Read original story on: The Verge
Intel will replace Texas Instruments as the new supplier of process chips in a revamped version of Google Glass. The new version, reportedly coming next year, will also be equipped with longer battery life, as well as a reduced price tag. As Intel dives deeper into wearables, it will be interesting to see if such a redesign will finally help Google Glass to break into mainstream.
Read original story on: Forbes
A recent survey by Practice Fusion, an e-health data company, revealed a huge gap between the “quantified self” movement, which is supported by the use of fitness trackers, and the health data that is being incorporated into the healthcare system. Only 15% out of the 353 doctors that responded to the survey said they had been asked about incorporating wearable-generated health data into their health records. Connecting individuals’ health data to the existing healthcare infrastructure will be the crucial next step for the ehealth industry.
Source: WatchKit – Apple Developer
Yesterday Apple officially released the SDK for Apple Watch to developers, and as a result, some new details of Apple’s first wearable device have emerged:
Read original story on: The Drum
The Guardian is reportedly exploring ways to use wearable technology as a news-gathering tool as well as a new consumption platform. Sources claimed The Guardian was experimenting with a variety of wearable devices such as smartwatches and Google Glass, adding that it was also considering how wearables could be used to create news, such as using unobtrusive audio or video recording.
Continuing our coverage of New York Ad Week, today the Lab attended “Proximity Marketing, Wearables, and the Art of the Possible”, focusing on disruptive technologies and their impact on customer experience marketing. Led by Moderator Andrea Fishman from PwC, the panelists consisted of Fishman’s colleague David Clarke; Andrew Markowitz, Global Digital Strategy Director, GE; Mark Donovan, Chief Operating Officer, Thinaire; and Jordan Grossman, US Head of Sales at Waze.
Contextualization
Fishman started the discussion with the claim that “NFC and beacon-enabled proximity marketing is already happening—and not just in retail and consumer space, but globally in B2B and enterprises too”. Grossman concurred with her comment while also pointing out that “today’s marketing is about relevancy and proximity—it’s about offering people what they want in the right context to engage with them”.
The Value In Data
“NFC and RFID chips could be easily embedded and thus turn any daily item into a wearable,” Donovan noted, “and that means a lot of consumer data to be generated”. As Clarke pointed out, however, many companies are still “trying to figure out what to do with the data that proximity and wearable tech generated”. In order to realize the aforementioned contextualization in consumer marketing, we will need figure out how to leverage data into consumer insights.
Future of Marketing
Changing consumer behaviors led by new technologies indicates that “the future of marketing lies in where physical, digital and mobile spheres all converge into one total experience”, concluded Clarke. Markowitz also shared his vision that “the next marketing revolution will be internal, starting within the industry” and the only way to survive such disruption is to “trust and collaborate with your partners”.
The flirtation between tech and fashion has long been on our radar, and with the introduction of the Apple Watch earlier this week, the convergence of wearable tech and designer fashion has officially become a full-blown affair.
The trend started because both industries need each other. For tech companies, collaborating with the fashion industry helps to push out the new products with that extra sheen. This is especially true for the wearables, frequently dubbed “ugly” and “un-wearable” for their often bulky and unpolished designs. And the tech industry is realizing that making their wearables “fashionable” is a pre-requisite for mass adoption. For instance, Fitbit gave its fitness tracker a makeover by teaming up with Tory Burch, while Samsung is collaborating with Swarovski to offer bedazzled straps for its new Gear S.
On the other hand, many fashion brands are embracing technology in order to stay ahead. For the younger generations, technology is quickly replacing fashion, as many members of Gen Y and Z cite the newest handset as a higher purchase priority than the fashion fad of the season. In order to keep fashion “in fashion”, the industry is more than happy to incorporate the newest tech into the new looks. The “smart” accessories are being prominently featured on the runways of New York Fashion Week. And earlier last month, Ralph Lauren has also embraced new technology and developed its first item of smart sportswear.
Now with Apple unveiling their first wearable product, this trend is going stronger than ever. The Cupertino company geared up for its Apple Watch reveal by first poaching several executives from luxury fashion brands, and inviting key fashion influencers to the launch event. And it worked, receiving mostly positive reactions from the fashion world for its polished design, multitude of styles, and plenty of customization options. In the foreseeable future, this trend will most certainly continue, as such integration helps normalizing the otherwise “geeky” new tech products, especially the wearables, in a way that is mutually beneficial for both industries.
Part dev kit and part health app, the HealthKit announced back in June marked Apple’s official foray into the field of health care. But today the company fully revealed its grand plan with two separate health-centric apps—Activity and Workout. These new developments will affect consumers in three key areas:
1. They will boost the wearable fitness trend
Since constant data gathering is crucial to the HealthKit’s success, it makes sense that Apple is releasing the Apple Watch. As the phones get bigger, it’s especially important to have an unobtrusive device assisting the health monitoring.
2. They will usher in a new era of the “quantified self
Apple’s push for self-monitoring will certainly further the current trend towards “quantified self”, in which people use technology to collect data in order to improve their own lives. We’ve seen a number of wearables and apps measure fitness, sleep, and more, but Apple’s ecosystem will undoubtedly make the biggest splash.
3. They will help Apple to become the hub for health data
Apple was reportedly in serious talks with major healthcare providers to convince them to adopt HealthKit, which would in turn make Apple a central “hub of health data”. Judging by Apple’s wording today, it seems like they are still in deep negotiation with the health care industry for further infiltration. Just as the iPod revolutionized the music industry a decade ago, there is little doubt that that Apple is looking to repeat its success in the healthcare field.
One smartwatch to rule them all? Thanks to its innovative “digital crown” UI, biometric data capturing abilities, embedded NFC chip, and integration with other Apple devices, the Apple Watch could just be the one product to bring wearable tech into mainstream.
Product Specs
Apple geared up for the Apple Watch launch by hiring several fashion executives, and it shows. As sleek and chic as any other Apple product, all three collections of the Apple Watch—Watch, Sport, and Edition—feature a beautiful “flexible” screen protected by sapphire glass. By using designer fashion for elevated product design, Apple clearly intends to capture the high-end of the nascent wearable market.
From a technical perspective, battery life is still a challenge, but the Apple Watch does offer a cool inductive charging feature. Starbucks started installing Powermat’s wireless charging stations at its coffee stores earlier this year, and we suspect this is hardly a coincidence.
Key Benefits
When it comes to smartwatches or fitness bands, the wrist is the focus of the current wave of wearable technology. But wireless smart-earbuds, also fashionably dubbed “hearables”, might just be the piece that truly mainstreams wearables. From Samsung’s necklace-like Gear Circle to Motorola’s new micro-headset The Hint, more and more tech companies are coming out with their own hearables that sit in your ears, freeing up your hands and eyes.
The prerequisite technology for mature hearables—voice command, wireless connection, and cloud processing—already exist, while obstacles like including battery life, connectivity, and faster cloud processing are being tackle by industry leaders. Intel has plans to develop a voice recognition that uses offline possessing for faster responses. Google, meanwhile, has been working on its voice control for years as part of its Google Now interface, and is allegedly grooming it to be featured on its wearbles.
By utilizing the oft-ignored auditory sense and eliminating screens that require constant visual attention, hearables are convenient, unobtrusive, and most importantly, intuitive—all invaluable qualities that make them easily adoptable. With the worth of hearables market predicted at over $5 billion by 2018, these smart-earbuds are set to take over as a key part of wearable tech.
