[Ask ASyk] Wearables @ CES2014

* The following is  an individual opinion of editor ASyk and does not represent the official views of the company.

“What are you wearing for the party?”

“Super AMOLED, 4 gig memory, 512 mb RAM, 1.9 megapixel Camera and Bluetooth”

“Is that even wearable?”

Since the 25th of September 2013, yes. That was the date when Galaxy Gear was launched in more than 140 countries. 5 months later, it is still ‘THE’ wearable. You don’t have to be in the tech industry to know that ‘Wearable’ has been one of the hottest topics lately.  There are many wearables out on the market, but why is Galaxy Gear has been the hottest among all the wearables? What can we expect from wearables in the future?

It is on the wrist!

At the CES2014 I’ve been spotting people sporting the Galaxy Gear pretty frequently. Then I looked at my wrist and thought “why is Galaxy Gear on a wrist?” (and I also thought about me wanting one.) I mean, isn’t it interesting why it decided to place its first wearable on a wrist? Our engineers must have done tons of market research to come up with the decision. Although, I couldn’t get my hands on the research data or material, I could think of few reasons.

First, it is not overwhelming. Remember when mobile phones or smartphones were first introduced to the world? There were tons of debates and rejections to the idea having a portable communication device, such as its possible negative impact on humanity. However, considering the fact that wearable was a totally new concept, there was no major rejection to the idea of having a wearable tech device on the wrist. It is probably because people are already used to the idea wearing something on their wrist, such as watches and accessories.

Second, it is less commitment. Because Galaxy Gear is on the wrist, users can choose to look at it (or not look at it). Users can use the features and functions whenever they want. It is also less commitment in a sense that Galaxy Gear doesn’t interfere with most of user’s daily activities, such as running or working out. This is a very important perspective. It is not sexy to compensate features or functions with certain physical limitations. For example, people choose to wear accessories, such as watches, rings, necklaces, because it doesn’t limit them from doing any physical activities. I guess, many people wear sunglasses as an accessory, but, personally, as a person who has been wearing a pair of glasses since the age of 11, I am certainly aware of many situations where a pair of glasses is a not an attractive option. Pretty much used to ‘wearing’ things.

Fitness & Healthcare

It is no surprise that the one of the brightest future of wearables is at the ‘health’ area. Thanks to the work of engineers and scientist, we have been able to digitize humandata, such as heart rate, blood pressureand even muscle movements. Ever since we have advanced the technology to a point where we made this kind of information available instantly on demand, it was just a matter of time any individuals utilize it for their benefit. Then through wearable tech, human body became to be able to communicate with technology. A beginning of era of a complete real time customized fitness and healthcare.

Since the Galaxy S4, Samsung has been putting efforts on being ‘health conscious’ as we can see it on the S Health app. S Health could get you a comprehensive health check, such as measuring physical movements (pedometer), temperature and humidity, glucose meters and blood pressure. Not to mention that Samsung has partnered up with Cigna, a global health service organization, last year to expand the S health app even further. Therefore, it is easy to predict that oceans of advanced health related apps from Samsung and the third parties will come like a wave (if not already) in a very perceivable future.

However, we all know future has a lot more to offer than what we can predict and you can sense that from the CES 2014. For example, Samsung and BMW have collaborated to create a Samsung Galaxy Gear showcase specifically designed for the BMW i Remote application, which allows users to access key data of their vehicle. People can also talk to their Galaxy Gear to activate the navigation system, before you get hop into the car! Either way, wearables are going to be fun to wear.