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Wearables could soon be worn on the ear, not the wrist

Rebecca | January 5, 2015

Although smartwatches and augmented reality glasses have appeared to be a promising category, new players are coming.

Wearables have been appearing on the market in many different forms, with several devices coming in the form of smartwatches, as well as smart clothing, headsets, and other types that can be attached to the body in some way.

Some predictions, however, are now starting to say that wearable technology worn on the ear will be the next wave.

According to the IDC Asia Pacific associate vice president for big data, analytics, and software, Craig Stires, “There’s some interesting information you can capture through the ear. We’ve been looking at things like wrist wearables, but the ear can capture things like oxygen levels, electrocardiograms, and body temperature.” This has opened up the opportunity to develop wearable technology that would be able to perform at a very impressive level. It would also mean that an entirely new sub-category of these devices would open up.

It has been predicted that hearable technology wearables could be worth $5 billion by 2018.

Wearable technology may be worn on the ear That forecast was made by the Wifore Consulting chief technology officer and founder, Nick Nunn. The prediction of this U.K. firm would mean that the hearable category of wearable technology would be worth the same amount as the entire industry of these devices at its present level.

Fans of wearable tech enjoy the ability to use these devices in a kind of “synced lifestyle”, where their devices integrate perfectly into their daily life. According to the PSFK research firm’s “Future of Wearable Tech” report, which was issued in 2014, that mentality has helped in the development of devices that can be worn on just about every body part. Moreover, it has also brought the worlds of technology and fashion into the same environment.

However, Hunn has stated that there is one primary factor which may be overlooked by brands offering wearables, so far. That is that “Sound drives the bulk of our technology use.” Moreover, the only type of wearable technology that has already fully gained social acceptance and mainstream use is earbuds. As a result, he feels that it is those devices that will soon be experiencing a “revolution in capability”.

Wearable technology from HTC to be unveiled at CES

Denny | December 17, 2014

The device is still expected to be something that will be worn on the wrist, though it is not going to be a smartwatch.

Ever since it was revealed that HTC has been working on a wearable technology device, the assumption has been that it would be unveiling some form of smartwatch at CES, but it doesn’t look like that will be the case, at all.

Speculations have been swirling for some time now, but it still looks as though the wearables will be wrist-worn.

According to a spokesperson from HTC, the first piece of wearable technology from the smartphone manufacturer based in Taiwan is going to be launched within the first quarter of next year. That said, the spokesperson made it clear that regardless of all of the speculations that would suggest that this mobile device is going to be released in the form of a smartwatch, that is not going to be the case.

HTC reiterated its intentions to create a wearable technology device but that it was taking longer than expected.

Wearable Technology - HTC At that time, the device had been due to be launched, but Jason Mackenzie, the head of HTC America, explained that it simply wasn’t ready and so the unveiling was, therefore, being delayed. Now, HTC has said that in January, when the CES takes place, the company will be ready with its new wearables to be seen by the public for the first time.

The spokesperson also explained that this new mobile device is going to be “very different from anything currently on the market.” That said, many technology companies have said that about their own devices which have only proven to be a disappointment in terms of their lack of originality when compared to other gadgets that are already on the market shelves. The tech world will need to see for itself whether or not HTC is able to stand out in a rapidly growing category where it is becoming increasingly different to do anything new.

HTC has also revealed that it will be working “closely with other companies who have done significant work in developing apps for activities such as fitness.” This suggests that the wearable technology device may be comparable to a fitness band as opposed to the smartwatch design that had previously been expected.