There are plenty of interesting wearable devices scheduled to be released this year, and quite a few are sure to make the headlines.
Let’s take a look at some:
Blocks
This very interesting smartwatch was the 10th most-funded Kickstarter project last year. It’s compatible with both iOS and Android, and comes with a few useful apps like a heart rate monitor and fingerprint ID. The most impressive part is, there’s going to be a range of modules in the form of watch strap links, which allow you to upgrade the device.
Under Armour wearables
The popular sportswear brand partnered with HTC and Grip last year, and created the largest online fitness community by acquiring three huge platforms: MyFitnessPal, Endomondo, and MapMyFitness.
By utilizing its large online base combined with their lineup of apps, Under Armour is poised to redefine sports wearables this year.
Xiaomi
The Chinese wearable brand was very popular last year, and was second only to Fitbit in terms of sales.
This year looks to be a big one for the company, with products like the Mi Band 1S, the Amazefit tracker, and possibly their first ever smartwatch.
Fitbit
Fitbit may have had the biggest-selling wearable in 2015, but they’re facing tougher competition this year, with innovative and more affordable devices from Xiaomi and Moov.
The company announced that their newest products will feature more advanced sensors that can detect things like blood pressure and stress levels. However Fitbit’s new software improvements may be their biggest advantage, with better insights from gathered data and smart coaching advice.
VR headsets
Many people were disappointed at the high $600 price tag of the Oculus Rift, but that won’t stop the rise of VR technology in 2016.
With devices like the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Razer OSVR and more, VR is shaping up to be one of the biggest game changers in technology. These new devices are set to revolutionize the way we interact, watch movies, play games, and much more.
I can see why VR & gaming would work together so well….but I feel that it just won’t happen in a big way.
Currently a big title game can take years to develop, cost millions and at the end of the day, still crash and burn, possibly ruining the company with it.
Why would a software house risk more hours developing their titles to work with VR to possibly lose even more money.
There just probably won’t be the market to risk investing in it…..kind of chicken and egg scenario as no one will buy a VR set unless there are things to use it with.
It’s a shame as the kid in me watching Lawnmower Man would love this to happen
I always find the articles on this site to be very informative and this is a continuation of the same. In my opinion, wearable tech may be the next big thing, and it makes sense to get involved with it. I own an Apple watch and have already become inseparable with it. I just cant wait to see what the future holds.
I can’t wait to upgrade my PC and buy VR headset. I had a blast when I tried it out for the first time. Although, I definitely won’t buy an Oculus. They have very dirty business practices. Vive would be my choice of VR. They support an open platform for VR games and applications.
Yeah, it’s been a while since they were creating such a big anticipation, then after a while the Oculus was finally out! If I am not mistaken the first time I heard about it was 3 years ago? Back then I think I read about the experience someone had testing it or something like that. What a shame it turned out to be such a big let down… I hope things are different with the Vive.
I’m particularly fond of the VR headsets, Oculus Rift is sadly too expensive for me to justify, but in the next couple of years I’m sure VR is going to be really accessible, it’s going to be next big thing in the technology scene.
The Blocks Smartwatch looks pretty cool as well.
The xiaomi and Under Armour wearables sounds the most interesting to me, because early this year I was looking for one of those wearable activity trackers. I need to lose some weight, and I have heard buying one of those activity trackers can help boost motivation 🙂 There are so many different choices though, so it’s so hard to decide, but those two proposals sound great! I would consider them! But we will see what I’ll end up buying in the end 😉
I’m not a really big fan of watches so I don’t really have an option on smart watches, but I think that it’s great that it manages to detect your stress level, I only hope that the stressed person actually does something about it, stress can be a really bad thing.
What I’m looking forward now is VR headsets, imagine how the world of entertainment will change, how communication will change, I think that’s great!
I can’t wait to see a horror movie with one of those, I’m pretty sure that it will be a surreal experience! 😀
I can’t wait to be able to use Playstation VR. It’s just such an awesome concept, being able to play a game as if you were there in real life. Just imagine in just a few years how much they will have improved to make it even more realistic. I haven’t picked up a smart watch yet, but I think I’m going to sometime this month. I’ve been looking at the Samsung Gear S2, Dark Gray, which I think would be a good choice for me because I have a Samsung phone/tablet, that way it won’t have any problems connecting to my phone/tablet.