‘We all will be living out of a Sci-fi movie’

As Abhilash Panda, CEO at DIZO India looks at how the clock is turning towards ultra-personalisation, fashion-driven smartwatch usage, and unprecedented applications of wearables in the post-pandemic world, he gives a peek into what’s coming up next.

Once written-off as a product concept, smartwatches can be a surprise sequel in the post-pandemic market. Would you agree? 

In the pre-pandemic era, smartwatches were considered a luxury/premium product and now they are becoming a necessity - more accessible and easy on the pockets ever since the uptake of smartwatches during the pandemic has increased, thanks to people getting more health conscious and driven towards leading a fit life.

This shift to increasing importance of smartphones, and the earbuds, was ought to happen. But yes, the pandemic did accelerate this. What was supposed to happen in the next 3-4 years, just within just a span of a few months during the pandemic and never stopped there. It will not stop now and will only grow manifolds in the coming years.

We at DIZO wish to break the price limitation that comes with the premiumness of a product. We want to popularize tech among the masses. The aim is to provide solutions that are innovative and trendy, without hurting customers’ pockets.

What new features, innovations and use-cases can help this revival?

Talking about the near future, there will be betterment in the existing innovations. Flagship features today will become the basic features in low and mid-price segments. As the industry is evolving rapidly, there will be even more precision in tracking health and fitness features. Battery life will go even higher, with a few more innovations adding to the category. Another interesting trend that the wearable industry will see is the usage of these products as fashion accessories. Consumers, like they had a collection of normal watches, will have a collection of earbuds and wearables to choose from based on their outfit of the day or the occasion they had headed to.

Can we see mint-fresh usage propositions like medical, entertainment and remote-work helping to strengthen this category?

Why not? We have already seen the kick off of the entertainment and remote-work promoting the category in a huge way. I should not say that the products can replace medical equipment right now, but it is only a matter of time and the relevant approvals from the medical fraternity. It already is doing the basic job of at least alerting for any extreme measurements.

The wearables category definitely has gone through a metamorphosis both in terms of offering a rich user experience as well as how the industry itself has seen an influx of players, each wanting to offer a different value proposition to consumers. So, while there has been exponential R&D that has taken place in the entertainment, care and home spaces with a lot of revelations yet to take place. Let’s hope we do find newer usage propositions for this product category.  

Any views on the impact of the Android platform in the smartwatch market?

Smartwatches are designed for being paired with smartphones, which function as the information gateways so that these watches can share notifications, such as text messages, health alerts, email and other social media notifications, or application alerts. The Android platform definitely helps smartwatches increase their functionality, as it opens them up to a brand-new world of apps from the Play Store. More apps often mean a better UX. Android on smartwatches give OEMs more freedom to play around with form, since functionality gets taken care of by the OS.

Disposable wearables, ultra-personalised wearables, wearables as a fashion statement - how close is the Indian customer to these concepts?

Wearables have entered our lives when we have evolved in how we perceive gadgets, the internet and how they all merge into our lives, giving us one seamless immersive experience. So now it’s not just enough for consumers to buy the latest or the fastest or the snazziest product in town. People question their choices every day, they buy things that suit their personalities and lifestyles. So, they look at a lifestyle angle, along with the use-cases of these products. That’s your wearables as a fashion statement and it has already started picking up, will catch the pace soon. 

Also, we can already see users customise their own smartwatches by changing the watch faces and the colour of the wristband to match their everyday outfits. People also pick up a certain colour of earbuds that match with their smartphones or smartwatches or other accessories for the day. In fact, the shape, size and colour of the “charging case” has also become equally important. So, there is some personalization as well.

I believe consumers are going to enjoy this phase for some time and ultra-personalized and disposable wearables still have some time to become a trend. 

Any hint of what your roadmap and marketing strategy look like ahead?

If we do some crystal ball-gazing into the future, the next five to seven years at least will be an even higher growth period for the wearables segment, with consumers getting a hang of the benefits and ease of life due to these wearables. The vast opportunity that lies in India, the consumers will be pampered with more and more brands providing smart tech choices as per use cases.

Another trend that the industry will see - smartwatches and earbuds will not only be used for their primary usage, but also as a fashion statement, same as we do for our regular wear, party wear and different outfits and fashion accessories for different occasions. Now coming to DIZO’s future marketing strategy; DIZO is a brand for anyone and everyone, who are interested in tech and are looking for personalized and unique experiences. Along with our tech disruptions, as a brand we want to be resonated as a Different, Genuine, Cool, Humorous and Surprising brand. 

Tell us something about the Realme ecosystem? Any challenges seen due to the recent geopolitical chaos, supply-chain snafu and changes in tax-duty/sops due to the Make-in-India push?

DIZO is part of the realme TechLife ecosystem and, hence, shares the same aspirations in terms of R&D focus and manufacturing standards. We are their partner brand, have their support in 3 key aspects - Industrial Design, Supply Chain and AIoT Experience. Moreover, they are there to help us with their expertise, whenever required. Having said that, DIZO as an individual brand, has its own management, manifesto, market strategy, and is centered around its own mission and vision. 

With regards to supply chain disruptions across world markets, we haven’t faced any shortage yet. Also, we are in alignment with the government regulations, policies and Make-in-India promotion. It is just a matter of time. Moreover, we are currently assembling our feature phones in India only, and only wish to push for the same agenda in the long run.   

The Q3 shipments have been, reportedly, quite encouraging. What's your reckoning here? Specially, since home-grown brands and local products have shown good traction?

Yes, the Q3 shipments records are very encouraging, and it gives us a lot of hope, not just for DIZO as a brand, but for the wearables industry as a whole. We started with great plans being the first brand under realme TechLife ecosystem with a lot of aspirations to provide the best to our consumers. Also, before we even started we ensured to have in place over 320+ service centres in over 310+ cities across the country. Five months into the business, we made 100cr and also became a 1mn big family, which we consider as huge accomplishments. 

Throughout the journey so far, we broke so many records - entered into the list of top 10 brands by Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the Flipkart hearables category, which is a first time ever for a new brand in this segment to achieve this within a month’s time and that too with only two products - DIZO GoPods D and DIZO Wireless. 

Coming to your question on home-grown brands doing good, I have a different understanding on this and I believe it has nothing to do with the origin but sheer offerings that a brand has to make. Cannot comment on others, but for us Indians, we do relish choices. We make conscious decisions, while considering all the offers at hand that can fulfill our needs. And the youth today, they go beyond the products and really look forward to what the brand personifies. Let’s just say, the brand must live up to “cool” quotient. 

Though a global brand we are also an Indian entity being registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA), as a private limited company, which gives us an edge over the homegrown brands that is we hold the expertise to utilize our global resources in order to provide local, differentiated and innovative solutions. Consumer AIoT experience being one of our key focusses, like the DIZO App and realme Link App customization, which a lot of brands will not provide is a big example. Still, if we do not live up to our consumers and provide them with the right solutions, survival would be difficult.   

What key opportunities and challenges do segments like smartwatch, smart homes and smart entertainment face - particularly in the Indian context?

The period of 2020-21 has been a period of creation of a new normal, which eventually turned out to be an opportunity for the industry. A major boon for the smart home, smart entertainment and smart wearables industry was work from home. In addition to this, people started inching towards fitness, especially the young adults who constantly wanted to monitor their heart rate, steps, oxygen levels, etc. while working out. Therefore, it is only safe to say that customers staying home boosted the wearables & smart home segment tremendously.

Another reason for this segment to receive this magnitude of attention is the increase in disposable incomes of individuals. Talking specifically for the wearables segment, we believe that it’s not just about the price. It’s about what is being provided at the price and at various price points. Consumers today are very intelligent, and they seek value for money and the brand personality, not to forget.

More so, the penetration of technology in smaller towns & cities has provided a cushion to the wearables segment since most individuals now prefer to be hands-free and multitask.  

A huge challenge that I foresee in the wearables segment, which is still a benefit for the consumers, is the increasing brands and product options. The proliferation of new entrants in the mass market segment has increased competition, putting a lot of pressure on brands to differentiate in a market that is getting inundated with lookalike products. It is a great news for the consumers anyway, as they get more and more products that are tech and design-oriented, value for money and highly differentiated within each portfolio of a category. 

What is your view of the current Telco space and smartphone adjacent industries in India? How significant would 5G and interoperability be for players like DIZO?

Thanks to the introduction of 5G, we all will be living out of a sci-fi movie. 5G will turn people and the sensors they wear into an embodiment of the internet of things. It will be a big enabler for the tech industry. 

The technology enables faster data transfer speeds — up to 10x faster than the speeds achievable with older standards — lower latency, and greater network capacity. As a result, 5G will create a tremendous opportunity for numerous industries, but also sets the stage for large-scale disruption. 

Brands should consider adopting 5G services to enhance sales, improve operational efficiencies, increase customer satisfaction due to increase in customization and personalized experience. The advanced technology will make wearables smaller and lighter, which is an added advantage for customers who prefer to wear a slim smartwatch for instance.

The article has been written by Pratima H