Beyond question, Samsung, Google, and Apple are the top smartphone as well as smart wearable brands in the tech industry, with a vast range of fan communities. But that doesn’t mean that other niche players are not making an effort to offer unique features.
Smartphones are overrated; now it’s time to expand the smart wearable area. There are two-sided trends in the wearables market: well-established brands and niche ones. The big brands prefer to push innovation; for instance, events such as CES and MWC are driving the introduction of new and powerful wearables.
On the other hand, niche brands are struggling for the space for which they are offering unique features and targeting specific uses, making wearables more diverse. Whereas some of the brands are working to create a “super wearable,” which brings together disparate fitness data sources, others are sticking with the proprietary approach.
These dynamics have put wearable innovations back on the agenda for a huge consumer market. As per the PYMNTS’ research, by November 2022, the market will be north of 96 million U.S. consumers. Undoubtedly, wearables are becoming more complex, but the fact is that data compatibility is an issue, as already seen with the most recent gadgets; for instance, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring, which tracks health data such as sleep and heart rate, is the same as Oura and the forthcoming Apple ring.
Samsung integrates data from multiple wearables, which include watches, rings, headsets, and more, using mobile AI, and this could be a selling point for users who prefer to join HealthPixel. Whereas integrating data is a benefit, there’s a concern about different wearables not working seamlessly together. This creates “data silos” where information is locked within a particular ecosystem.
Samsung’s vice president and head of the digital health team, Dr. Hon Pak, states that “our vision is to improve the health of billions through connected care centered around the home by connecting devices, services, and people.”
All the brands are taking steps to expand the wearables market, but data compatibility is the breaker. A well-established brand such as Samsung recently introduced its advanced wearable, the Galaxy Ring, which is totally focused on health data tracking.
At the moment, smart wearables are best in their own way, but they lack data sharing with other wearable devices. To enhance the user’s experience, Samsung focuses on using their smartphone as the central point of AI to connect multiple wearables and centralize health data. Although Google also included Fitbit in its data subscription platform and announced their Fitbit application will combine data from other wearables through Health Connect,.
Oura is valued at $2.55 billion, and it is not stopping at its Google partnership. It announced a new integration on March 5 along with the digital exercise community Strava, which boasts 120 million users.
As per the director of the Cedars Sinai Center for Surgical Innovation and Engineering, Dr. Joseph Schwab, “Consumer wearables on the market are essentially motion trackers.”
Other brands, such as Dexcon, provide wearables for particular health conditions, like real-time glucose monitoring for diabetics. The wearable market is driven by innovations, but we must note that data compatibility requires solutions. However, the brands are stepping forward with data unification.
