Wearable technology is out to disrupt the health sector by empowering patients with granular data leading to actionable insights. With wearables, patients can collect their health data and report it in a digital format, therefore avoiding the need for physical appointments. Insurers and providers have also bought into wearable technology, relying on data collected from health monitoring devices to inform more personalized and accurate health plans. Even companies have jumped onto the bandwagon of wearables, keeping office workers to work-from-home employees in good health.
Because of these advantages, the demand for wearable medical devices has seen an upward surge-be it fitness trackers, smart watches, ECG monitors, blood pressure monitors, and biosensors. The value of the smart wearable health devices market stood at US$13.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to swell to US$37.4 billion by 2028.
Wearables for Health and Fitness
Fitness Trackers: Fitness trackers probably are the most recognizable wearables of them all. These devices are designed to track and monitor physical activity as well as health-related metrics. Most of these wearables feature step tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and estimation of calorie burn. Popular examples of these wearables include Fitbit, Garmin, and Xiaomi Mi Band.
Smartwatches go beyond just fitness; instead, they have become multiform devices connected to smartphones. In most instances, smartwatches also feature receiving calls and messages, navigation with GPS, playing music, and even displaying custom watch faces. Currently, among the common ones, there are smartwatches from Apple-Apple Watch, Samsung-the Galaxy Watch-and those using Wear OS by other brands.
Wearable Payments: Payments through wearables allow users to make contactless transactions by incorporating payment technology into the device. Examples include smartwatches and fitness trackers with NFC embedded inside, which can be used to make purchases by tapping.
AR Glasses: These are a kind of glass that overlays digital information onto the user's physical environment to create an augmented reality. These can then be used for gaming, navigation, professional purposes, and many others. Examples of such include Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens, and several other recent developments within the field of AR.
Smart clothes: It is the integration of technology in garments for the measurement of different biometric parameters. For instance, heart rate, body temperature, and even movement can be calculated through sensors woven into the fabric. Companies like Hexoskin and Sensoria in the smart clothes domain sell their products for tracking fitness and health activities.
Smart Glasses: Contrarily, smart glasses are more about being informational to the wearer without overlaying the information in the real world. They may include features such as hands-free calling, navigation, and even augmented reality applications. Examples include Snap Spectacles and Amazon Echo Frames.
Wearable Cameras: Wearable cameras are designed to shoot from the perspective of the wearer. These devices can be attached to clothing or accessories, offering a hands-free way to record videos and take photos. GoPro cameras and devices like the Snap Spectacles fall into this category.
Wearable Earables: Those are ear-worn wearables, most times referred to as "hearables," smart headphones, and earbuds. They can also have additional functionalities beyond the capability of playing audio, like fitness tracking, voice assistance, and real-time language translation. Examples include Apple AirPods, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and Jabra Elite series.
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