This Week in Wearables: New Technology is coming to the Wearables Market
Health, Fitness Draw Wearables Users in China
via eMarketer
Smart watches, glasses and other wearable devices have a long list of potential functionalities. Apple Watch users, for example, appear to enjoy using their devices to make payments. But the basics still rule for internet users in China, who are most likely to look to wearables that with help with their health and fitness. Analysys International Enfodesk estimated that the smart band and smart watch market in China would grow 454.5% this year to reach RMB 12.2 billion in sales. After this year’s explosion, growth is expected to moderate to “just” 49.5% in 2016, for sales of RMB 18.2 billion.
Microsoft introduces ‘wearables holograms’ for HoloLens
via MarketWatch, by Jennifer Booton
Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.59% introduced new “mixed reality gaming” features for its virtual-reality headset HoloLens on Tuesday. Dubbed Project Xray, it introduces a new concept Microsoft executives are referring to as “wearable holograms.” In a fighting game, for example, a user would be able to see accessories, such as a virtual shield, that move with their hands in their actual surrounding environment while wearing their HoloLens headset. The users can then can use those accessories, such as that shield, to interact with other holograms in the video game. Microsoft said it has started taking applications for the HoloLens developer kit, which it will make available for $3,000 beginning in the first quarter of 2016. The company did not say when the actual hardware device would be available for sale, nor did it give a hint as to how much it will ultimately cost. Shares of Microsoft were flat around $46.66 in recent trade. They are up more than 5% over the last three months, compared with a 4% decline for the S&P 500.
14 ways to improve corporate wellness programs with wearables
via CIO, by James A. Martin
Many modern companies, large and small, are adopting employee wellness programs, which often include fitness challenges that take advantage of wearable technologies. These programs can help lower healthcare costs, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity, but they can also subject companies to legal challenges or otherwise backfire without proper implementation. At Fitbit’s recent Captivate 2015 conference in San Francisco, experts from various industries shared tips, best practices and lessons learned from their experiences with fitness and wellness programs tied to wearables. The multi-location conference, which debuted in Chicago on September 16, had about 130 attendees in San Francisco on September 29, and it moves on to the final destination, New York, on October 13. Here are some of the best tips from the speakers in San Francisco.
Fitness Wearables Are Not Reaching The Right Users—But They Could
via Readwrite, by Kerri McMaster
The promise of fitness wearables is their capacity to raise the population’s health and wellness, primarily by making users aware of their lack of activity or sleep. But, as it turns out, the main users of these devices are not the unfit people they’re supposedly designed for. Recent polling by Ipsos found that only 11 percent of Americans over 54 intend to purchase a wearable device in the next 12 months, and a separate study by NPD Group concluded that fewer than a quarter of fitness tracker users were over 54. The same research showed that 41 percent of fitness tracker users earned more than $100,000 per year, and that 35- to 54-year-olds (largely healthy, but starting to worry) were the dominant demographic.
Wearables meet the Rugby World Cup with these sports outfits of the future
via CNET Magazine, by Rich Trenholm
In rugby you get in trouble for a high tackle, but what about a high-tech tackle? As the Rugby World Cup scrums down in England, imagine the futuristic kit that could take to the pitch in coming years. Wearable technology is becoming more flexible and more imaginative in its use, and it’s already making its way into sports such as American football. Online betting service Bwin has come up with some novel new uses of technology that could make their way into the players’ kit bag — click through the gallery below to check out the potential athletic equipment of the future.
‘Wear Alone’ Smartwatches Will Cannibalize 70% Of The Smartphone Market
via Forbes, by Andrew Sheehy
Considering that worldwide shipments of smartphones this year will exceed 1.4 billion units, it’s hard to believe that 70% of that volume will one day be replaced by anything – let alone shipments of wearalone smartwatches, which are mostly still in the prototype phase. But when we look at historical technological trends, a shift of this scale is certainly possible, and possibly inevitable.