The Ultimate Guide to Wearable Technology

What is Wearable Technology?

Simply put, wearable technology refers to electronic devices designed to be worn on the body. The concept of wearable technology dates back to the early 20th century with devices like the first wristwatches. However, the wearable technology devices that we discuss on our blog began in the late 20th century with the advent of digital watches and hearing aids.

If you have a closer look at the current wearable technology devices, the evolution really started with the introduction of Fitbit in 2009. Fitbit changed the landscape of wearable technology and products like Apple Watch accelerated the progress with contemporary features that we relish right now.

The development of advanced sensors and connectivity features has enabled wearables to monitor heart rate, sleep patterns, and even stress levels with high accuracy. Nowadays, you can see wearable products come with artificial intelligence and machine learning features to provide users with customized insights.

Common Features of Wearable Technology Devices

Assuming you are a rookie to these products, we thought it would help you if we listed down some common features of wearable products so that you can understand better what these devices bring to the table.

Fitness Tracking

Most wearables include sensors to track heart rate continuously. This is helpful to read the heart rate, intensity of workouts, and monitor cardiovascular health in general.

In addition to the heart rate, these devices often feature accelerometers to track steps, calorie tracking, and advanced sensors to track sleep.

Activity and Exercise Monitoring

Many devices support tracking for various sports and exercises, such as running, cycling, swimming, and yoga, providing specific metrics for each activity.

Moreover, integrated GPS allows track outdoor activities, map routes, and measure the distance you have traveled from point A to B with so much ease.

Importantly, with these cool gadgets, you can set certain goals in terms of workouts and achieve them in addition to receiving suggestions on how to optimize your process.

Health Monitoring

Do you know that there are wearable products to monitor your blood pressure, the blood oxygen levels, and even track stress and mood? These readings are super accurate and help you cut down a considerable amount of money that you would pay for medical checkups.

Notifications

It’s not always the health side of things that you can monitor. These devices have the ability to show you the notifications of your calls, emails, and messages when connected to your smartphone or any other smart device.

These features enable seamless synchronization with smartphones and other devices, ensuring data is always up-to-date.

Battery Life

The cool part of the story is that wearable devices are well capable of lasting several days without an issue with a single charge. In addition, these gadgets don’t take much time to get recharged saving time.

Comfort

As you can understand by reading out the features we explained thus far, in order to get the maximum out of a wearable device, it is crucial to wear them 24/7. This obviously suggests that these devices are crafted for comfort with lightweight materials.

Further, these products are built to withstand exposure to water and dust, making them suitable for a wide range of environments and activities.

Some Popular Wearable Technology Devices

In 2024, there are a bucketful of wearable technology products out there to choose from to match your requirements. Here we have listed some of the popular products that people tend to buy because of their cool features.

Oura Ring

The Oura Ring is a sleek, smart ring designed to monitor various aspects of your health and well-being. These smart rings provide detailed, actionable data on sleep and overall health.

Given the fact that they are made using light weighted and materials, you can wear them 24/7 without an issue. Moreover, with Oura Rings, you can get detailed info regarding your sleep quality, activity levels, and overall wellness.

Key Features of Oura Rings

• Sleep Tracking
• Activity Monitoring
• Heart Rate Monitoring
• Temperature Monitoring
• Readiness Score

Apple Watch

Since its launch in 2015, Apple Watch has become a popular choice for users seeking an all-in-one wearable device. In addition to the health and fitness tracking capabilities, Apple Watch offers the option to make calls, texts, and get notifications directly to your wrist.

Key Features of Apple Watch

• Health Monitoring
• Fitness Tracking
• Productivity Tools (notifications, calendar alerts, email, and messaging)
• Supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular connectivity, allowing calls and internet access.
• Access to a wide range of apps through the App Store, enhancing functionality.

Whoop

Whoop is a fitness and health-tracking wearable designed to optimize performance and recovery. Unlike traditional fitness trackers, WHOOP focuses on providing in-depth insights into recovery, sleep, and strain, catering primarily to athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

Key Features of Whoop

• Recovery Monitoring
• Strain Tracking
• Sleep Analysis
• Daily Reports
• Long Battery Life

Garmin

Garmin wearables are renowned for their robust fitness, health, and outdoor activity-tracking capabilities. Designed for athletes, adventurers, and fitness enthusiasts, Garmin devices offer a comprehensive suite of features tailored to various needs and activities.

Key Features of Garmin

• Fitness Tracking
• Health Monitoring
• Outdoor Activity Tracking
• Offers VO2 max, lactate threshold, and performance condition metrics
• Supports notifications, music control, and contactless payments with Garmin Pay

How to Choose a Wearable Technology Product?

When selecting a wearable tech device, you have to consider certain factors before making the final decision. Here we have listed the most crucial factors that you should have a closer look at.

Your Goal

If your main goal is to monitor your health metrics look for devices with comprehensive health-tracking features such as the Oura Ring or Whoop.

For those who want to track outdoor and sport activities, a device from Garmin would be a good option to go with. All in all, it is important to understand your goals and pick a product accordingly; this should be your first and most important factor when selecting a wearable technology device.

Features

Ensure the device covers basic metrics like steps, calories, and heart rate. If you are a serious athlete, features like VO2 max and recovery metrics are important.

In addition, we recommend going with a product that has notification features, music control, and contactless payments to reap the rewards from the device.

Compatibility

Check compatibility with your smartphone and other devices. Moreover, make sure the wearable’s app offers a user-friendly interface and comprehensive data analysis.

Comfort

As we briefly touched early in the article, comfort is an imperative factor when selecting a device as more often than not, you are bound to wear it all day long. The size, weight, and materials used for the build play a major role when it comes to the comfort of the device.

Some devices are worn on the wrist and some are on the fingers. So, when opting for a product, consider whether the place you intend to wear creates no barrier to your day-to-day life activities.

Additionally, the battery life and the cost are two must-look aspects. After you consider all the above-mentioned factors, you can compare a few competing products and go with one that has all the features you want at a reasonable price.  You can always read the previous user reviews before making the final call.

We hope our article has helped you. If you need more details, please feel free to use the below comment section to reach us. Have a wonderful day!