The technology on you to work, play sports and control the dog

Whether they are earphones, glasses, watches, bracelets or sensors integrated into clothes, the trend of wearables is growing steadily. According to the latest data from IDC (International Data Corporation, the world’s leading IT market research company) in the first quarter of 2021 over 104 million wearable devices were sold worldwide, an increase of 34.4% compared to 77.8 million pieces from the same period of 2020. The most famous and popular are earphones, smartwatches and bracelets, with Apple to Samsung leading the market, closely followed by Xiaomi and Huawei. But these big companies, which alone occupy 66% of the market, are also the ones that have recorded the least growth. There is a whole world of smaller manufacturers that are experiencing a real boom, finding still little explored niches in which to enter, from geographical areas to those of application. One of the cases is BoAt, which has chosen to focus its efforts on affordable wearable devices for the Indian market. Or Oura, which with its titanium ring beloved by professional sportsmen (we have seen it among NBA basketball players, or on the finger of Formula One drivers) detects heart rate, body temperature, speed of movements, respiratory rate in real time. , rhythm and quality of sleep. The wearables that have seen the greatest growth are those connected to health care and health status tracking, devices with integrated temperature detection have depopulated, and there was no shortage of news among the ” smart mask ”with self-disinfecting masks or masks that can be connected to the phone or with functions that amplify the voice of the speaker behind the mask, such as that of the Japanese startup Donut Robotics. And then there are those who, like AirPop, were already active before the pandemic with their smart masks capable of connecting to the smartphone to record the rhythm of their breathing, communicate when the filter needs to be replaced, check the data on the air quality in the area on the internet. where you live and suggest whether or not to use the mask with an anti-pollution function.And if the first wearables were expensive and made to be seen – think of the Apple Watch – the future seems to be invisible devices integrated into clothing. For fitness, like the Nadi X yoga pants, yoga pants that track posture and movements during training, or clothing from the French Spinali Design, which produces jeans that vibrate to indicate the direction when walking by connecting to the navigator and swimwear that send an alert to the smartphone of ultraviolet exposure exceeds the threshold. And even big names like Levi’s have launched smart clothing: this is the case of the Commuter Trucker Jacket, which integrates sensors connected to the phone into the sleeve that with a series of touches or movements ask the smartphone to perform specific operations (start the navigator, pause or restart the music, read the messages) without ever taking it out of your pocket. In this growing market, wearables for pets could not be missing, such as the “canine fitbit” by the Italian Kippy, born as a GPS tracker to trace the your four-legged friend in case of loss and now evolved with sensors that track physical activity and allow you to collect data on the health of your dog. Often sold in combination with veterinary insurance, and at the end of the year also the one for cats arrives.