Is Your Wearable Device Truly Smart Or Simply Basic?

Wearables have now been split into two categories, smart wearables and basic wearables.

Did you know that wearables that rely upon a smartphone for their operation are now considered not truly smart? In a recent report by IDC, it stated that wearables can be split into two categories, smart wearables and basic wearables. Smart wearables are wearables that are capable of running third-party applications like your Apple Watch and basic wearables are essentially everything else like fitness trackers, smart rings, and other smart accessories.

wearable tech

Categorising Your Essential Piece Of Technology

Investigating wearables needs, behaviours and expectations IDC found that wearables that rely upon a smartphone for their operation are not truly smart; they are more equivalent to Bluetooth accessories and this makes them less compelling. Your essential piece of wearable technology is usually designed around core senses (i.e. sight, hearing, and touch) and it is their inability to adapt to changing technology that IDC found to be inhibiting. “While wearables like smartwatches are very much reliant on a paired smartphone for their functionality, smartphones and tablets operate fine on their own—the benefits of ubiquitous computing aren’t readily apparent for these two devices. This has created a situation where the wearable has become an accessory to the smartphone as opposed to an independent computer. As a result, the number of interesting things it can do has stagnated.” said IDC Analyst Mathew Alton.

“As the growth of the wearables market continues, consumer tastes and demands are directed towards multi-purpose devices like the Apple Watch.”

As the growth of the wearables market continues, consumer tastes and demands are directed towards multi-purpose devices like the Apple Watch. “Along with a change in the types of devices being sold, there’s also in a change in where the devices are being sold,” Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, said in the statement. “Traditional tech outlets still play a huge role in distribution but companies like Fossil and Movado are pushing forth fashion-oriented channels. Meanwhile, Apple’s recent introduction of cellular connectivity and Samsung’s longstanding relationship with telcos are also helping provide an uplift to sales and awareness of wearables.” 

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The report also stated that when it comes to the increase in wearables longevity, adaptability and usability, IDC strategy Analytics found that the functionality of nascent hearables and emerging network connectivity will fundamentally alter how wearables are utilized.  The altering of how wearables are utilized is a positive way forward, because according to IDC’s data, total wearables shipment volume reached 26.3 million units in Q3, which represented a 7.3 percent increase over the same period last year.

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Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.