What are the Challenges of Making Wearables App?

Wearables are the trending technology, you can see on most of the wrists these days. They are small, they are useful, fancy, and extremely trendy. The concept is not very new but it keeps on bringing new things.

They have combined technology and fashion and helped users to improve their health. This technology is on a constant rise and for good results.

Wearable Statistics

According to Statista, take a look at the data of wearable devices and technology globally.

• The revenue in the worldwide market is expected to reach $18,984 in 2020.
• The projected market volume is expected to reach $17,854 Million by the end of the year 2024.
• The user penetration will be 5.9% in 2020 and is expected to be 4.8% by the year 2024.
• The average revenue per user is expected to reach $43.

Important key figures based on the research of Statista, 

• Smartwatch sales as a share of the global wearable are 52%.
• Wearable shipment of Fitbit for quarter 1 of 2020 is 2.2 Million.
• The global wearable shipment share of Apple for the 1st Quarter of 2020 is 29.3%.
• The market share of the global wearable device shipment of Xiaomi for the 1st quarter of 2020 is 14.0%.

Benefits of Developing a Wearable App

Nuances in wearable app development have brought life-changing things. Here are some of the benefits of developing a wearable app:

• Fitness

The main concept behind developing a wearable app is health and fitness. They keep a constant and proper track of fitness activity. It can track the number of steps walked, the number of stairs climbed, track heart rate, count calories gained and burned sleep hours, and many more things. They have become extremely essential in our fast-moving and busy lifestyle.

• Gaming

The gaming industry accepts and adapts all the trending technology like AR, VR, IoT, and now it is also accepting wearable in its bucket list. Several apps are already developed which work well with gaming gadgets. Develop gaming apps in a way that supports gadgets like eye-wears to come up with real-life graphics.

• Fashion

Wearable applications are very quickly coming to the fashion industry. Several big brands like Levi’s are coming up with gadgets like pants, suits, and other clothing accessories. In the upcoming times, there is a probability of clothes with innovative fabric which will enhance the blood flow. The fashion industry is embracing this technology in its products.

• Health

A wearable can be of great help in the health industry. It can help doctors to monitor the patients and diagnose any disease. Use wearable with artificial intelligence and big data tools to collect comprehensive data of the patients. Developers can use the same data to figure out the patient’s disease.

Easy and early prediction of diseases avails predictive care and remote monitoring of patients with this trending tech. Several smartwatches can detect early signs of diseases like strokes, Parkinson’s, cancer-related fatigue, and certain signs of Alzheimer’s because of the sensors in the smartwatch.

• Insurance

Insurance providers with wearable tech can now gain access to biometric and all the detailed activity data from the policyholders. With access to such information, insurers can assure underwriting accuracy, prevent fraud claims, and improve customer engagement. There is a partnership between Fitbit and UnitedHealthcare which allows the former to give healthcare credits as a reward to the users that record activities in their Fitbit devices.

Even there is Aetna that developed an app named attain which provides Apple Watch to the customers by making them pay for it to indulge in healthy activities like exercise or getting enough sleep. These are two examples of the benefits of wearable in collecting data.

• Fintech

Customer retention has always been a challenge for the finance sector. This technology can provide valuable interaction between banks and clients. It is beneficial to the banks and users both and in different ways.

Banks can get client-specific data in real-time. Because of that banks can deliver personalized services to the clients ensuring customer retention. Customers can get easy and contactless payments and get benefitted from this technology.

• Wearable Tech in the Workplace

In the workplace, employees are always on the move and at times it becomes difficult to get a hold of them. But with this device on them all the time, it’s easy to contact them at any time and from anywhere.

These small devices keep employees and employers connected. The employees can receive alerts sent by employers and respond to them immediately. This will improve work efficiency.

• Hearable

Hearable are the wearable gadgets designed to hear. These gadgets are very small and wireless and used as in-ear accessories and used for listening to music. These are one of the best selling gadgets. Take an example of Apple’s earplugs and Samsung Galaxy earplugs. Customized apps are being developed to make the best of these devices.

Plenty of industries get benefitted by having a wearable application. However, it is not easy to develop these apps. There are various challenges involved to develop a great app. Here are some of them.

Also Read: Why ASO (App Store Optimization) Important For Your Mobile App?

Challenges of Wearable App Development

• Fragmentation

The issue of fragmentation is one of the biggest challenges in developing these apps. The majority of the wearable apps don’t have cross-platform compatibility which acts as one of the major constraints in embedding with the issue of fragmentation. Solving the fragmentation and making the app compatible with devices of different sizes and types is difficult which increases the cost.

• Tethered Devices

Wearables are small devices with limited functionality. They are tethered and basically rely on the other larger devices to access more features of the app. They practically become useless if their primary device like the phone or tablet is off or has a low battery.

Also, both the devices connect with Bluetooth and should be near for connectivity. If they stay away from each other they will lose their connection. This is one of the development constraints for developing these apps.

• Privacy and Data Security

Data security is one of the most important criteria for mobile app development. Several users are hesitant to use apps because of the security threat.

The developers need to work on user privacy and secure the confidential data to earn user’s trust and make them use the device and app both. Wearable app developers must pour extra efforts and make the app safe and secure.

• Updates

Users are always looking for something new whether they are happy with the current app or not. To keep the users engaged and loyal to the app, it is mandatory to roll timely updates with either new features or fixes in the existing app. To stay relevant to the users and competitive with other top apps in the market, roll frequent and useful updates.

• Battery Life

If your app is a battery eater, it won’t last on your user’s device for long. According to the feedback from the users all these years, users hate apps that drain the battery. They will shift to your competitor’s app and you are never getting them back again.

So, make sure to develop an app that doesn’t consume a lot of battery life of the device. Striking a balance between integrating the best features and making it a battery-saving one is a never-ending job that mobile app developers have to do.

• User-Interface

Wearable devices have a smaller screen space. It’s quite tricky to fit all the elements in a small screen yet make it look attractive. There are higher chances of the design to look cluttered and clumsy but UI/UX designers have to work extra hard to let the design breathe a small-sized device and yet look good.

• Multi-Platform Support

If you are looking to develop a successful wearable app, it is essential to make it compatible with multiple platforms. It should work flawlessly on both Android and iOS. Both the platforms need separate coding and tailored according to the platform to run flawlessly on all the devices. Developers have to pay proper focus on the API and various protocols.

• Storage Space

Wearables are very small and hence have very limited storage space as well. So, make sure to develop an app that consumes less storage space. The users of this app can’t afford to store huge apps, it will slow down the system.

Number of Connected Wearable Devices Worldwide

Wearable Device Sales Worldwide by Region

Forms of Wearable Technology

Here are the top 6 types of wearable used in our day-to-day:

• Smartwatches

Smartwatches are the most commonly known and used in today’s time. Smartwatch connects to the smartphone that allows the user to read and send messages through the app. The user no longer needs to hold the phone or stay near to the phone to check the messages or other notifications.

• Smart Jewelry

We all have seen Bond movies and examples of smart jewelry in all those movies. Smart jewelry can also track health. It can record data and be viewed later on mobile devices.

Say, for example, a smart ring is a very small wearable which the user can use in usual days as a fashion accessory and can collect fitness data at the same time. There can also be smart bangles or smart bracelets any more. It’s a great combination of fashion and technology.

• Fitness Trackers

It is one of the most popular devices. A huge set of audience has accepted and helped them maintain good health. This small device can perform various functions like track number of steps walked, number of stairs climbed, heart rate, and many more.

There is a very thin line of difference between fitness trackers and smartwatches which is blurring. Well, yes fitness trackers are smaller in size and cheaper in cost. Fitness trackers can also receive notifications and alerts just like Smartwatch.

• Smart Clothing

Smart clothing can provide better and deeper details of the user’s body as compared to the watch or other small devices. This is beneficial in both medical care and lifestyle improvement. Smart clothing can include a shirt that can diagnose a respiratory disease or smart shoes that can track running form.

There are also siren socks that can diagnose foot ulcers. There are also smart swimsuits that suggest when a user should apply sunscreen. These were some of the examples of smart clothing. Plenty of top companies are using smart clothing for branding and promotion.

• Head-Mounted Displays

There is no big logic in this device. It is the same as the name suggests. These devices go on the head and show a view of the front view. This way the users don’t need to look down on the phone or smartwatch. Head-mounted displays can give various experiences like monitor, and work as augmented reality or virtual reality experience.

It is a growing market with lots of potentials. This is why plenty of trending apps are making their apps compatible with these devices. If you are looking to develop a wearable app, you must learn about the top applications in this category.

Top 5 Wearable Applications

1. Google Pay

Google pay is a very popular mobile app that allows for paying money without a wallet or cash. The user can download the app on their smartwatch and make payment by choosing a card and holding their watch over. It will allow contactless payment to the users. Google Pay app is now available on both iOS and Android wearable devices.

2. Shazam

Shazam app detects the song and the artist by playing the sound. Users can now download shazam on their Smartwatch and click on the app icon. Allow the app to listen to the sound for several minutes until it displays the result. The app supports both iOS and Android wearable devices.

3. Todoist

Todoist is a downloadable app for a checklist that reminds users about their routine tasks. To use the app on the wearable, just tap on the icon on the smartwatch where the users can choose to add tasks, add details, set dates for task completion, and add priority levels. The todoist app is available on Android, iOS, and windows wearable devices.

4. UV Index Now

Being too much in the sun can harm your skin. Too much exposure to UV rays can damage the skin and UV Index Now App can save them from skin damage. The user can download it and with one tap on its icon, the app will show the UV forecast for the day.

The app can give UV exposure and vitamin D intake of the user and give advice based on the user and their skin type. The app now works flawlessly with both Android and iOS wearable devices.

5. App in the Air

This app is for the people who travel a lot by flight. The app shows information from real-time boarding tips to airport maps. It provides all the information about flights that users might require for travel. To take benefit of the majority of its features, the user needs to download it on their mobile devices and connect it to their email accounts. The App in the Air app is compatible with Android and iOS wearable devices.

Whichever category you choose for developing this app, you need to know what to integrate into these tiny devices. Take a look at the must-have features.

Features to Have in a Wearable App

• Customized Notification

Well, these tiny devices can’t incorporate big and detailed notifications on the screen for the users to view. Hence, such apps must design tailor notification in a word or two. The device won’t be able to show long notifications on the screen.

Keeping these aspects in mind, design the customized notification. Another option is to use a voice memo or colored lighting for notification.

• Data Security

For data storage, the cloud will be the primary choice for the repository and also for the transfer of data to these devices. It will act as the principal storage for data. This will make it very important for the developers to follow security protocols and make the app safe and secure.

Features like hand gesture facilities or voice recognition have easy access to all the data on the Cloud without breaking any of the security standards. Make sure to integrate two-factor authentications, secure browsers, secure cloud access, and secure mail apps.

• User-Friendly Interface

It is very important to design the app in a way that users can access the screen hassle-free. The app needs to be light-weight to manage the fast speed, easy loading, and respond to the functions at a faster pace.

• AR through App

There are several features that can bring the experience of augmented reality to this app. It includes voice commands, maps and GPS, and tracking health-related data like body temperature. It can also come in games and multimedia.

Final Words

If you have read all the above points, you know a lot about this technology, devices, and apps. Now, if you are looking for developing an application, you need a wearable app development company to share your idea and get going with its integration.

FAQs

1. What is wearable technology?

It refers to the electronic devices which can be worn as accessories and perform multiple functions. All these accessories are hands-free and connect to other devices and run through the internet. They work with the smartphone app to power them up.

2. How is wearable technology useful?

This technology has plenty of uses in different fields. This technology is of great help in the health and fitness sector to diagnose the disease at an early stage, catch symptoms, track routine activities, and many more.

3. How does wearable technology work?

It works on sensors in different devices that can be worn on any part of the body. These devices track information on a real-time basis and which connects to the smart app so that users can access the data and record it.

4. What is a wearable app?

These apps are not like mobile apps. These apps run with the connected wearable devices instead of performing specific functions for the users. Say, for example, fitness applications track the activity levels and measure things like pulse, heart rate, calories, and many more things.

5. What is the cost of wearable app development?

The cost depends on various factors like features, the complexity of the app, time to develop and deploy the app, and requirements of the details. Based on these factors, the cost of this app will be decided.[/blog_single_full_content][/vc_column][/vc_row]