What Are the Top 7 Trends Impacting Wearables? – BOSS Magazine
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Wearable technology has come a long way since its beginnings. The Sony Walkman was the symbol for the first generation able to listen to music on the particular go. Later, the world saw hearing aids, early versions of smartwatches, Bluetooth headsets and more.
Wearables trends have evolved over the years and are still changing people’s lives and workplaces by the year. Events like a pandemic have altered the course of the particular wearables market and other industries. These seven trends are some associated with the ways people are usually adjusting to life in an ever-changing globe.
1 . COVID Contact Tracing
The world is still battling COVID-19. New variants possess emerged even two years after the first detection of the virus. Wearables have had an impact on the pandemic and vice versa. Companies have developed the technology in order to use wearables as contact tracers.
Some businesses allow their employees to work from home, but companies in industries like manufacturing need their workers on-site, so they use wearable technology to stay safe.
One of the primary ways to stay safe in a pandemic is to keep at least 6 feet away from others. This wearable technology collects data on the user to help control any outbreak within the workplace. If an employee gets sick, their own wearable will make contact tracing easier because it can alert everyone else who had a wearable and came into contact with them in a designated period.
2 . Storage Wars
It seems electronics get smaller as technologies evolves. Computers went from taking up an entire room to powerful, compact laptops. Music players went through boomboxes down to as small as an iPod Shuffle. A similar trend is happening with the wearables market.
Companies designing wearables must balance multiple factors, such as price, storage capacity and screen resolution. A bigger memory chip means a larger device with a higher price tag. Manufacturers need to make their devices as efficient as possible with memory, and they do that by using highly compressed images instead of high-definition ones. This method saves space on items with limited storage.
3. Supply Chain Issues and Solutions
The pandemic has affected most industries worldwide, and wearables are no exception. Slowed labor due to shortages and other factors offers caused globally production declines for many sectors. Wearable production decreased by about 13% in 2020 in the first stage associated with the outbreak. This slowdown came following the industry saw an 89% increase in its marketplace growth in 2019.
Though the pandemic decreased their own production, wearables have had an impact simply by handling supply chain issues. For example , these people can reduce manual labor and waste in a packaging line. Lessening the particular amount regarding manual work helps streamline processes. For example, employees with wearables can process packages quicker, increasing their particular daily output and mitigating the backlog a supply chain may cause.
4. Workplace Safety
Wearable trends have increased worker productivity and protected employees’ safety at the same time. Companies can track their heart rate, location and physical activity throughout the shift. Companies can use AI and machine learning to process this data at scale to find new ways to mitigate risk. This technology is beneficial in industries like construction and manufacturing, where the particular risk of injury is high.
For example, wearables can help employees monitor their lifting , movement, posture plus proximity to danger. These technologies make work more efficient and protect the worker’s health in the short in addition to long term. It also helps companies comply better with workplace safety regulations that the Occupational Safety and even Health Administration (OSHA) sets.
5. Battery Life
One of the most critical factors of a wearable will be battery life. People want their own wearables in order to have the long battery life to be able to last typically the duration of their activity together with beyond. A runner may run a marathon and additionally need at least four or five hours of constant use. A factory worker using a new wearable device may need eight, 10 or even 12 hrs of electric battery life for you to last the entire shift.
Manufacturers have taken battery-life into account not to mention tried to help improve it. Companies have implemented power-saving techniques, such as some sort of device sleep mode when the user is not actively touching the screen. Developers possess also optimized the display by controlling the device’s backlight. Using darker colors instead associated with white uses less battery pack power.
6. Senior Citizen Health
Senior citizens have been using wearable technology for over a decade now. Companies like Life Alert became popular because older people along with limited mobility could push a button on the necklace to contact emergency services if they fell and couldn’t get up. The wearables have gotten even better for the elderly and most vulnerable.
Wearables can help senior citizens track their oxygen levels and other health issues. They also allow people to keep track of their sleeping habits. Seniors need more rest with regard to their mind and body, so using technology to monitor their rest can assist them age better.
Advances in wearable technology have got come in handy during the pandemic due to the fact the proportion of seniors grows daily. Staff shortages have put a strain on nursing homes, so allowing more senior citizens to stay at home can help with overcrowding.
7. General Health Tracking
The wearables market has made life easier for fitness enthusiasts, especially since this pandemic. Lockdowns and restrictions temporarily closed gyms or perhaps limited often the number regarding people allowed in the facility. People started turning to at-home workouts to keep right up their fitness regimen. People are still using wearables for exercising even as gyms reopen.
Wearables can track walking and help people achieve their particular step goals every day. Those features have been around for a while. These types of devices can also better keep an eye on heart rate and blood oxygen saturation , among other health metrics. The next trend in your wearables market could be monitoring blood sugar, which would benefit people together with diabetes.
These kinds of trends within wearables may make people less dependent on a doctor’s office or maybe in-home nurse to screen their wellness.
Wearables Trends Make a Safer World
Wearable technologies today is a far cry from where it was just a decade ago. Wearables for recreation, work and also more have made life easier and safer for individuals looking to have fun or be safer in work. Global events like a pandemic create industries shift with new advancements. People can care for themselves better through well being tracking as well as contact tracing, and the exact future looks bright using the research and development of software like bloodstream sugar monitoring. This tech is making life simpler and more secure for the majority of everyone.
Emily Newton is the Editor -in-Chief of Revolutionized , a good magazine exploring how innovations change our world. She has over five years involving experience writing articles within the industrial and tech sectors.