Several months ago I wrote a piece titled "3 Themes Carrying Over Into 2014," in which I highlighted some of the trends I expected to come to fruition this year in the health tracking market. Just to review, one of the core questions I raised was whether or not a typical consumer really wants to lug around two devices, their phone and a separate tracking gizmo, or wearable.
Q1 served to be a busy time for device manufacturers as roughly 10 new devices were announced through events such as Mobile Web Congress - by the end of January I thought I had terribly underestimated market traction of these devices, but then the market seemed to shift. Basis was positioning themselves for acquisition, Nike announced their withdrawl from the wearables market after peaking at an unremarkable marketshare, and companies continued to release tracking apps that leverage the latest technologies in new smartphones (see RunKeeper's launch of "Breeze").
My thoughts on the landscape have changed a little since bearing witness to these recent events. I think while the market likes the idea of wearables, it will continue to face one important question: "Why can't we just use one device?"
We are all waiting anxiously to see if and when the rumored iWatch will be released - and whether or not that device will be able to bridge the gap between first generation wearables and current smartphone technology. While I'm certainly in the Apple fan club, I'm not naive enough to think that everything they create is oozing with perfection (cough...Apple Maps). But there is no denying that Apple's entry into this space signals that they see a potential tipping point on the horizon.
Could iWatch elevate U.S. health tracking adoption from the current "healthy 5%," to the mainstream all at once? Probably not, but serious market expansion is likely as technology continually allows health tracking to be more passively integrated into everyday life. The growing acceptance and practical use of consumer health tracking data in healthcare scenarios will also accelerate this adoption, but maybe that's a discussion is better saved for another day (and a few thousand more words).
Are we nearing the day when a single device can serve the function of both health companion and communication platform? Or will the struggle between dedicated wearable gadget and built-in smartphone capabilities persist?
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