Which Are The Top Wearable App Development Companies?

What is wearable technology?

Any electronic equipment that is intended to be worn on the user’s body is considered wearable technology.

These gadgets can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including jewelry, accessories, medical equipment, and clothing or clothing-related items.

Although the term “wearable computing” suggests communications or processing power, certain wearables can actually be quite sophisticated.

The most advanced wearable technology includes holographic computers in the form of virtual reality (VR) headsets, Google Glass, Microsoft’s HoloLens, and artificial intelligence (AI) hearing aids.

A disposable skin patch with sensors that wirelessly send patient data to a control unit in a healthcare institution is an illustration of a less complex type of wearable technology.

The history of wearable technology

When spectacles were created for the first time in the 13th century, wearable technology was born. Although the first watches, some of which were wearable, were made in the 15th century, wearable technology as we know it today did not exist until the 1960s.

The following timeline illustrates the numerous directions wearable technology has evolved throughout time:

1960s – In 1961, Edward Thorp and Claude Shannon invented wearable technology in the form of a tiny, four-button computer that could be worn around the user’s waist or squeezed into a shoe. As the computer served as a timing device to forecast where the ball would land, it was designed to aid players who wanted to cheat at roulette in casinos.

1970s – This era saw a rise in popularity for wearable technology. Pulsar introduced the first calculator wristwatch in 1975, and as soon as celebrities like Police lead singer Sting were spotted sporting it, it swiftly became a fashion statement. The Casio CA53W calculator watch was worn by Marty McFly in the film Back to the Future. Other firms, such as Casio, continued to produce watches long into the 1980s.

1980s – Sony debuted the Walkman in 1979, and it quickly rose to the top of the wearable music player market. With the introduction of the first digital hearing aids in 1987, the healthcare sector underwent a transformation during this decade as well.

1990s – In 1994, Canadian researcher Steve Mann created the wearable wireless webcam. Future IoT technologies could be used more easily because of this large webcam. Conferences on wearable technology and smart clothes saw a surge in attendance in the 1990s.

2000s – With the launch of Bluetooth headsets, Fitbits, and the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, this decade saw an explosion in wearable technology.

The decade of the 2010s marked the dawn of wearable technology. 2013 saw the introduction of Google Glass, 2015 saw the release of the Apple Watch, and 2016 saw the release of the Oculus Rift headset.

2020s – While clothing designers quickly introduce smart clothes to the market, the game industry continues to add newer AR and VR headsets.

How does wearable technology work?

Smartwatches, activity trackers like the Fitbit Charge, VR headsets, smart jewelry, web-enabled eyewear, and Bluetooth headsets are just a few examples of the wide range of usable modern wearable technology.

Depending on the area they fall under—such as health, fitness, or entertainment—wearables function differently. The main components of wearable technology are microprocessors, batteries, and internet connectivity, which enables the synchronization of the acquired data with other electronics like computers or mobile devices.

Wearables have sensors incorporated into them that monitor physical motions, offer biometric identification, or help with location monitoring.

For instance, the most popular types of wearables, activity trackers or smartwatches, have straps that go around the user’s wrist and track their daily activities or vitals.

Some wearables work without coming into contact with the user physically, even though the majority are either worn on the body or linked to clothing. Users can still be followed about by cell phones, smart tags, or computers.

Other wearables track movement and speed using remote smart sensors and accelerometers, while some utilize optical sensors to measure glucose or heart rate. These technological wearables have one thing in common: they all continuously monitor data.

What are some applications of wearable technology?

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are examples of popular consumer electronics that make use of wearable technology.

However, because of recent developments in the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), wearable technology is now being used in a wide range of contexts, including professional sports, consumer goods, healthcare, navigation systems, and advanced fabrics.

Applications of wearable technology

There are several applications for wearable technology, including monitoring performance, managing chronic diseases, tracking navigation, and tracking health and fitness.

The following are the most popular current and next-generation applications of wearable technology:

Epidermal skin technology

The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation developed wearable electronic skin for health monitoring, according to ScienceDaily.

This next-generation wearable, an ultra-thin e-skin patch with a small wireless transmitter that can be affixed to the wearer’s chest with water spray, can be worn for up to a week, is the pinnacle of wearable technology.

It can take up and store electrical signals like heartbeats and muscle contractions, which is relayed to healthcare professionals over the cloud so they can check on the user’s vital signs from a distance. This capable wearable is a first step for tracking chronic conditions like diabetes and heart failure.

Health monitoring

Wearable technology is used by people to monitor and receive notifications for their blood pressure and heart rate, to measure their calorie intake, and to manage their workout routines. The COVID-19 pandemic increased consumer awareness of the importance of personal cleanliness and taking preventative measures to stop the spread of illnesses, which in turn increased the use of wearable technology. For instance, Apple recently updated its Cardiogram app and added a new sleeping beats-per-minute feature that tracks heart rate variations in COVID-19 patients.

Entertainment and gaming

The first industries to use VR headgear, smart glasses, and controllers were the gaming and entertainment sectors. Oculus Quest, Meta Quest, and Sony PlayStation VR are popular VR head-mounted displays that are used for a variety of entertainment activities, including gaming, watching movies, and virtual travel.

Fashion and smart clothing

Over the past few years, the term “smart clothes” or “intelligent fashion” has gained widespread acceptance. Wearers of smart jackets, like the Levi’s jacket developed with Google’s Project Jacquard technology, may answer calls, play music, or take pictures directly from their sleeves. Popular examples of wearable technology include smart jewelry, smart watches, wristbands, smart shoes, and smart jewelry.

Military

These wearables include equipment that monitors soldiers’ vital signs, virtual reality simulation exercises, and sustainability gear like boot inserts that calculate how well soldiers are supporting the weight of their gear and how the terrain may affect their performance.

Sports and fitness

Sports use wearable athletic devices that are either woven into the material of the sporting goods or are affixed to sporting goods like bats and balls. Coaches receive real-time data from the GPS and Bluetooth-connected devices for examination via connected electronic devices like laptops. Along with wearable athletic equipment, well-known wearable technologies like Fitbit, Apple Watch, Garmin, Samsung Galaxy Watch, and Polar are widely utilized to track many aspects of the player’s health and performance metrics.

What is smartwatch application development or what is wearable app development?

Before we discuss how to make a wearable app, let’s first address a crucial Google query: What are wearables?

Devices known as wearables are worn by users as clothing or accessories. In order for the network and the device to share data, these devices typically link to smartphones.

Applications that use such wearable technology are known as “wearable applications.” These apps have access to the hardware and operating system of the device. These sensors gather the data, which they then send to the software that has been designed to provide the intended result.

There are several options available on the wearables market right now. Fitness bands, smartwatches, activity trackers, and even smart glasses have already become a substantial part of our daily life. In the following years, their popularity is anticipated to continue to rise.

Examples of Wearable Devices Platforms

Let’s quickly review the most common categories of wearable technology available today:

One of the most well-liked wearable technologies worldwide is the smartwatch. With a smartwatch, you won’t need to carry your smartphone around all the time. These gadgets perform a variety of functions, including sending and receiving messages, receiving notifications, setting alarms, monitoring physical activity, etc.

Fitness trackers are gadgets that keep track of physical activity, including steps taken, calories burnt, heart rate, sleep, and many other things. A portion of the capabilities enabled by smartphones, such as showing notifications, are now available on fitness trackers.

The most obvious example of such gadgets are head-mounted displays, or VR glasses. They can serve as monitors or show people information in augmented reality and virtual reality.

Smart rings are the most well-known example of smart jewelry. These tiny gadgets monitor physical activity and gather data that is sent to smartphones for additional user interaction.

Additionally, there are less common wearables like implanted devices and smart clothing.

The healthcare sector is extremely important to wearable technology. Patients who use glucose monitors can keep track of their blood sugar levels. To detect muscle activity, body temperature, chronic disorders, and much more, several diagnostic trackers are utilized.

Top Wearable Applications (iOS and Android Wear App Examples)

Wearable technology is already a significant aspect of our daily life. Wearable software can be used to track physical activity, monitor sleep, assist users plan their days, and more.

The top ten wearable apps, which have millions of users globally, are listed here.

Let’s gather some ideas for your upcoming application.

1. Calm

Users can use this app to unwind and get a better night’s sleep. The solution offers meditative breathing exercises, soothing music, and visuals for this aim.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

2. Spotify

There is a wearable version of this well-known music app. Users can go for a walk or a jog while listening to their favorite music, leaving their cellphones at home. With its various capabilities, the wearable version enables users to make playlists, share them with friends, discover new music, and manage it directly from their wrists and smartwatches.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

3. 7 Minute Workout

When it comes to users who don’t want to work out for hours on end, this application is a lifesaver. The 12 high-intensity activities in the 7 Minute Workout app have estimated rest and workout times. Users can exercise at home and choose a training regimen that is suitable for their unique physical needs and skills.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

4. Google Keep

Wearables are just one of the platforms where Google Keep is available. With this approach, you can make notes on a smartwatch without having to take your phone out of your pocket. In addition to taking notes, users can also schedule reminders, make shopping lists, and categorize their thoughts.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

5. Uber

Uber also has a wearables-specific application. Users can summon emergency services, book a cab, monitor the status of their ride, and more with the aid of a smartwatch.

Supported platforms: watchOS and Android Wear The development of wearable apps is no longer just for making fitness apps. The list of app examples above amply show how wearable applications can be applied to numerous fields and achieve a variety of goals.

6. Calculator

It is annoying to have to remove your smartphone from your pocket in order to use it as a calculator. Thankfully, owners of smartwatches running Android Wear may complete the operation via a wearable application. It can be used for scientific computations in addition to simple calculations (trigonometric, square root).

Platforms supported: Android Wear

7. Cardiogram

A wonderful illustration of a wearable app utilized for healthcare is Cardiogram. This solution tracks sleep, stress, fitness activities, and minute-to-minute heart rate. It is available for Android Wear and watchOS. Any detected anomalies in a user’s heart rate are also explained by the application’s indication of potential causes.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

8. Telegram

A wearable version of the free messaging service’s application is also available. Despite having rather restricted functionality, users can read their most recent chats, respond to messages using stickers, emojis, pre-set phrases, and locations, or even dictate responses with their voice.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

9. Strava

one of the most well-liked fitness apps for wearables and mobile devices. This solution keeps track of riding and running distances. The programme tracks the path using GPS and LTE so users may leave their cellphones at home. With capabilities like measuring the speed, distance, height, and calories burned during activities, these functions are offered.

Platforms supported: watchOS and Android Wear

10. Google Maps

Wearable gadgets can access the well-known mapping service. The app can provide alternate routes, assess mileage, direct users to preferred areas, and much more.

backed-up platforms: Google Wear and watchOS

This was just a small sample of all the wearable apps that are now available on the Play Market and App Store.

Top industries to create a wearable app

In addition to being trendy, wearable apps help brands reach the audience of consumers who actively use wearables and desire functionality on them. Let’s take a look at some of the sectors that already employ wearable applications.

Healthcare

The healthcare sector benefits greatly from the use of wearable technology. They aid medical professionals in both disease diagnosis and patient health monitoring. These gadgets use several sensors to gather health information, track heart rate, glucose levels, etc. Improved healthcare services and early detection of even rare diseases are the key objectives of these applications.

Smart bracelets, glucose meters, diagnostic chips, and heart monitors are a few examples of wearable medical technology.

Examples include Hexoskin, Quardio, Aira Tech, and VeriSense.

Fitness

The most prevalent market applications are those for wearables. Users of fitness apps can keep tabs on their physical and mental wellbeing. Smartwatches and fitness trackers offer the capabilities required to monitor physical activity when working out, running, and performing daily duties, as well as to calculate calories, measure distance traveled, and perform a variety of other tasks.

Examples include Nike+, Runkeeper, Google Fit, and Strava.

Outdoor Navigation

Google Maps is a top option that works with all platforms and devices. Such solutions have a lot of potential because GPS, gyroscopes, and other technologies are being added to more and more smartwatches and fitness trackers. As a result, it is possible to create outdoor navigation programmes that are totally independent of cellphones.

Examples: Maps on Google

Messaging

Today, leaving your house without a smartphone doesn’t seem difficult thanks to smartwatches. Since messaging applications are readily available, they are much more beneficial because they can operate fully without being connected to a phone.

Skype, Telegram, and other examples

Education

Smartphones are not the only type of wearable technology. These kinds of educational applications can be developed for augmented reality and virtual reality spectacles, like Google Glass. Students can explore the globe, closely examine chemicals, and learn about diseases and the human body using AR and VR.

Examples include Ocean Rift, Mondly, and ImmerseMe.

Entertainment

One of the uses for wearable technology is to listen to music and podcasts while exercising, running, or commuting. There are various ways to go about creating the next Spotify for your smartwatch.

Examples: Shazam, Apple Music, and Spotify

Insurance

In the insurance sector, fraud is a major problem. If insurance firms could access the data from smartwatches and fitness trackers, wearable technology may be advantageous. In reality, there are already some of these solutions in place, such as the partnership between the activity tracker manufacturer Fitbit and the insurance provider UnitedHealthcare.

Example: Achieve,

Fintech

Wearable technology can potentially be advantageous to the banking sector. NFC sensors are already a standard feature of smartwatches and fitness trackers, enabling contactless payments.

Apple Pay and Google Pay, as examples.

How to build a wearable app?

Choose the type

You can construct a few different wearable device options. They differ from one another in terms of functionality, operation, and independence from a mobile device. Let’s go over a few of them:

Standalone app: This type of wearable app operates on the wearable device itself and connects directly to the internet via Wi-Fi.

Mobile devices are completely unrelated to standalone apps.

Such wearable apps serve as a companion to mobile applications. Their functionality is constrained, and a mobile application must regularly or continuously communicate data with them.

Faces is a personalized lock screen designed for a smartwatch; it is not an app.

Users can quickly access these cards, which feature the most recent updates from mobile applications.

The only alerts that may be displayed on the screens of wearable applications using such methods are push notifications from smartphones.

Businesses typically create wearable companion and stand-alone applications. Such apps can carry out a variety of duties and are sufficiently independent of mobile devices.

Wearable apps also differ when it comes to installation methods:

They can be downloaded from a store for wearable apps.
They can be set up using a smartphone.
Not installed, i.e., a wearable receives information from a phone app

Before you begin the development, you must decide what kind of application you will make. By doing things this way, you can save time and money by avoiding needless redos.

List of app features

Let’s go over some of the most prevalent elements used in the creation of wearable apps.

Smartphone module

Most of the time, when we discuss the development of wearable apps, we mean the development of two apps: one for smartphones and one for wearables. You will probably need to design a “container app” if you choose to create a standalone application. Such an app handles the installation and setup procedures. However, the majority of smartwatches can download an app directly from a store and connect to the internet via Wi-Fi.

Additionally, you can simultaneously construct the companion app and the mobile app or create a companion app for an existing mobile application.

UX, UI, and controls

The size of the screen is one clear distinction between the creation of mobile and wearable apps. Micro-layouts are necessary for the tiny screens of wearables. If you just give them the information they need, utilize only one button each screen, and use brief language, you can make a terrific user experience.

To traverse the menu, some devices, like the Samsung Gear series, incorporate a rotating bezel. An equivalent function is carried out by the Apple Watch’s digital crown. To effectively leverage platforms, you must be aware of the ones you are aiming at. You’ll be able to keep from using extraneous on-screen elements in this manner.

Navigation

As previously noted, you may employ the fundamental navigation features put in place by wearable makers to make for an excellent user experience. For instance, the majority of smartwatches have their own motions for selecting items with taps, swiping between screens, etc. There is no need to start from scratch.

Push notifications

Wearables are always on the person wearing them. Reminding users of future events, scheduled calls, or workout sessions is a terrific application of such devices. Wearable applications must support push notifications. These days, you can even display entire text conversations as notifications or a sneak peek at an impending event.

Voice commands

You can link your app with voice assistants found on some wearables. For instance, watchOS devices have Siri, whereas Android Wear devices have a Google assistant.

You may integrate with their API to give your wearable application voice command capability. It’s a convenient tool, particularly for fitness apps. They would enable users to manage other application functions and set timers while exercising.

Depending on the particular requirements of your solution, an app may contain a wide range of additional functionalities.