Do you monitor your sleep? Or your heart-rate? Count the calories, maybe? You’re not the only one. The wearable market has grown tremendously in the last few years. According to Statista, by 2018 the worldwide sales in the Wearables category, which includes smartwatches, fitness and wellness trackers and others, will amount to $30.66 billion. Only in 2017 the wearables market volume is predicted to reach US$940m, most revenue is generated in the United States, closely followed by China, India, Japan, and Germany.
What seems to be a short-lasting trend, in fact is already here for a while. One of the earliest acceptable wearable technology was that of the hearing aid, a part of the Quantified self-movement. And already in 2014, 71% of 16- to 24-year-olds want wearable tech, according to a study by Forbes.
Now wearables market growth only accelerates. A clear signal that Apple Watch now stood some serious competition and other vendors are upping their game in this segment was shown late last year, when Fitbit announced their acquisition of Pebble for a price little less than $40 million.
However, wearables are not only limited to smartwatches. Here we look at the top 8 wearable technologies to keep an eye on this year:
1. LVL Wearable Hydration Monitor
Priced at $150, this is the world’s first ever tracker that tracks your body hydration in real time. LVL simultaneously senses your hydration, mood, activity, heart-rate and suggests how much fluid you need.
The tracker was a crowdfunded project on Kickstarter and raised around $1.2 million. It’s available for pre-order and starts shipping in August 2017.
2. SiDLYCare
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Apart from everyday life, wearables are more and more often used in medicine as well. SiDLYCare, the telemedicine wristband invented in Poland in 2014, is a perfect example.
SiDLYCare is a medical wearable which consists of the SiDLYCare Band and the SiDLYCare app developed by Ready4Sthat allows to monitor and control its functions. The aim of this wearable system is to helps doctors and senior care assistants to monitor their patients’ health by measuring all important data about patients such as their pulse, temperature, location, malaise or patient fall.
The wearable has already achieved a huge success in Europe and Edyta Kocyk, the founder of SiDLY, was named Businesswoman of the Year in New Technology and Debut of the Year in 2014. In 2016 she was also chosen one of 30 Under 30 by Forbes.
3. Bloomlife
If you thought, wearables were only smartwatches and fitness trackers, think again!
One of the smash hits at CES 2017, Bloomlife wants to be your pregnancy companion. It’s a clinically validated pregnancy wearable that aims to significantly improve birth outcomes with the help of data that can be streamed real-time to your smartphone.
Bloomlife works by picking up electrical signals from the uterine muscle to automatically measure, count and time contractions. You choose your start date and Bloomlife couriers you the kit. Post your delivery, you return it back.
After being about 9 months in beta, it’s now available to try.
4. Magic Leap
Any search on the internet with respect to AR (Augmented Reality) will yield one name – Magic Leap. The mysterious startup (currently on stealth mode) based out of South Florida has raised over $1 billion in funding from Google, Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop and others.
Magic Leap’s signature technology has been kept largely under wraps, except for a handful who have been granted access. There is not much information about what products is the company planning and that most of it are just rumors. Responding to all the allegations, CEO Rony Abovitz has claimed that the first product equivalent device has been built and now they are looking into the supply chain. Hopefully, we get to see something sooner than later.
Oh, and you’re wondering what Magic Leap does? Take a look at the video below.
5. Under Armour Smart Running Shoes
The second-biggest sports apparel company in the world recently announced their new collection of connected running that tracks your runs and measures muscular fatigue to help you recover between sessions.
The idea is to point towards an untethered experience, where you can run free from a phone or watch, and let your shoes do the tracking.
The three designs available are priced between $140 to $160.
6. BLOCKS
If there’s a product that took the word ‘customization’ seriously, it’s BLOCKS – the world’s first modular smartwatch.
Though it lost out in the finals of the Intel Make It Wearable competition, it has been generating a lot of buzz after successfully completing their Kickstarter project by raising $1.6 million. Now the ‘Project Ara’ of smartwatches is getting ready to be shipped globally.
The modular watch breaks away from compromise with a unique design. Why? Because BLOCKS is tailored to the person that matters the most – You. The watchface is known as the Core, which can function on its own, and then you can add Modules into the strap to enhance the functionality of the watch.
7. Spectacles
This list is incomplete without mentioning Spectacles – just for Snapchat. Uniquely cool and easy to use, Spectacles have been one of the most sought-after and hard-to-get gadgets in recent months.
The wearable goggles make memories from your perspective and wirelessly adds snaps to your memories on Snapchat. And it charges automatically in the case.
Brands are already warming up to newer marketing ideas with the latest toy from Snap Inc. with POV and 115-degree videos and making content immersive like you’ve never seen before.
8. Bragi
Eyes, wrist, arms, waist – while we continue to debate the perfect body part for wearables technologies, Bragi has taken the lead for hearables making our ears smarter. No wonder – the ear is no doubt the perfect place for AI assistants as it takes us off from continuously gleaning on a screen.
Bragi is 100% wireless audio and has a playtime of 6 hours on a single charge. Other features include passive noise cancellation, microphones, audio transparency, and Bluetooth. While we wait for the much talked about Doppler Labs’ wireless Here Ones, Bragi wireless headphones are sure worth a try.
How to create an application which helps to control a wearable device? Check the case study of SidlyCare.
