In the past few years, wearable technology has increased massively in popularity, spearheaded by popular gadgets like the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch and more.
Recently, a new type of device entered the sector: The AI Pin, a device developed by former Apple execs at their new company Humane, promising to be a new revolutionary gadget.
However, the AI Pin, a small, square brooch that can capture data and images, has faced widespread criticism from tech journalists regarding its performance and practicality.
Priced at $700 with an additional monthly fee of $24.99, the pin works by projecting images onto the user’s hand and then allowing them to control it through basic hand gestures. However, as reported by The BBC, Marques Brownlee, a well known online tech reviewer, described it as “bad at almost everything it does,” making it one of the worst products he has reviewed recently.
The Growth Of The Wearable Sector
But it’s no surprise that new companies are trying to innovate in the wearable space. According to market research company IDC, global shipments of wearable devices hit 444.7 million units in 2023, growing by 8.9% year-over-year. This presents a huge opportunities for companies looking to disrupt the industry.
But the task is not an easy one, especially as big tech companies like Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the wearable space, creating newer and smarter devices every year.
But the criticism towards the new pin does raise questions about the future of wearables: can they ever replace smartphones? What does the future of wearable technology look like?
Well, we were so curious that we asked the experts. And here’s what they had to say…
Our Experts
- Pritam Basu, Founder & CEO at Boseman
- Briain Curtin, VP of Global Marketing at WHOOP
- Dr Nikhit, Co-Founder at Your Cue
- Eric Bravick, Head Of Artificial Intelligence at CryptoOracle Collective
- Ross McGraw is the Global VP and Head of CORE
- Marko Savkovic, Chief Technology Officer at SB22
- Mike Wyrley-Birch, Chief Strategy Officer at The Cassette Group
- Matt Smith, Strategy & Experience Director at CTI Digital
- Matt Rebeiro, Executive Strategy Director at Iris
- Jessica Grisolia, Industry Solutions Director (Retail), Scandit
- Ian Blackburn, Founder of the Training Today App
- Heather Delaney, Managing Director and Founder at Gallium Ventures
- Carsten Erikson, CEO of Swift Creatives
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Pritam Basu, Founder & CEO at Boseman
“The Apple Watch and similar devices are going to get better and better with more sensors and sophisticated software, Apple and others are already working on solving some very hard problems from realtime blood glucose monitoring to other critical health markers. It’s likely to become an essential device for real time health tracking and will continue to save lives.
“Spatial Computing via wearable headsets and who knows, maybe even wearable contact lenses someday will likely become an important device as well, we’re still at the start of interesting things to be built but we have some viable devices on the market that have a shot at taking it mainstream and it’s legitimately now a new platform that enables different sorts of apps to be built. And besides the initial crop of apps like 3D Photos, Memories, Concerts, Sports etc. there will be second and third order apps that we can’t imagine yet. Much like how in the early days of the internet we did the obvious things like putting the Yellow Pages online but it was hard to predict Uber.
“Lastly, there will be invasive tech like Neuralink style interfaces that initially help people with medical conditions eg paralysis and then likely go on to enhance abilities in normal humans. Dystopian but likely.”
Briain Curtin, VP of Global Marketing at WHOOP
“The future of wearable tech is in your device having a deeper understanding of you, but remaining unobtrusive. This doesn’t mean the robots are taking over, it just means we all will be able to make better decisions that impact our health and wellbeing. A lot has been said about AI and its potential negative impact on society, but at WHOOP we’ve managed to harness its incredible power to give our users that deeper understanding of themselves through our WHOOP Coach feature with data privacy in mind.
“WHOOP Coach, a first of its kind feature that uses Chat GPT-4 – OpenAI’s most advanced generative AI system – provides personalised and tailored performance health coaching, that is unique to each user to help improve their fitness & wider lifestyle. This ranges from providing bespoke training plans & recommendations, to helping you understand why you’re worn down or even what day of the week they perform best on.
“Ultimately, the future of wearable technology will be dependent on innovative ideas to meet users’ needs. Whether that is with newer features and higher accuracy to support medical advancements or pushing the needle on what can be classed as wearable, it will all ladder up to products that are desirable in enhancing our lives.”
Dr Nikhit, Co-Founder at Your Cue
“As technology continues its relentless march forward, the future of wearable devices is poised to reshape the way we interact with the digital world. The next wave of wearables will move beyond basic fitness tracking and notifications, becoming true extensions of ourselves, seamlessly enhancing our senses and capabilities.
“One area of excitement is the rise of finger-based wearables. Smart rings are opening new frontiers in gesture-based control and biometric authentication, enabling users to control their smart homes, access digital content, or even make payments with the simple flick of a finger.
“Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) also hold immense promise, with experts predicting the emergence of lightweight, comfortable headsets/smart glasses that can overlay contextual information or transport users to immersive digital realms. Soon, AR/VR may become increasingly indispensable for everything from remote collaboration to entertainment.
“Integration of chip implants within the human body in the future could redefine the very concept of wearables. Subcutaneous devices that can monitor our health, manage chronic conditions, or even enhance our cognitive abilities are no longer the stuff of science fiction, though the ethical implications will need to be carefully considered.
“As smart devices become deeply intertwined with our daily lives, the future promises to usher in a new era of seamlessly connected experiences.”
Eric Bravick, Head Of Artificial Intelligence at CryptoOracle Collective
“When envisioning the future of wearable technology, the importance of AI enabled wearables cannot be overstated. Soon all wearables will be AI driven. However, the centralised nature of many of these AI enabled wearable devices poses a significant risk to user privacy. By funnelling personal data into a system governed by algorithms, users inadvertently surrender a wealth of information, often without awareness or consent. While assurances of data protection may abound, history warns us of the inherent vulnerabilities of centralised systems. From Microsoft to Google to Facebook, the risks are manifold. Each time the end user is promised their data will not be used to harm them, it turns out that the big, centralised platforms *are* using data that they should not be.
“To mitigate these concerns, the call for decentralised AI wearables grows louder. By implementing decentralised systems, where user data remains inaccessible without explicit consent, many of the abuses of the current tech era can be mitigated. Advocates within the decentralised AI community champion this approach, emphasising transparency, external audits, and open-source principles.
“Privacy concerns aside, the potential of AI enabled wearables to revolutionise everyday life is apparent. From personal fitness, health, mental wellbeing, to financial freedom the possibilities are vast. However, the key to unlocking this potential lies in embracing decentralised models that prioritise user autonomy and data sovereignty. Only through making the AI enabled wearables fundamentally oriented to the user’s wellbeing can we avoid the current abuses of big technology companies.”
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Ross McGraw is the Global VP and Head of CORE
“Humans are three dimensional. We move and change, similar to the environment around us. Oftentimes, sacrificing some accuracy for continuous monitoring in the real world environment offers greater benefits and insights. This is a concept to be implemented across sports wearables more and more in the future, causing the medical field to take notice. At CORE, we recognize that humans are living in an ever warming environment, and that to perform and adapt they will need continuous monitoring, guidance and insights about not just their core body temperature, but also their environment.”
Marko Savkovic, Chief Technology Officer at SB22
“Wearable technology has continued to be disruptive across every industry – and nowhere is this more apparent than with VR. With the technology already popular in video games and now the Apple Vision Pro – the future for wearable tech is bright.
“For example, while video games may have a limit to the content it can provide in VR – sports and betting are unlimited. Every week is different and never the same, making for limitless opportunities. With many sports now boasting a global audience, many fans would never have the opportunity to view their favourite team live and in a stadium. With VR though, imagine instead of watching a football match on TV, you’re in the stadium with 360-degree views in the perfect seat.
“VR can actually enhance the experience of live sport by placing you in the stadium as you’re not only viewing but can interact and feel part of the action. Pair that with seamless betting on the next play, in-game contests and chances to win merchandise and you’ve created a great experience for viewers and marketing opportunities for sponsors that allows tailor made promotions.”
Mike Wyrley-Birch, Chief Strategy Officer at The Cassette Group
“While wearables have become popular for use in exercise and entertainment, wearable tech has barely scratched the surface when it comes to potential for training and education – particularly in the workplace. The way we work and learn has changed drastically over the last 5 years, with hybrid working now much more common. However, the technology we use hasn’t caught up yet. VR and other immersive technologies have the potential to bridge that gap and create endless possibilities for learning and working.
“From school to the workplace, wearable immersive technology has the chance to bring learning to life in more practical ways, allowing users to interact and gain skills in more real-life scenarios. While immersive technology may still be in its infancy, we can already see an evolution, with an estimated 80% growth of XR usage within education over the last 5 years – with no signs of slowing. In the modern workplace environment, tools like Microsoft Mesh can help a team feel genuine togetherness and immersed, especially now that hybrid working is here to stay.
“Being able to step into a virtual reality to socialise with your colleagues – or practice an immersive and lifelike training experience before applying it in person – can help accelerate professional development and help team members feel more engaged with the company. As far as I am concerned, we are about to see a revolution in the way teams and individuals interact and learn – all thanks to wearable immersive technology.”
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Matt Smith, Strategy & Experience Director at CTI Digital
“Wearable technology has reached a bit of a plateau in recent years in terms of developments that have actually made it to the mass market. That is no doubt going to change in the next few years with developments in artificial intelligence, watch-based ECGs and smart patches that collect data via ‘micro needles’.
“Back in the here and now of consumer experiences though; it is very interesting to see the level of adoption Zoe, the personalised nutrition app that requires users to wear a blood sugar monitor on their skin, has had over the last year. This demonstrates to me that there is a genuine appetite for more ‘invasive’ wearables and even ingestibles and embeddables.
“Another key shift is that we will see many more specialised wearables coming into the market. We’ve seen this in a professional setting with wearable headsets for surgeons but this is also filtering through to consumer technology too. One interesting example is Carv — a digital ski coach that uses pressure and motion sensors in your ski boot, combined with machine learning to deliver personalised instruction through an app.”
Matt Rebeiro, Executive Strategy Director at Iris
“Wearable technology includes everything from the (now) fairly mundane world of smart watches and wireless headphones, through to the not-quite-there-yet world of VR/AR/XR devices that comprise anything from spectacles to full headsets, right the way through to new and emerging form-factors like the much-maligned Human.AI pin.
“Predicting the future of these three distinct classes of wearable is really a conversation about three separate trajectories. With smartwatches and wireless headphones, the future looks quite mundane: incremental growth over time indexed to incremental innovation.
“The wearable world of VR/AR/XR is a little harder to predict. Meta and Apple think this hardware form factor could be the next s-curve in computing, taking over from mobile. But there is little evidence to suggest that even as Moore’s law takes effect and cost comes down as compute speeds up, these devices will supplant mobile as the dominant device – at least in the next five years.
“Which leaves us with the new wearable form-factors like the Humane.AI pin. Over the next three years we’re likely to see several start-ups and tech giants attempt to build new form factors around the latest breakthroughs in AI. A device that can use AI to automate the more mundane and help us be more present has every chance of gaining traction. The question is whether it can scale and dominate or become another niche play.”
Jessica Grisolia, Industry Solutions Director (Retail), Scandit
“Simply put: they will be the new iPhones. The same way smartphones changed our relationship with technology by putting a computer in our pockets, wearables like the Apple Vision Pro offer a glimpse into a mixed-reality future where users can enjoy the same functionality but hands-free, with technology effectively functioning as an extension of themselves.
“Imagine having directions overlayed directly onto the road ahead. Or a store associate simply looking at an item and having product information and stock levels generated in an instant. There is still a long way to go before wearables become as ubiquitous as smartphones, but with so many of the biggest players investing in the space, advancements should arrive quickly, as competition to own the market heats up.
“It may sound counter intuitive, but I’d expect them to help us live in a more analogue world rather than become yet another device we all need, since they effectively combine the features of a computer and phone into a single, intuitive device. This could be seen among workers across logistics, retail, and other industries – but also for consumers as a way to simplify their lives.”
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Ian Blackburn, Founder of the Training Today App
“Intelligent interpretation of data with AI, that becomes ‘invisible’ in our daily lives.
“When we finally ditch our smartphones, wearables will offer us more and better functionality and with less friction. Humane’s AI Pin (when it works), is far easier, than digging your phone out of your pocket. Form Goggles offer a head’s up display to guide swimmers through a training set with live pace and heart rate data, which is far easier than looking down at a smart watch when in the pool. I believe that we will see better sensors and software that intelligently uses data from sensors (like our Training Today app which provides a readiness to train score for athletes from Apple Watch health data, and helps athletes avoid overtraining and injury).
“We might also see things like non-intrusive blood sugar monitors that would not only be hugely valuable to diabetics, but for anyone wanting to understand how their diet affects their mood.
“The future of wearables is not a single device, but many devices, with non-intrusive sensors, and intelligent interpretation of data with AI that become invisible in our daily life, but offers the information and guidance as and when we need it. That a nicer vision than staring at a screen of a Smartphone.”
Heather Delaney, Managing Director and Founder at Gallium Ventures
“Wearables are constantly and rapidly evolving to provide better insights into users’ health and fitness.
“The current cutting edge of wearable technology can be seen in the evolution of Smart rings and their companion apps, as people look to have more connected devices into their everyday health and wellness journey.
“In the not so distant future, I anticipate a transition away from the existing wearable technology and a move towards AI-driven biohacking. This might be driven by technological limitations of what can be monitored externally and improvements to reduce the inherently invasive nature of implants.
“I am already a member of the biohacking community, having had a chip implanted in my hand which allows me to open preprogrammed doors or direct people to my company’s website and social media channels, among other features.
“The biohacking approach allows a deeper level of monitoring and analysing different aspects of one’s health, while also providing truly personalised, real-time data and science-backed, actionable steps to improve aspects of the users’ health and wellbeing.”
Carsten Erikson. CEO of Swift Creatives
‘With tech experts starting to speculate on what the ‘post-smartphone’ world looks like, it seems wearables are moving ahead of the pack. This is logical, but to succeed, the future of wearable technology has to be intrinsically linked with AI’s trajectory.
“Elon Musk’s Neuralink is on one end of this spectrum, and while we decide how we all feel about this, alternative products that keep us in constant contact with our AI assistants are coming onto the market.
“Glasses that seamlessly integrate sound, enhanced visuals and AI are an interesting solution. There are currently a number of glasses products on the market, with audio capabilities, as well as variants incorporating a head-up display on the lenses. However, to fully integrate the power of AI in this format, these products need to incorporate content awareness. Ideally, this would be achieved through the inclusion of a camera.
“But this isn’t a simple fix, as well as developing the technological capability, we need to bring consumers, and the wider public, on board. Wearable cameras have (understandably) received pushback from the public; the concern was first raised when Google introduced glasses with cameras in 2013. As wearables become more sophisticated, concerns about privacy, data security, and ethical implications will need to be addressed. However, with careful regulation and responsible innovation, the future of wearable technology promises to enhance convenience, efficiency, and quality of life in ways we’re only beginning to imagine.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
