Back in July, we reported that TomTom was reassessing its place in the wearable market after disappointing sales. That, plus key wearable executives leaving the company, seemed to signal its impending exit from the wearable market. TomTom has now made it official.
In a statement, the company said it was doubling down on navigation technology reorganizing parts of its consumer sports division. The consumer sports division, of course, is where TomTom's wearables and action cameras reside. In line with this reorganization, TomTom is laying off 136 people.
Read this: TomTom's wearable exit is of its own making
While the company is getting out of wearable tech and action cams, it says it will still "sell consumer sports products" and support the customers who buy them. This likely means that TomTom will continue to sell whatever it has, and if you buy it you shouldn't worry because it'll still support it - for now.
Back at its Q2 earnings, the company revealed 20% year-over-year decline in consumer revenue, specifically naming its consumer sports category as a weak performer. TomTom's most recent product releases, the Adventurer and Touch, never even made it to the US, which, usually a sign of struggling consumer demand.
Seeing TomTom go is a huge shame, the company truly grew into one of the big players in the wearable market, creating some impressive sports products. This includes the Spark 3, a Wareable favorite, and the Adventurer.
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By Husain Sumra
Husain joined Wareable in 2017 as a member of our San Fransisco based team. Husain is a movies expert, and runs his own blog, and contributes to MacRumors.
He has spent hours in the world of virtual reality, getting eyes on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR.
At Wareable, Husain's role is to investigate, report and write features and news about the wearable industry – from smartwatches and fitness trackers to health devices, virtual reality, augmented reality and more.
He writes buyers guides, how-to content, hardware reviews and more.