Fitbit's latest earnings reports weren't good at all. Pebble sold itself at a firesale price (to Fitbit) and cancelled its future watches. Microsoft, Motorola and Intel appear to have halted (or at least suspended) their wearable product lines. The Samsung Gear S3 slid into the holidays with a whimper, not a bang. And while Apple claims it just had its best weekly sales of the Apple Watch ever, that comes after some deep holiday discounts -- and lackluster sales for the first three quarters of the year.

In light of all that, it's hardly a surprise that sales of smartwatches and wearables are in a pretty significant downturn, according to a recent report by analyst firm IDC.

What's going on?

I've worn nearly all of the big new fitness trackers and smartwatches of the past two years. And that's why I'm not surprised that the market is cooling. The reason is simple: they're not doing anything new.

Even with Apple's newest watches, don't expect battery life beyond two days.

Photo by Sarah Tew/CNET

Since early 2015, wrist gadgets feel like they've hit a standstill. Even the Apple Watch, to some degree. While some are better than others, none of them have risen to the must-have level of the hottest phones.

It's not necessarily all bad news. CNET's holiday shopping survey said millennials were more likely to get smartwatches than tablets or TVs, at least. And, many smartwatches and fitness trackers I've tried in 2016 have gotten at least a little bit better than before, as well as more affordable.

But here's where things have gone off the rails, and need to be readjusted for 2017 and onwards.

Battery life has hit a wall

Hybrid watches that cram fitness tracking into regular watches can push a year of battery, but with sacrifices. But for most other trackers and watches, the range is anywhere from a day to several weeks.