Wearable Fitness Trackers: Shaping the Culture
Like smartphones, smartwatches (Apple’s first released in 2015) will continue to shape the culture, i.e. “how we do things around here” and society’s health.
Through temperature and heart rate measurement (sensors), smartwatches will provide readily available insights (data analytics) that ought to nudge users in healthier directions. With emerging technology like virtual assistants that have ChatGPT-like capabilities (AI assistants), they’ll increase independence and productivity. The elderly should be a big benefactor too since smartwatches increase independence—think life alert but way better.
Today’s Wearable Tech
Here are some of they ways smartwatches already influence us:
Contactless payments -> Reduced risk of sickness by some small amount. Progressive digitizing of payments.
Alcohol consumption -> Data-oriented quantification of poor sleep due to alcohol. This coupled with sleep doctor popularity (Matt Walker, etc) works in tandem.
Gamification of Health -> There’s a segment of the population for which responds to this.
General Sleep Tracking -> Raising awareness about sleep, helping with goals, cause and effect
ChatGPT-like Virtual Assistant -> Increases productivity (reminders, alarms, answering children’s infinite-why questions). Helps elderly operate independently. Can easily answer a child’s endless questions.
VO2 Max & Heart Rate Variability Over Long Time Periods -> Help assess how this daily metric predicts longterm health outcomes.
Doctor’s Remote Monitorining Patients -> improve healthcare efficiency
Please don’t forget that you only need features to take off with a certain segment of the population, which could then become popularized and spread to other segments (early adopters then later adopters).
The Watch Tech of Tomorrow
Potential Future Improvements:
Continuous glucose monitoring -> Help people make better dietary choices. As of 2023, Apple is rumored to be working on this.
Garmin finally gets an AI assistant
Predicting pregnancy
Detecting sickness earlier -> Reduces spreading of viruses
Sensor data incorporation into FDA trials or medical studies (think 30 year or even lifespan studies)
Become even more useful to senior citizens
Tailwinds for smart watches: Increased societal interest in longevity, improvements in AI, improvements in chip making, improvements in battery lift, etc
I’m very bullish on the space and recommend smartwatches for all. If you’re older, I recommend learning how to use one sooner than later.