Category: Gadgets

Wearable technology could come to define the future

Wearable technology may be seen as a sort of novelty today, but in the future, it could define the way people live their lives. Wearable devices are still quite new and this sort of technology is in a state of infancy. Most of these devices are simply used for entertainment or to keep track of basic health and fitness information. As wearable technology becomes more advanced, however, new devices can be used for a wide range of purposes, including enhancing eyesight and other physical properties.

Technology has become a fundamental part of life and society. People throughout the world have come to rely on simple mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, which are used extensively in their daily life. These people are using their mobile devices to shop online, communicate with their loved ones, learn more about subjects that they find interesting, and entertainment. Wearable devices can fulfill the role of other mobile devices, but can do so more intuitively than traditional devices.

Augmented reality glasses are, perhaps, the most well know wearable devices. While these devices are not widely available yet, they are often the subject of attention when it comes to matters concerning wearable technology. AR glasses can be used to, quite literally, change the way people see the world around them. Augmented reality technology can either enhance a person’s natural vision or create digital experiences superimposed over the real world. High-tech glasses are serving as the basis for integrated technology, such as AR contact lenses and even technological implants.

So called smartwatches are somewhat simpler devices when compared to AR glasses, but these devices also hold great potential. Currently, smartwatches have limited capabilities. They are generally smaller than smartphones and have weaker processing power, but typically excel when used for a very specific purpose, such as tracking fitness information. As technology advances, these devices will likely become more capable. In the future, they could be used to quickly share contact information over a wide network of mobile-centric people. The devices could also be used as a sort of electronic key, allowing entry into homes and other buildings with high-tech security systems.

How wearable technology will influence the development of the future is impossible to say for certain. Current trends suggest that technology will continue to become a more prominent force in society than it already is. Wearable technology may be little more than a stepping stone toward a more integrated form of technology.

A research firm is now forecasting that the werarables market could have gone out of fashion by 2016.

According to the predictions that have been produced by a research firm regarding the wearable technology market, those mobile devices may already be edging toward the crest of a wave that could soon come crashing down.

The market is estimated to be made up of as many as 48 million device shipments, at the moment.

These wearable technology devices include everything from smatwatches to head mounted displays to fitness trackers, and even patches that adhere directly to the skin, among others. At the moment, many of them – particularly in the activity tracking category – are flying off the store shelves nearly as quickly as they can be placed there. However, if things go as has been predicted to NPD DisplaySearch, the hype will reach its maximum by the end of 2014, and it will only decline from there.

In fact, the wearable technology predictions are dramatic enough to say that the demand will be all but wiped out.

The NPD DisplaySearch report said that the actual hype that these wearables are generating has already started to fade. It stated that unless the prices fall considerably or there is a wearable device that is launched that offers the ability to become an essential tech gadget comparable to the role currently played by the smartphone, then there is a very real risk that smartglasses and smartwatches will be seen as nothing more than a fashion fad and they will be gone as quickly as they arrived.

According to the NPD DisplaySearch director of European TV research, Paul Gray, “We expect that the dynamics of the wearables market will be similar to DVD, LCD TV, smartphones, and other digital consumer markets with commoditised hardware.” He also added that prices and margins will fall when the market begins to include more from Samsung, LGE, “and other large, cost-efficient manufacturers.”

That said, the report also acknowledges that the actual evolution of wearable technology devices remains unknown, and there is still a great potential for one or several styles to be able to find the necessary consumer niche.