Wearable makers doing away with gimmicks to focus on health care

Many wearables, from Xiaomi’s inexpensive $15 Mi Band to the $400 Apple Watch, seem like a little more than gimmicky devices with a few useful features. On the high end, consumers may find it hard to justify the price. One Quartz writer even said that it has become clear "no one needs an Apple Watch". Yet, the wearables market is very important in many different spheres, especially in health care. This is the area that is allowing the wearables market to transition “from toys to tools,” according to Electronica, the organization responsible for Germany’s largest electronics trade fair.

The Electronica article draws on information from various reports, including one from Deloitte that said the market for health apps, wearables and fitness trackers will be worth $26 billion by 2017. Another report from Soreon Research said the wearables market for health care alone will be worth $41 billion by 2020. It is clear this is a rapidly growing segment for wearables and all the money in health care means these devices can generate more revenue and profit as well.

According to the Deloitte report, it is possible that patients and health care providers will be connected via smartphones, tablets and wearables by 2020. This connectivity combined with the growing use of sensors will allow a transformation of the health care market. Electronica singles out ECG sensor plasters that can give updates about a person’s health. These could be combined with other technologies such as a blood sugar sensor that can inject insulin when needed.

The technology is not science fiction, either. Scientists have already devised a way of doing this, although challenges still exist.

Many of these wearable health care technologies remain prohibitively expensive. Electronica might be premature in discussing the wearables transition, but it is clear that the technology is advancing. Health care has long been thought to be one of the most beneficial uses of future wearables, as well. This is why things such as health monitoring wristbands have become popular. Some China manufacturers have already started offering smart watches that monitor blood glucose.