Articles about Wearable

2015 is quite likely to be the year when wearable technology finally reaches the mainstream, thanks in no small part to the arrival of Apple Watch. CES is, of course, awash with wearables, but few of them really appeal to me and I can’t see those devices finding much of an audience either. Part of the problem is a lot of wearables are designed to duplicate functionality already found in existing devices. People are used to glancing at their phones to see the time, and get notifications, and that makes a smartwatch -- which offers the same, albeit slightly reduced functionality, on a much, much smaller screen -- seem unnecessary. And there are other problems.

The current generation of wearables, from smartwatches to smartglasses, are also designed to replace watches, spectacles, and so on, that you might already own. While most people I know don’t wear watches, I do. My timepiece of choice is the Omega Seamaster, and I love it. It’s the perfect blend of style and functionality for me. The idea of swapping my watch for something that looks cheap and ugly as some (not all) smartwatches do really doesn’t appeal in the slightest. I currently have an UP24 fitness band nestled up against the Omega (because Jawbone recommends you wear it on the non-dominant arm for improved accuracy) and the black rubber band looks horrible next to the Omega’s polished stainless steel strap.

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Chip maker Intel is using the 2015 CES to announce its plans for moving into the wearable technology sector.

These include the Curie, a button-sized hardware module, and a collaboration with sports sunglasses brand Oakley.

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Luxury brand Montblanc has unveiled an innovative watch strap that will provide smartwatch features without compromising on style.

The strap comes with a small display that lets the user see any notification, as well as controlling their music and smartphone camera remotely.

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I'm not easily impressed. Lots of tech products see the light of day each year, but only a few I consider to be truly great. And by that I mean technology that I want to have in my life, that brings value, and, last but not least, that makes me feel good. The subjective factor is just as important, I believe, when it comes to the things that I have to look at and interact with on a daily basis. That's just the way it is, and I'm fine with it.

Because of this, a pretty long list can get really, really short in no time. My colleagues have already shared their favorite tech products of 2014 with you, and now the time has come for me to do the same. It's BetaNews tradition, after all. So, without further ado, here they are.

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What new wearable devices will be unveiled in 2015? As I write, developers and designers are hunkered down building the next generation of gadgets. It’s an exciting time with the wearables market still at its infancy, yet poised for tremendous growth -- with the value expected to hit $12.6 billion by 2018 according to Business Insider. The big question is: which devices and apps will have staying power?

We’ve seen a slew of wearables launched over the past 18 months promising to transform how we live. From smart watches to smart glasses, the development game is on to see just how intelligent these devices can be.

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My colleague Alan Buckingham has already listed his favorite tech of the past year, and now it’s my turn. I’ve taken all sorts of new products for a spin over the past 12 months, so narrowing the selection down is actually pretty tricky. Apple disappointed me a little this year -- as the owner of an iPhone 5s I needed a big reason to upgrade to the iPhone 6, and a larger screen and Apple Pay wasn’t it. The iPhone 6 is an excellent phone, but I think I’ll hang on to the 5s for another year. Similarly, the iPad Air 2 just wasn’t different enough for me to consider that either. Thinner is a feature, not a benefit for me.

But fortunately, there was plenty of other new tech around that I did love, and here’s my top selection, in no particular order.

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Like it or not, wearable technology seems to be here to stay. 2014 saw many advances for the Pebble smartwatch, Google Glass stayed in the game, though remained out of the price range for most consumers. Android Wear debuted with several brands offering differing form factors. But where does this new product line head off to in 2015?

For starters, there is Apple, which announced its offering recently, though it won't be available until next year. That one is, like anything announced by the Cupertino-based company, greatly anticipated by a certain group of people. And like other Apple products, it will also be overpriced in a market where you can buy a Pebble for $99.

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Wearables are on track to hit 168 million shipments by 2019 with the sector driven by Apple’s long-awaited entry into a segment it will eventually lead.

A new report from Berg Insight predicts that wearable technology shipments will hit 19 million in 2014, up from 5.9 million in 2013, before accelerating to 168.2 million by 2019 thanks to a compound annual growth rate of 54.7 percent.

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"Today, your task is to create a piece of wearable technology," Lord Sugar told the candidates at the start of a recent episode of BBC1’s The Apprentice. Unfortunately, the boys’ team went on to create a grey jumper with a small inbuilt camera and novelty Christmas lights. Meanwhile, the girls’ team devised a jacket with solar panels on the shoulders and a few lights on the lapels.

Not products that are going to grace the catwalk at London Fashion Week any time soon. Yet, for all their painful sound bites and poor decisions, the candidates were right to some extent in thinking that making wearable technology look fashionable is key. As it happens, the wearable technology sector is increasingly relying on the fashion industry to drive it forward, but is it enough for wearables to be wholeheartedly adopted by mainstream consumers? Let’s look at a few examples.

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Benedict Evans recently wrote an insightful piece exploring new questions for the mobile industry. Among the five questions he brought up, I believe that the evolution of interaction models and messaging will end up being the most important.

I don't have anything to add there as think Benedict's analysis here was excellent. However, I do think that three of his questions could benefit from deeper analysis. I also think that he may have missed a crucial question brought on by the scale of the mobile industry.

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Another report has emerged pointing to 2015 as being a massive year for wearables, with the gadgets expected to explode in popularity.

In particular the smartwatch is expected to finally take off, with the Apple Watch helping to drive that category forward when it’s released next spring. Thus far, fitness bands have easily topped the wearables category, but smartwatches are expected to accelerate rapidly now they’re shedding the geeky image with the likes of smart-looking Android Wear devices, as well as Apple’s effort.

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Coming to the end of 2014, it's time to start looking to what the year ahead may have to offer. After gazing into its crystal ball, Juniper Research has compiled a list of what it expects to be the biggest technology trends of 2015. Topping the list is a focus on security. Juniper Research predicts that there will be greater interest in encryption and tokenization, as cloud storage providers battle to regain customer trust.

The launch of Apple Pay will help to drive an increased interest in biometrics to help with security, but 2015 is also predicted to be the year that wearables really take off. Now that Apple has entered the arena, there should be a greater focus on aesthetics and smaller players will increase in popularity. Tied in with both security and wearables is a predicted jump in the use of NFC -- for payments, authentication, health and more.

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A report recently issued by PWC suggested that wearables adoption will mirror the phenomenal rise of tablets in the enterprise. Apparently a fifth of adults in the US already own a wearable tech device and additional sales could top 130 million units in 2018. Enterprise vendors are watching these predictions carefully and starting to anticipate their arrival into the workplace with dedicated platforms, such as Salesforce1.

Although many applications being developed are for medical workers and white-collar users, it is not difficult to see why wearables also offer great potential for the same-day delivery industries. They provide a significant opportunity for achieving service improvements through more seamless interaction with customers. Added to this, proof of delivery is more secure and evidence to refute claims of lost or damaged consignments can be captured automatically, potentially without the customer even realizing it.  Customer service benefits aside, wearables also support hands-free working, which means productivity and efficiency levels can be further improved on existing rates achieved from using 'traditional' mobile devices.

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With the latest smartwatches boasting a significant amount of processing power, it was only a matter of time before fans of classic video games starting emulating older titles to run on them.

Now, one particular retro enthusiast has managed to run PlayStation One games on their Android Wear device.

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Sony will enter the wearable market with a high-tech watch made of electronic paper, reports indicate. The watch will likely debut early next year as one of the company’s first products from a division aimed at refocusing the company on innovation.

The watch is said to emphasize style over technology, and features a display that wraps around the entire wrist. This means both the face and wristband would be able to function as a display and change the user interface based on how the watch is used.

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