As someone who has worked in the electronics industry for some years I am beginning to wonder why I have become increasingly sceptical about new technology markets and how applications and real world systems will evolve and develop.
Naturally enough, many technology businesses are keen (nay desperate) to find and exploit the ‘next big thing’. So hard on the heels on the IoT (Internet of Things) is Wearables!
Many articles and news features discussing ‘Wearables’ suggest this is the next golden utopia for technology and component providers and suppliers. I have no doubt that wearable products, devices, systems in whatever form they may take will reach the commodity mass market someday. Perhaps fitness trackers are leading the way in this regard. Undoubtedly, at some point in the future, many of us will probably have a powerful computing system wrapped around our wrist – monitoring, analysing, informing. The downside is the lack, currently, of viable, cost effective technologies: rugged, reliable colour displays, long-lasting power sources, simple user interfaces etc.
This Wearable Technology article has some interesting insight, and David Manners has his say regarding the Apple Watch
Perhaps a ‘what can make life better?’ philosophy could or should be employed? But that is unlikely to work because the tech companies need to make money to justify the financial and resource investments they make in the new technologies needed to make all this fantastic wearable stuff.
So Wearables? Yes, they’re coming – Watch this space….