Federal law may have an unexpected effect on the technology sector
The controversial Affordable Care Act has caused a shift in the insurance and health care landscape of the U.S., but some technology experts suggest that the federal law may have an unexpected effect of pushing people toward embracing wearable technology more readily. The federal law sparked the creation of health insurance exchanges throughout the country and pushed the insurance and health care industries to become more digital, forgoing older methods of record keeping and customer service. The law has spawned the concept of “digital health,” which is gaining more attention on the back of wearable technology’s hype.
Digital health is gaining momentum
The idea of digital health has been examined at several events that have been held in the U.S. over the past few months. During these events, big data is often brought up as a key factor to the continued evolution of health care in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Big data analytics is changing the way the health care sector operates, and continued ventures into the digital space are making electronic health records more common and improving the efficiency of various services that are rendered to people in many parts of the country.
Wearable devices are becoming more health-oriented
Wearable devices become more prominent in the concept of digital health as people begin to base their lives more on mobile technology. These devices can be used to keep track of vital health information. Smart watches, for instance, can be used to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and a wide range of other health-related information. The majority of these products are designed to help people take control of their health, but they are not necessarily designed to help people manage what medical issues they may have.
Demand for health-related devices is on the rise
Wearable technology may have a major role to play in the future of health care, but it is difficult to say for certain what they role may be. Currently, the majority of these devices that are being produced by technology firms have to do with entertainment or social networking. Some developers are focusing exclusively on the health care sector, seeing an increasing demand among consumers for useful, health-related electronic products.
While mobile chips are becoming faster and more powerful, wearables have now upped the ante.
The mobile chips in high end smartphones and tablets are growing faster and ever more powerful, but those devices aren’t astounding consumers who were buying them as fast as they could hit the shelves, so chipmakers may start looking toward wearable technology for their next area of explosive growth.
Wearables could actually provide chipmakers with the challenge that they need for the next few years.
The growth curve could be quite the steep one as long as those companies can provide what is needed in order to make consumers love wearable technology as much as they have come to love their smartphones and tablets. According to principal analyst, Linley Gwennap, from The Linley Group, it is too early to say whether or not chipmakers will actually grab hold of this opportunity, or even if wearables will turn out to be the next big tech trend, as many of the industry giants are hoping.
Currently, the wearable technology remains a market that is moving less than 10 million units per year.
Surveys are currently suggesting that while consumers have initially been attracted to wearables such as fitness trackers, all too many of them are finding themselves forgotten and buried under a pile of other devices that were enjoyed for their novelty but were then forgotten once that had worn off. Furthermore, the best devices – such as some of the smrtwatches that have been launched – are prohibitively expensive for the majority of consumers and end up collecting dust on the shelves.
Gwennap explained that “We’re talking about [US]$200 or $300 for a smartwatch today. That’s kind of a two-spouse decision.” He added that if the doors are to open for the majority of consumers to participate, then wearable devices under the $100 price barrier will need to start becoming available.
He explained that he feels that one of the best ways to move these devices will be to bundle them with smartphones, for example, the case of Samsung Galaxy Gear being sold along with the smartphones as a bundle, so that as little as $50 can be charged for the smartwatch.
Cheaper wearable technology will be dependent on more powerful and yet less expensive chips. Should this be achieved, it could be an area that will be highly lucrative in the not too distant future.
