When it comes to fitness trackers, the most renowned players are Jawbone and Fitbit. Both of these companies push the boundaries when it comes to keeping us healthy, but of the two, only Fitbit has so far attempted to combine a powerful tracker with smartwatch functionality in their most-recent flagship, the Surge. 

Has the company pulled off this ambitious feat? It's time for us to find out... 

Design, Battery, and UI 

First and foremost the Fitbit Surge is a fitness device, and therefore...

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A patent has been awarded to Google for solar-powered contact lenses which sit on an individual's eyeball to monitor a variety of conditions and offer a range of detailed insights about the user's current health status. 

Google is known for some crazy ideas, which is what makes them one of the most exciting companies to watch. Some of these ideas reach spectacular heights –...

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Wristly, which examines data on the Apple Watch, has released a new report that provides insight on the behavioural changes being witnessed among owners of the Watch.

The Apple Watch is gaining traction among consumers and is transforming the health and fitness of many. An earlier report from the firm had found that 78% of Apple Watch users were more conscious of their health after using the product. Recently, an American high-school student held that the wearable had helped him avoid a...

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A research team from the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas has published a paper on a new process to make health monitoring patches.

The patent-pending process aims to develop a tattoo-like disposable patch for epidermal electronics mass production. The team was led by Assistant Professor Nanshu Lu, who helped develop epidermal electronics technology in 2011.

The process involves a cut and paste method that reduces manufacturing time to 20...

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If you want to appreciate the promise and the challenge of applying new technology to healthcare, look no further than the UK National Health Service.

In 2013, the Secretary of State for Health Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt challenged the NHS to “go paperless by 2018." The goal of this challenge was “to save billions, improve services and help meet the challenges of an ageing population.”

A paperless healthcare facility would have many benefits. It would enable...

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A survey of 1,000 UK adults from KPMG has found that though privacy concerns remain, consumers are open to sharing health data with certain entities.

74% of respondents were ready to share health data collected via wearable or fitness band with their GP, and almost half of the respondents were open to the NHS streamlining storage of medical records at a single national database to facilitate access to medical practitioners across the country.

However, only 7% were open to wearable data...

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A new WinterGreen Research report predicts that the global fitness wearables market will grow to reach $14.9 billion (£9.77bn) by 2021.

This growth will be driven by professional athletes, consumers and teams looking for a performance advantage.

The current focus in the fitness wearables market is not on what data can be shown, but on the meaningfulness of the data in improving and managing personal fitness and athletic performance. The devices are being used in teams to improve...

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New industry research from ReportsnReports.com has revealed that by 2016, wearable device shipments will surpass 140m globally and will account for almost $30 billion in revenue.

The report, entitled “Wearable Technology Ecosystem 2015-2030: Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals and Forecasts”, argues the wearable market is anticipated to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% in the next half decade.

The important technologies facilitating...

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The wearable technology market is expected to rise from $20 billion in 2015 to close to $70 billion in 2025 led by the healthcare sector, according to IDTechEx.

Growth and development in the sector is being driven by the likes of Apple, Accenture, Adidas, Fujitsu, Nike, Philips, Reebok, Samsung, SAP and Roche. Advanced informatics is expected to make have a huge impact as new healthcare and informatics devices could be a billion dollar opportunity.

IDTechEx has analysed Google...

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The Apple Watch has got everyone talking about smartwatches and has been selling amazing quantities – so is there still room for smaller manufacturing brands in the wearables marketplace?

In my opinion, yes. Products such as the Apple Watch have so many features they cannot hope to do everything perfectly, or to exploit every feature any customer would wish for. Third party apps, of course, can extend the functionality of the device – but they are limited to the...

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China faces stark disparity in terms of medical resources and, as a result, the online healthcare market and telemedicine industry in the country are set to benefit from opportunities in ensuring that technology covers the gap. Additionally, the accelerated pace of growth in wearables and medical informatisation is set to boost the aforementioned sectors.

The China online healthcare market was valued at CNY 10.88 billion (£1.12bn) in 2014, with transaction revenue providing 90% of...

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A new wearable device for infants created by a Cambridge-California social enterprise could be the key to preventing fatal or crippling ailments such as diarrhoea & malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and others. 

JustMilk is a device which attaches to a mother’s nipple when breastfeeding to deliver key antibiotics, antimalarials, antiretrovirals, vitamins, nutrients, and...

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The use of wearables in healthcare is still in an infant stage, but research from TrustMarque points towards 81% of respondents wanting more use of connected devices in patient care. 

Benefits of wearables in healthcare are well-documented but include; remote monitoring to allow patients to go home earlier to improve their comfort, reduce the burden on manual hospital checks,...

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Apple, not surprisingly, has attracted plenty of headlines in recent weeks, whether it’s the rollout of Apple Pay, or the diminishing success of the Apple Watch. Indeed, recent figures revealed sales down 90% since the first week’s launch, while analysts at BMO Capital Markets noted they were “disappointed” with sales of the smartwatch and lowered its...

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Prescription-only wearables have the potential to be not merely life-changing, but life-critical to those who need them. Such devices are already known to be especially effective at monitoring chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes or epilepsy in ‘real time’, sending notifications and alerts every time the wearer enters a ‘danger zone’.

While many of these medical grade wearables start as single purpose devices (such as, for instance, the

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Wearables to assess, advise and improve health and wellbeing has long been one of the key use cases of the technology. Now, here’s a new idea which has come out of Google: a health-tracking wristband which is prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials.

As reported by Bloomberg the device, which is...

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The NHS is unveiling plans to increase Wi-Fi adoption and tentatively examine the usage of wearable devices to monitor patients in hospital.

The proposals, announced following the Personalised Health and Care 2020 blueprint document published last November, mark “a key moment in the journey to making technology work for patients”, according to Britain’s healthcare service.

According to the NHS, the need for more expansive Wi-Fi is an important consideration....

Fitbit retains the number one position in the global wearable device market, but is under stiff competition from Chinese-based firm Xiaomi, according to the latest numbers from IDC.

The figures represent a stark closing in on Fitbit’s market dominance. The San Francisco-based company punts out 34.2% of the 11.4 million wearables shipped in the first quarter of 2015, compared with Xiaomi’s 2.8 million (24.6%).

Xiaomi’s first wearable device was announced in July 2014, which naturally...

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It’s official: San Francisco-based fitness wearable manufacturer Fitbit is preparing to go public.

The documents, issued on May 7, reveal a company which is, on the surface, in good health; quarterly revenue tripling year over year, from $108.8m in Q114 to $336.8m in Q115. The number of paid users has also rocketed comparatively; from 2.6m at the end of 2013, to 6.7m the same time the year after, and 9.5m by the end of Q115, while device numbers have grown from 4.5m to 10.9m...

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Unless you spent the past month underneath a rock, you have probably heard enough buzz surrounding the Apple Watch’s unveiling to last a lifetime. Apple’s foray into the smart watch space is just the latest indication that the wearables market is forcing its way into the mainstream.

Recent research from Business Insider projects that the number of...