Strapping technology for a healthier today, tomorrow

How many steps should one take to be called fit and healthy? Well, with a smart watch on your wrist, it’s not difficult to answer the question anymore. 

Walking, jogging and running have been a healthy person’s choice and practice since ages now. And in this generation of fitness enthusiasts and health conscious people, physical activities and exercises have indeed become an everyday habit. 

The regular morning and evening walks have not just contributed to reducing medical ailments or stress levels, but has also helped in increasing the fitness factor as well as maintaining an overall healthy system within. 

Earlier doctors, dieticians or fitness experts advised on the quantum of exercise needed to stay fit and healthy, but with technology coming to the aid, it’s the smartwatch strapped on the wrist that can perform the same task for anyone intersted.

Apart from encouraging fitness, smartwatches and wearables also come in handy in countering medical ailments. 

Measuring heart rates can help in ensuring a timely visit to the doctor, if there is the slightest chance of a heart disorder. 

With tight work schedules, smart watches  help in calculating the hours of sleep needed. Over time, wearables have evolved from being a calculator, digital clock, translator and game player, to becoming media player, Bluetooth headset, digital cameras and global positioning system (GPS) receivers. 

With health and fitness consciousness rising across the world, it was indeed an obvious choice to make smart watches and wearables focus on health. 

So post-2000, smart watches began to evolve. Added features like virtual pacer, all-day stress monitoring, interval training, monitoring fitness level and VO2 Max, built-in Altimeter, barometer for weather and air pressure, 3-axis electronic compass and many more features started attracting customers. These constant revisions helped in incorporating smart watches and fitness bands as a must-have in the lives of urban consumers. 

In India, the younger generation is increasingly keeping up with a fitness regime and healthy living. With more money in their pockets and affordability of technology, they are opting for smart watches and wearables. 

Now, let us look at the factors that are driving the demand for smart watches and wearables. With tight deadlines at work, it is rather difficult to keep up with the fitness needs and maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is where smart watches and wearables are working wonders. 

Add to it an expanding modern lifestyle and the increasing urge to own sophisticated devices, which are contributing to the need to buy smartwatches and wearables. Interestingly, such items were considered a luxury even a few years ago.  

Now, people not just own such hi-tech gears, but also react to their uses. For example, a 28-year-old corporate executive actually tracks the steps he has taken throughout the day and is ready to compensate if the target is not met. 

How are the companies coping with the rising demand and changing requirements of wearables? Initially the Indian market saw little innovation and witnessed, instead, more upgrades of existing features. Moreover, lower prices of fitness brands compared to smart watches, attracted more buyers towards the former.  

But soon enough, with growing demand and customer preference for better and improved features, smart watch brands have gradually started concentrating on enabling the devices with more features at reduced prices. 

According to market trends, with new and additional features, some major brands are expected to be game changers in smart watches and wearable segment.  

While one brand boasts of a waterproof design, another is offering features like heart-rate tracking, a third is all set with an in-built GPS, while a fourth is ready with pulse oxygen sensor and body battery feature that measures one’s body reserves and calculates how much energy is left. 

Also women-specific smartwatches with features such as period and thyroid trackers, among other features, are expected to join the bandwagon. 

With newer features at relatively lower prices and an ever-growing demand, smart watches and wearables are here to stay and will continue being the popular choice in the world of devices. Staying fit is indeed a click away!

Author is National Sales Manager, Garmin India