FDA clearance, which is a costly up-front investment.
Mobvoi isn't as well known for its health features as other companies. The TicWatch GTH Pro was announced earlier this year. The feature skirts the line between health and medicine.
Mobvoi's decision to experiment with subscriptions might feel like a slap in the face to consumers. The company has yet to make a peep about its Wear OS 3 strategy. It was announced last year that Wear OS 3 would be upgradeable to 4100 powered watches by the end of 2022. Mobvoi hasn't said when users can expect the update to arrive
Fossil began to roll out the upgrade as of October. The new TicWatch will be powered by the new W5 Plus chip. Crickets are now December. It isn't something you would expect consumers to be happy about. If Mobvoi has any indication, they aren't.
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