Wearables have had an inconsistent few years, but that’s not unusual for new technology trying to find its place. Success can often come down to how long a company is willing to endure these growing pains. While Samsung and Apple might be in it for the long haul, planned redundancies from Intel’s New Devices Group could see it make a quiet exit from the space.
According to TechCrunch’s Brian Heater, Intel’s lacklustre performance in the wearables market — including a product recall for its Basis Peak — has left the company disillusioned with the concept, enough for it to take the scalpel to the NDG department:
The changes will include a large number of layoffs in NDG, along with the larger New Technologies Group into which it was folded back in April of last year — a move already viewed at the time by some as an early sign of Intel’s displeasure with its wearables division.
The article goes on to mention that the “changes” could occur before the end of 2016 and could signal the “possible shut down of the group altogether”.
At this stage, the news hasn’t been confirmed by Intel — Heater quotes “sources close to the company” — but it wouldn’t come as a massive surprise. Intel has never shied away from cutting the fat when its clear things aren’t going to plan.