Author: Lucy

Qualcomm and Google are getting together for an Android Wear device featuring the glittering crystals.

The next – or, more likely first – wearable technology you buy may be a Swarovski smartwatch. If the future Google and Qualcomm partnership is successfully designed, there may finally be a “smartwatch for her” that women actually like.

The majority of the details of this Swarovski crystal encrusted smartwatch will be released at Baselworld.

At the moment, not much has been shared about the Swarovski smartwatch. It’s assumed that the companies are hanging on to this information until the official unveiling this year at Switzerland’s Baselworld.

That said, a teaser about the wearable technology was revealed at CES 2017 by Qualcomm and Swarovski. Despite the tiny number of details, it has drawn considerable attention.

This will be the first Swarovski smartwatch in the hopes of targeting the female market.

Swarovski has previously worked with Huawei and Misfit to create devices for women. For instance, its crystals can be found on the Huawei Watch Ladies. That said, this is the brand’s first actual smartwatch in which it has partnered, not just added sparkle to another company’s product.

While it’s known that the wearable tech will use a Qualcomm processor, it hasn’t yet been confirmed whether or not it will be in the form of Snapdragon 835. That version was only just recently announced. There have also been guesses about whether or not it will involve an updated version of the Wear 2100 and if it will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress.

Android Wear 2.0 has, after all, just been released as the first major revamping of the wearable device operating system from Google. That tech giant is clearly making some new moves in the wearable technology market as very few devices were launched with Android Wear in 2016. Moreover, the smartwatch market as a whole isn’t just performing below expectations. It is actually on the decline.

Still, Google remains optimistic and is believed to have its own devices to launch along with Android Wear 2.0. This could mean that the Swarovski smartwatch may be far from the only wearable device using an Android Wear operating system this year. It has yet to be seen whether it will be powerful enough to change the direction of the wearables market as a whole.

Health and activity trackers have easily led the fitness tech category and this is expected to continue next year.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has released its fitness trend forecast for 2017 and has placed wearable technology devices at the top. Consumers are owning and using these devices to a rapidly growing degree, says the “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2017.”

The report was published in the Health & Fitness Journal from the American College of Sports Medicine.

These wearable technology devices are making it possible for people to track their steps, activity intensity, calories burned and other fitness metrics. FACSM survey lead author and College of Education & Human Development dean at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Walter R. Thompson, PhD, explained “The health data collected by wearable technology can be used to inform the user about their current fitness level and help them make healthier lifestyle choices.”

The survey has placed wearable technology devices at the top of its eleventh annual survey results.

The survey involves the participation of over 1,800 health and fitness professionals from around the world. Many of those pros are ACSM certified. It is used to provide insight within a spectrum of fitness fields. The participants in the survey were allowed to choose from 42 possible fitness trends. Among the results, the top 20 were ranked and shared within the ACSM outcomes publication.

Among the leading trends from that top 20 list are the following:

1. Wearable tech – this trend included smartwatches, fitness and health trackers, GPS tracking devices and heart rate monitors.
2. Body Weight Training – this is a technique that is considered highly effective and affordable as it requires very little equipment.
3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – this involves peppering a workout with intense, brief explosions of physical activity followed by a moment of recovery before returning to the intensity again.
4. Fitness Professionals with Education and Experience – a greater focus is being placed on certification, education and experience in fitness among experts than simply seeking big promises or having some kind of celebrity.
5. Strength training – cardio may be the top calorie burner, but strength training is gaining emphasis for its metabolism boosting and spectrum of additional health and fitness benefits.

Still, among all these broad and widespread trends, wearable technology devices clearly lead the way among consumers and pros alike.