After nearly a decade of major consumer and design evolution, the smart watch has firmly caught on in the consumer market. In Q3 2020, the smart watch market was valued at more than $4 billion, with the Apple Watch accounting for approximately half of all sales, according to Counterpoint Research.
Consumers are typically attracted to a particular watch due to its functions and the variety and depth of those functions often vary between manufacturers and consumer segment. First of all, the smart watch must have seamless interfacing with the user's cell phone and at least alert the user that he or she is receiving incoming text messages, emails, calls or other notifications. Alerts arrive in the form of vibrations, audible tones and display flash. Some models support voice communication or message replies, typically via voice-to-text.
A buyer then will consider what the secondary purposes of their device will be, which can be broadly categorized as security, health and athletic styles, based on the biometrics and parameters recorded. Athletics oriented smart watches will often include stopwatches, heartbeat monitoring, a pedometer, navigation, water resistance or other features that make the watch more functional for a person who is exercising and playing sports.
Smart watches for personal safety are becoming more commonplace. With a feature like fall and accident detection, the device's accelerometer senses the quick arrest of movement and prompts the users with an SOS button on the display. If the individual is hurt and needs help, this feature could save a life. If a smart watch believes the user is unconscious, it may alert an emergency contact, as well as display medical ID information for first responders. Some brands may also include a personal safety alarm, potentially driving off muggers and bandits. Personal safety smart watches seem like and ideal fit for kids and independent senior citizens, but is catching on with hikers, farmers and many other people doing things in a potentially risky situation and away from other people.
Finally, there are also smart watches for health and wellness monitoring. Features like heartbeat and blood pressure have clear benefits, but there are drawbacks. Alarms can remind people to take medications. Many smart watches monitor sleep patterns and quality. A few can can be linked to glucose monitors so diabetics have a continual read on their sugar levels, or provide quick access to mental health professionals. Most can be programmed to alert a wearer to spend less time sitting and more time on their feet.
The majority of smart watch buyers will be satisfied with a device that delivers quality communications and a few of the secondary features. However, other buyers may have more niche needs. Nonetheless, the technology underlying these smart watches is largely the same.
Inside the smart watch
A fundamental central unit is the development platform of a smart watch. A dedicated system on chip (SoC) is required for development. Next, sensors form the heart of the capabilities of smart watches, as they are how the watch acquires most of its data. When compared with other mobile electronic devices, the sensors of smart watches are designed differently, as they must fit a small footprint and be multi-functional when possible. These sensors can also be categorized into three types: environmental sensors, biosensors and motion sensors.
Sensors
Environmental sensors can include photosensors for ambient and ultraviolet light, humidity, pressure and and temperature sensors. Examples of biosensors could be temperature, heartbeat, blood pressure and glucose sensors. Similarly, the motion sensors can be geomagnetic, gyroscope and acceleration sensors. All these sensors would gather data from the environment and send them to the display processor or the central processing unit (CPU).
Application processor and communications chipsets
Many smart watches utilize Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) processors with a license, although there are Intel and other application processors available. Such application processors for smart watches take less area and consume less power when compared with application processors for CPUs installed in desktop computers or laptops.
Another crucial component of smart watches is a wireless chipset. Almost all of the exchange of data between smart watches and the environment is performed by wireless functions such as GPS, NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Many smart watch manufacturers go for chipsets with inbuilt GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions, as the watches should be small and lightweight and the modules must be worn effortlessly around the user's wrist. Moreover, power consumption is also another important parameter that must be considered when manufacturing these chipsets. For example, several smart watches offer a constant synchronization feature, which means that the chipset remains energized continuously. Power from the battery must be carefully managed to ensure device longevity.
Battery
Lithium polymer (LiPo) and Li-ion batteries are the two main types that are utilized for smart watches. Polymer batteries are preferred over Li-ion batteries as they can provide higher power capacity. Even today, power consumption is still a major challenge for the development of smart watches. The manufacturers may enhance the construction of batteries or upgrade its material, but this will not significantly enhance the battery capacity. The main reason behind it is that a battery operates by transferring chemical energy to electrical energy; this is what restricts the generated power capacity.
Standard wristwatches can last one to two years before a battery swap; some do not even require repower, either because they are solar activated or store mechanical energy. However, many smart watches need to be charged on daily or weekly basis and some users may not like that their smart watch will not last a full day with heavy usage. Innovative charging technologies such as solar and passive wireless charging are being researched in smart watches. Nonetheless, the total power capacity of the smart watch's battery is still a major restrictive factor.
Display
The screen of the smart watch is typically a capacitive tough display. For many smart watches, this is the only user input, apart from a phone or tablet link. LCD and OLED displays are most common, with the latter a more premium option, due to its bright colors, thin display and power consumption.
Conclusion
Are smart watches the newest trend in 21st century jewelry? Traditional gold and silver jewelry is valued for its passive beauty; its ability to draw other's attention to its intricate and exquisite detail.
Smart watches are the opposite: functional devices meant to draw the wearer's attention to its glow and information.
So while the items aren't direct competitors - it is hard to image a bride wearing her grandmother's generation 1 Apple Watch down the aisle - there is certainly overlap. Consumers only have so much wrist space, which is increasingly being given to smart watches.
