The problem (IMO) is that the tech isn't there yet to enable the focus on trying to be tiny mobile phones, without huge sacrifices in terms of battery life.

No matter how good it is, a device in a watch form factor can't provide THAT much in the way of utility, so it needs to be as hassle-free as possible in order to be a net benefit to its wearer. I think in this regard the early Pebble smartwatches were perfectly pitched.

Sadly Pebble decided to chase the Android / Apple Watch market instead of refining their niche, with predictably poor results.