Techno smartwatches are increasingly sold and add apps for health

Six years ago, spurred on by a market with an appetite for innovation, major technology ventures were showing the world their glittering smartwatches lines. From that first bake, a few competitors were left standing. The survivors were those teams that today found their reason in an elegant but shock-resistant design, a low energy consumption but able to record the variation of vital signs at the end of the day.

With a 35.8% global share, Apple is the leader in this sector. Counterpoint Research’s report highlights a 49% growth in Apple Watch 4 shipments over the previous model. Samsung ranks second with 11.1% and a 7.2% improvement in the number of units dispatched. Thirdly, the Chinese brand Imoo advanced with 9.2%, followed by Fitbit which advanced with 5.5%. The report numbers global shipments of units to stores between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.

One of the major differences between these brands’ devices and other smartwatches is the variety of quadrants that can be obtained from their app store, the ease of interchanging their straps, the fluidity provided by the operating system to move around their small screen, and the novel tools for analyzing aspects of body well-being.

Globally, 48% more smartwatches are sold than the previous year, according to research by Counterpoint Research, evidencing a rebound in user interest. Among the top positions, the absence of Android WearOS models is notorious, which shows the little interest that both Google and manufacturers have put in developing this operating system for wearables.

This week the fifth series of Apple smartwatches was released with the premiere of the operating system WatchOS 6. In terms of digital care, it adds software that measures decibels and warns when harmful sound levels are reached. With the Cycle Tracking app, it allows women to monitor their menstrual cycle, being able to anticipate when their period will arrive.

In addition, if the owner suffers a fall, the device detects it and triggers an alert. If it’s nothing serious and there’s no more than a stumble, it can be canceled. It also comes with the ECG software to perform an electrocardiogram which records the rhythm and intensity of the electrical signals that make the heartbeat.

The most recent local release is Fitbit’s new Versa 2, which offers an indicative sleep quality score based on heart rate, analysis of wake-up times, time spent awake, and sleep phases. The Smart Wake function uses automatic learning to wake the sleeper during light sleep or REM phases, seeking a less aggressive awakening.

Fitbit Versa 2. Three-axis accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, altimeter, ambient light sensor, relative SpO2 sensor, integrated microphone. 4 days of autonomy. $ 19,500.
Fitbit Versa 2. Three-axis accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, altimeter, ambient light sensor, relative SpO2 sensor, integrated microphone. 4 days of autonomy. $ 19,500.

In complementary form, it is also possible to obtain an intelligent scale ($ 5.000) that allows to take control of weight and to integrate it together with other data and registers on the level of physical activity or diet. This is the Fitbit Aria Air.

In the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, the rotating crown that characterized the Galaxy Watch series disappears, making its design much cleaner and clearer. For blood pressure monitoring, you can opt for the My BP Lab application – developed in conjunction with the University of California, San Francisco – to monitor blood pressure and monitor your daily health.

More possibilities open up by linking the watch to the Samsung Health mobile application to seek physical and mental balance with guided deep breathing exercises. It is possible to collect more detailed information about the four stages of sleep, to see if one is getting good quality rest.

Within the formality of the Huawei Watch GT are hidden some surprises. The most striking is its dual-core ARM Cortex M4 chip. One party is responsible for the execution of the basic processes and the other unit is more ambitious, consumes more, but comes into action when more processing capacity is required.