Wearable technology and smart watches, as expected, are very hot topics here at MWC this year. For example, our MyKronoz payment watch demo has been incredibly popular this year. We’ve had queues of attendees at the stand waiting to see how they can get the most from their watch or wristband. And as you’ll see in the tweet below, there’s been a plenty of buzz on Twitter as well.
Come to stand 5A80 at #MWC16 to see our @mykronoz #payment watch solution in action – powered by @Gemalto https://t.co/EfZ4N8K5JY
— Gemalto Mobile News (@GemaltoMobile) February 22, 2016
The next wave of wearables is upon us. More and more features are now available – from payments and health tracking, to sports performance and receiving calls, meaning that wrist wearables can pretty much do it all. However, there is still plenty of room for further innovation and improvement. New features are coming to fruition all the time – but what’s coming next? Below we’ve laid out what we think will be the most crucial next steps forward for smart watches.
1. Connectivity – eSIMs are the future, and can even save lives. A big step forward for smart wearables will be when they aren’t reliant on a paired smartphone for the connectivity. An independent watch will have its own eSIM, and will be able to make calls without a phone close by. When this happens, you’ll be able to go for a run with your favourite wearable and not have to worry about taking a smartphone with you or being disconnected from the world. A good example of these newly independent devices can be seen on our stand here at MWC. See the demo below.
2. Security – With more features being added, and more data being exchanged, smart wearables security has become more important than ever before. It’s now imperative we ensure every user is properly authenticated for value added services. Biometric authentication is the key here; adding a fingerprint sensor to smart watches is the next logical step, and is already on the way. It now won’t be long until you’ll be able to use your wearable device to authenticate your payments, replacing your pin.
3. Payments – Indeed, more and more wearables are becoming enabled for payments. However, most wearable fitness and health trackers are still behind the times when it comes to payments. It now may only be a matter of time before your fitness band will double up as your wearable for shopping purposes as well.
What do you think? Let us know your thoughts by tweeting to us @GemaltoMobile or to @Gemalto.
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