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Shipments of smart watches with cellular connectivity are set to see a compound annual growth rate of 63% in the period from 2016 to 2020, rising from 7.5 million units in 2016 to 53.6 million in 2020, as projected by Canalys. Over the near term, a new Apple Watch with cellular connectivity will be a primary driver of shipments.

Samsung and LG have been forcefully rolling out new cellular technologies in the market, with smart watches such as the Gear S2 classic 3G/4G and the Watch...

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A new report released by the US Department of Health and Human Services argues that the ubiquitous nature of health apps and wearable technologies has led to gaps in consumer privacy, which are regulated by the watershed Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The report said: “New types of entities that collect, share, and use health information are not regulated by HIPAA. Health information is increasingly collected, shared, or used by new types of...

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New research unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) argues that the utilisation of wearable neuromuscular (WNM) devices among female footballers could cut down the occurrence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The study ascertained functional improvements in athletes who used the devices in combination with a regular training program.

The study made use of 79 elite youth and collegiate female soccer players (age...

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Flex is collaborating with MAS Holdings to manufacture new wearable technologies that speed up the integration of the ‘Intelligence of Things’ into clothing and facilitate more natural, intuitive interactions between people and technology.

Flex is a ‘sketch to scale’ solutions provider that designs and builds intelligent products for a connected world and MAS Holdings is a technology apparel design-to-delivery solutions provider.

Mike Dennison, president of the...

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J.D. Power has released two reports on satisfaction in wearable tech; one focusing on smartwatches and the other on fitness bands. Apple topped the satisfaction survey for smartwatches while Samsung stood first in the fitness band category.

The reports ascertain overall satisfaction among customers who purchased the devices within the past 12 months. The reports also provided a breakdown on satisfaction across 11 factors.

For smartwatches, the foremost factors – in order of...

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Researchers from Binghamton University and the Stevens Institute of Technology have revealed that wearable devices have the ability to leak passwords.

In the paper, titled “Friend or Foe?: Your Wearable Devices Reveal Your Personal PIN”, the researchers collated data from embedded sensors in wearable technologies, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, along with a computer algorithm to ascertain PINs and passwords. The team managed to crack the pin on the first attempt...

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Though the hype surrounding some of the core wearable technology sectors is declining, an IDTechEx report argues that the market will be worth over $30 billion in 2016, with over $11 billion of the total generated by newly popular products including smartwatches and fitness trackers.

The value of the market is expected to rise to over $150 billion by 2026 and IDTechEx anticipates disruption, commoditisation and rapid evolution of product form factors.

Companies are now beginning to look...

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According to a report by MarketResearchReports.Biz, even though China is the most immediately attractive market for wearables due its proportion of potential early adopters, the wearable payments market is yet to kick into gear as most players are still zoning in on form factor and functionality.

Though Apple is the early mover with its Apple Watch that features payments capability, it is too early to ascertain which players will dominate the market as the space is set to attract a lot of...

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The wearables market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) geographical segment witnessed growth of 65.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, according to IDC, which monitors seven major countries across MEA, even as shipments into these countries totalled 419,925 units during the quarter. IDC projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.1% for the 2016–2020 period for the MEA wearables market.

Nakul Dogra, a senior research analyst for personal computing, systems,...

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Technological advances in the growing wearable computing market are bolstering growth rates in both consumer and non-consumer markets. This is in sharp contrast to how the scenario was before the present, when wearables were a fringe market of curious devices that were bulky, unaesthetic and impractical for consumer applications.

BCC Research projects that the global market for wearable computing products will exceed $171.2 billion in 2021, on a five-year compound annual growth rate of...

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Students with autism and anxiety in the US and Canada will be able to pursue a proper education and therapy with the help of the Snug Vest – a specially designed inflatable garment by Wearable Therapeutics – which employs the ‘Deep Pressure Therapy’ technique that helps children and adults who are in need of constant pressure to achieve daily tasks with ease.

Wearable Therapeutics founder and CEO, Lisa...

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Consumers consider accuracy as the most important feature of wearable devices, with more than half of those who do not own a wearable considering buying one if they trusted its accuracy.

The survey, of 706 US consumers, aged between 18 to 65, titled “The State of Wearables Today” conducted by Valencell and MEMS & Sensor Industry Group, looked to gain insight on consumers’ knowledge and preferences around wearables such as a device, clothing or accessories...

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A survey conducted by the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA), in collaboration with Vital Enterprises, has revealed that adoption of smart glasses could benefit enterprise environments.

Where enterprises in the aerospace, automotive, life sciences and manufacturing sectors are the earliest adopters of the smart glasses technology, the survey shows that adoption of the technology is steadily building.

42% of the enterprises surveyed stated that they will adopt the...

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The insurance industry is facing a crisis of talent. Experts hold that retiring baby boomers will leave a void of 400,000 open positions to fill by 2020. Insurance training provider The Institutes revealed that in 2013 the number of employees aged 55 and older was 30% higher in insurance when compared to any other industry. Additionally, 40% of potential employees – high school students – are not keen on building a career in insurance.

In light on this scenario, Erie...

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Apple has looked to reinvigorate the Apple Watch with watchOS 3 with improvements to performance and navigation along with new features related to fitness and health.

New physical features include new watch faces including Minnie Mouse, Activity and Numerals. Apps – such as, Workout, Music or Messages – will now be able to launch from the watch face. Customers can add complications to the Photo, Motion or Timelapse watch faces.

As regards performance, users can press...

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The NPD Group Connected Intelligence Activity Trackers and Sports Report argues that as activity tracker sales continue to see robust growth, the smartwatch is catching up in terms of popularity with consumers as an alternative to track more advanced activities. The report has found that though the activity tracker exhibits leadership in the majority of exercise categories, smartwatches are narrowing the gap.

Eddie Hold, president of Connected Intelligence, said: “Activity tracker...

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Researchers at the National Science Foundation’s Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) at North Carolina State University have developed a low-power wearable system that will help predict and prevent asthma attacks.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that over 24 million people are impacted by asthma in the US and patients currently make use of inhalers to counter the systems that can include...

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Royal Philips and Pegasystems have partnered to aid managed care service providers and accountable care organisations to make use of connected devices and health data to boost patient care.

The collaboration will see the integration of the Pega Care Management Application to the Philips HealthSuite Cloud platform. The development will also lower costs at support care managers and insurers, with general availability slated for later in 2016.

Philips and Pegasystems will put on display...

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According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, the wearable market in India was largely reliant on fitness bands, with 87.7% of market share in the first quarter of 2016 while smart wearables, devices that run on third-party applications, had market share of about 12.3%. IDC also reported that overall wearable sales during the quarter totalled a little over 400,000 units.

Xiaomi was the leading vendor in the quarter with 27.1% market share and Mi, its affordable...

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Quadrant Information Services, a technology supplier to property and casualty carriers, has argued that the insurance industry is being transformed by big data analysis and miniaturised data collection devices with the phenomenon impacting both health insurance and auto insurance.

A recent study by research group Strategy Meets Action revealed that though only three percent of health insurers are currently using wearable devices to help set individual rates, approximately 22% of health...