We live in a world where an overwhelming amount of information is at our fingertips. And our own health data is no exception. Watch-based health trackers have been around for quite some time, but wearable tech can also be integrated less traditionally. With slightly different executions, they all have the same premise: track and analyze your health data over time. So let’s dive into some of the recent standout examples of wearable tech.
Fitbit, acquired by Google in 2021 has been in the wearable tech space for quite some time. They have several different lines of smartwatches that all track users’ health data, from heart rate to VO2 to body temperature and everything in between. Fitbit also analyzes the data to produce various scores on things like sleep and stress levels. And if you are wondering what it really means to receive a stress score, so are we! We have to continue to ask ourselves what this data is offering users and how it is produced in the first place. As an optional add-on, users can subscribe to Fitbit Premium for a more in-depth breakdown of their analysis.
The Apple Watch reaches far beyond a fitness product. Yes, it tracks your heart rate, blood oxygen level, temperature, and beyond; but it is also an extension of the Apple ecosystem, allowing users to access many of their apps and notifications without needing to reach for their phone. Unlike Fitbit, none of Apple’s fitness analyses are paywalled, but their Fitness+ subscription boasts fitness classes of all kinds and personal recommendations.
Our last of the “traditionalists” is the Garmin Watch, the biggest fitness-focused smartwatch competitor. The Garmin Watch tracks all of the same data that the rest of these watches do, they just package their analysis a bit differently. This watch is specialized to athletic training, meaning their analysis tells users all about how they are recovering and suggests workouts that might be best for them. Garmin has no subscription service for extra analysis, all of their coaching is packaged into the initial watch price.
The Oura Ring tracks all of your health data right from your finger. While watches are pretty normalized at this point, it is a noticeable part of your outfit every day. Whereas the Oura Ring is one of the most discrete health trackers on the market. Oura captures all the data that the rest of these products do, but they focus on sleep tracking and recovery metrics. Basically, they distill all of your health data into key insights about your sleep quality and readiness for the day. Hello, data abstractions! This is where we stop and question what a user is really able to do with a daily readiness score and how Oura even calculates this in the first place. Lastly, all of these data and analyses are paywalled behind a monthly membership. This is a newer introduction to the Oura ecosystem, but the ring can no longer be used without a subscription.
Whoop is a newer entrant to the wearable tech but arguably the most versatile option out there. On the surface, they look like just another smartwatch brand. But users can also detach the Whoop from its wristband and attach it to many other accessories. This means that with one device, a user can have a smart watch, t-shirt, swimsuit, and even underwear (nope, not kidding about that). Similarly to the Oura model, users must also subscribe to the monthly membership in order to access data and trends.