07/05/2025
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects, or “things”, which are embedded with technology allowing them to collect and exchange data. One IoT application that receives a vast amount of attention is wearable devices – often termed ‘wearables’. Wearables are a type of electric device designed to be worn on a person’s body. They work by integrating sensors, wireless technology, and software to monitor your activities and communicate with other devices to illustrate the gathered information. For example, a wearable may connect to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. Once paired, the wearable can send data to a mobile app, and the app can provide insights on things like fitness progress, sleep quality, or even physiological data.
A smart ring is an example of a wearable. In our previous article, we discuss how patent filings for smart rings are on the rise, and how this highlights the surge in investment and innovation in the smart ring sector. In this article, we look at a broader range of wearables: smart watches, smart rings, smart patches, and smart glasses. We will also delve into the relative strengths of each wearable and what their use cases are.
Smart Watches
Smart watches are the most popular wearable devices for fitness tracking. They usually come with a range of sensors, including heart rate monitors, accelerometers, and GPS.
Fitness watches, especially those designed with advanced features (like the Garmin Forerunner or Apple Watch), are configured to capture heart rate data with high accuracy, particularly during exercise. Many fitness watches use electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors, which can provide more precise readings for heart rate.
Smart watches tend to stay in close proximity to the wrist, making it easy to capture a consistent reading, even during moderate physical activities.
Smart Rings
Smart rings are smaller, more discreet alternatives to smartwatches, offering tracking for activity, heart rate, and sleep quality. Due to size limitations, smart rings typically comprise photoplethysmogram (PPM) sensors which offer lower accuracy than the higher form factor ECG’s found in smart watches.
Some smart rings, like the Oura Ring, are specifically designed for detailed sleep tracking. Smart rings combine motion tracking, heart rate data, body temperature, and respiratory rate to estimate sleep stages. So, smart rings tend to be more accurate than smart watches for sleep tracking because they combine a range of sensors and are specifically designed with sleep in mind. In addition, smart rings are preferred for being unobtrusive during sleep, providing more accurate tracking without the bulk of a wrist-worn device.
As you can see, smart watches and smart rings offer largely the same tracking features. In the present day, wearing both simultaneously would be superfluous. So, along with the standard improvements to battery life and connectivity, I imagine that manufacturers of smart rings and smart watches will focus innovation towards improving on their relative strengths to make both products more discrete from one another.
Smart Patches
Where some wearables, like smart watches and smart rings, are used in more of a casual sense, other wearables are used specifically in the medical industry.
Smart patches are adhesive devices that are applied to the skin to monitor an individual’s physiological signs for medical purposes. The classic example of a smart patch is a continuous glucose monitor for diabetics. Smart patches are popular as they are a non-invasive alternative to other monitoring means, like finger-prick glucose testing.
Smart patches are developed for biocompatibility. The materials used for the patch are biocompatible to avoid allergic reactions and irritation to the skin. Diabetics will almost always have a smart patch on (the patch will be replaced periodically), so user comfort must be considered when selecting materials and designs.
Compared to other wearable types, smart patches have a limited life cycle and are typically disposed of within a few weeks. This is largely due to the size limitations of the battery and the fact that no practical safe recharging methods exist. The problem is not as simple as increasing the size of the battery, because this would increase the bulk of the smart patch, thus making it more obtrusive for a user.
Innovations with smart patches will likely pertain to energy usage and storage to prolong the lifetime of each patch. A positive knock on effect from this will be an increase in sustainability, since smart patches may be disposed of at a lower frequency.
Smart Glasses
Smart glasses are a slight departure from the wearables above, in that they are mostly used to display information rather than collate information. In a general sense, smart glasses are designed to enhance a user’s interaction with digital information. They are evolving towards providing immersive experiences and improving productivity in various sectors, such as industrial training, remote assistance, and gaming.
From both a technological and design perspective, not all smart glasses are created equally. You can imagine smart glasses on a scale where fashion and technology are inversely proportional. On one end, you have glasses which are largely a fashionable item with a small amount of tech embedded. On the other end, you have a virtual reality (VR) headset with comprehensive tech embedded… but it’s not something you are likely to try on in the mirror at a duty free before a holiday!
Smart glasses, which look like traditional glasses, are used more as a phone accessory. They are capable taking calls hands-free and have an integrated camera, but they tend not to have a display. Down the scale, as glasses morph towards the VR headset end, internal volume is increased, allowing for the incorporation of more sophisticated technology. This is where we see the implementation and application of heads-up displays (HUD) and augmented reality (AR), which enhance the user’s interaction with digital information.
Innovation with smart glasses will vary depending on the use case of the glasses. For example, in the future, development of fashionable smart glasses may be aimed at improving cameras and battery life at a low form factor. Whereas models aimed at AR and VR may see development to provide the highest quality experience without bearing sleekness of design too heavily in mind.
General Points
Like with many IoT devices, artificial intelligence (AI) will become more comprehensively integrated into wearables. This will enhance data analysis, and provide more personalised insights and assessments – particularly from a health and fitness perspective.
Wearable technology will continue to offer new ways to improve health monitoring, communication, and entertainment. The next decade promises further integration of AI, improved battery life, and enhanced functionalities across all types of wearables.
It will be fascinating to see what innovations occur in the field of wearables and to what extent they will shape medical, fitness and entertainment industries. Certainly, it remains an area ripe for innovation and the development of valuable new intellectual property (IP).
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
