Beyond the Smartwatch: Three Wearable Technology Trends to Watch - IDTechEx

Beyond the Smartwatch: Three Wearable Technology Trends to Watch

As the smartwatch marketplace matures, the capabilities of alternate wearables proceed to expand. In the coming years, alternate signifier factors could statesman tempting consumers away. Not lone could these devices supply much worth - they besides person the imaginable to entree caller biometrics. The wearable exertion manufacture is being driven by the request for much information - but is faced with hitting maturity during an epoch of economical contraction. This nonfiction summarizes what beingness could look similar beyond the smartwatch boom, with 3 trends to watch.

Earphones: Listening to Our Emotions

The adoption of Apple AirPods has grown ten-fold successful the past 5 years, with Bluetooth exertion bringing existent wireless stereo to the wide market. Like their smartwatch companions, the terms constituent for these hearables remains high, and consumers whitethorn statesman turning to cheaper options without innovation. However, earphones person a cardinal vantage that wrist-wear does not - they are adjacent the brain.

The proximity of the receptor to the encephalon could springiness much precocious earphones a commercialized vantage successful the coming years. Metal electrodes utilized to measurement electrical signals from the bosom (ECG) tin besides measurement neural enactment (EEG). This is covered successful IDTechEx's dedicated study connected wearables sensors.

Source: IDTechEx

Measurements of signals from the encephalon tin quantify stress, slumber quality, and affectional state, arsenic good arsenic diagnose epilepsy. It is already imaginable to bargain EEG-integrated headbands, but these are acold little fashionable and mostly sold arsenic a novelty toy. The situation to day for an in-ear solution has been the miniaturization of electronics and sound cancellation. Yet successful caller years, immoderate companies, specified arsenic Naox Technologies and Kokoon, person demonstrated that EEG-integrated hearables are feasible.

In tandem, the request for affectional authorities information is besides growing. Advertisers are progressively turning to EEG to entree it. For example, it is present commonly utilized to measure spectator engagement with Super Bowl ads.

So far, large brands person refrained from adding caller sensor exertion into their hearables. It has agelong been imaginable to enactment optical heart-rate sensors into earphones, and portion circumstantial devices for sports are available, it has not recovered its mode into the wide market. This is apt due to the fact that the precedence has been connected enhancing audio quality. It is besides due to the fact that it provides a repetition information acceptable disposable from the watch. Moreover, earphones cannot connection real-time information visualization.

However, fixed their unsocial capableness to construe neural signals, present could beryllium the clip for hearables to play a much precocious relation successful the user-data postulation via EEG. Indeed, implantable electrodes are already being utilized to pass with exoskeletons to alteration paraplegics to walk. So, portion 2023 could beryllium a small aboriginal to spot wide adoption of mind-reading earphones, it could good beryllium the clip to spot a displacement successful absorption from advancements successful large marque wrist-wear power to hearables. Consumers near unimpressed by incremental improvements to smartwatch hardware whitethorn bounds their spending connected caller user electronics to a brace of much awesome earphones.

Removable Pods and Performance Analytics: A More Personalized Approach to Wearable Adoption

Smartwatches and fittingness tracker bands presently predominate the enactment monitoring market, but request for a much personalized attack could beryllium connected the horizon. Much of the worth obtained from our wearables is from the bundle analyzing our movements. However, the earthy question information disposable from a ticker unsocial has limits, and the information analytics disposable from platforms created for athletes besides has advantages for the wide market.

Hardware presently limits the usage of watches during interaction sports arsenic it is excessively dangerous. Furthermore, question detectable from the wrist is incapable to seizure circumstantial movements associated with immoderate sports precise accurately — for example, weightlifting oregon assemblage spot exercises. One solution projected for the nonrecreational jock marketplace is the usage of removable pods.

Removable pods tin incorporate the aforesaid question and hear-rate sensors recovered successful smartwatches, but they are kept successful spot via pockets successful thorax straps, underwear, oregon trousers (more accusation connected these sensor types are covered successful the wearables sensors report). It is present communal to spot premiere league footballers and NFL players wearing thorax straps from Statsport oregon Kinexon. Similarly, nonrecreational golfers and cyclists are adopting Whoop bands which tin beryllium worn connected the wrist oregon adapted for insertion into clothing.

For immoderate companies, elite athletes person served arsenic a selling instrumentality for their wearables. As such, the anticipation for enhanced insights astir accent and recovery, arsenic good arsenic the scope to usage pods arsenic good arsenic wrist-wear, is opening to scope a wider market. This inclination is apt to proceed successful 2023, particularly fixed overmuch of the worth successful this concern exemplary lies successful the software. This allows companies, specified arsenic Whoop, to connection a subscription to their platform, which includes the hardware. This could marque it much affordable for the consumer market, who would worth receiving upgraded hardware arsenic a standard. In the future, packages targeting amateur athletes and the broader wellness marketplace volition apt emerge. Consumers would worth the accidental to curate a much personalized attack to their fittingness tracking, combining removable pods, watches, show analytics, and information sharing to suit their needs.

Removable pods and show analysis. Source: IDTechEx

Headsets and Eyewear: Preparing for the Meta-verse

What lies beyond the smartwatch volition mostly beryllium dictated by the aboriginal of our enactment with 1 different and the internet. Today, it is modular to usage a laptop, smartphone, and perchance besides a smartwatch for enactment tracking and hands-free connection if desired. But this ecosystem has been the presumption quo for galore years present and could beryllium acceptable for disruption.

The plan of phones has stagnated successful caller years and combined with 'zoom fatigue' pursuing the pandemic, determination are signs consumers are bare for thing much immersive.

Here enters the conception of the 'meta-verse'. The improvement of augmented reality headsets and astute glasses could 1 time marque the smartphone redundant, taking smartwatches with it. Wearable biometrics volition apt travel if nine switches to headgear for messaging, web browsing, and gaming.

AR/VR (augmented/virtual reality) headsets already request question sensors and cameras for eye-tracking. Therefore, it is not hard to ideate the integration of adust electrodes crossed the forehead, collecting some bosom complaint information and measuring neural signals.

This benignant of gyration is astir apt to overgarment a representation of the satellite beyond the smartwatch. However, the occurrence of this displacement volition beryllium driven by advancements successful show optics, which are inactive astatine slightest a fewer years distant from reaching mass-market-ready levels of miniaturization. In the meantime, headgear and astute glasses request to go much socially accepted. As such, interim products (such arsenic camera-integrated Ray Bans) volition apt proceed to beryllium released to marque them much fashionable. Similarly, gaming headsets are already seen successful a increasing fig of TV advertisements. While they whitethorn look unsettling to immoderate now, this clip adjacent year, nine volition apt beryllium acold much comfy with them.

Conclusions

The eventual hurdle facing earphones, removable pods, and headsets is balancing information entree with visualization and societal acceptance. Monitoring enactment successful real-time is simply a large vantage of wearables; seeing it unrecorded connected a ticker is simply a immense selling point. This diagnostic volition apt spot user adoption of caller wearables depending connected connectivity to existing smartwatches. As for societal acceptance, integration into hardware that is owned by the close marque volition beryllium crucial. The selling situation facing manufacturers looking to entreaty to a wider demographic of consumers, elite athletes, and the aesculapian marketplace is non-trivial but is arsenic extracurricular the expertise of today's user electronics kingmakers. The smartwatch is apt to travel the trajectory of the smartphone successful becoming little awesome but continually successful demand. The existent accidental is wrong the adjacent procreation of wearables, smartwatches volition interface to fulfill the request for caller functionality. This marketplace has overmuch much country for caller players, materials, and innovation.

IDTechEx offers an extended portfolio of method marketplace probe reports covering galore aspects of the wearable technology space. These see wearables sensors, electronic tegument patches, AR/VR, e-textiles, and hearables. IDTechEx besides has related contented dedicated to remote diligent monitoring, diabetes management, and printed sensors. All of these reports screen the existent authorities and expected aboriginal developments, some successful presumption of method capabilities and commercialized adoption. Granular forecasts segmented by exertion and exertion assistance with readying aboriginal projects, portion aggregate institution profiles based connected superior interviews supply elaborate penetration into the large players. Also included successful the reports are aggregate exertion examples, SWOT analysis, and technological/commercial readiness assessments.

Further details and downloadable illustration pages for each study tin beryllium recovered connected the IDTechEx website, and to find retired much astir IDTechEx wearable exertion research, delight sojourn www.IDTechEx.com/Research/WT.