Why carry your tech when you can wear it? That’s the premise behind “wearables,†the latest crop of devices you can wrap on your wrist, place around your neck, slip onto a finger or put on your head – whether it’s for fitness, fashion, connectivity, or entertainment. We’ve compiled a list of the 10 best wearable tech products so have a look!
#10: Samsung’s Gear IconX earbuds
Gear IconX is a pair of wireless earbuds that can hold up to 1,000 songs thanks to its 4 gigabytes of internal storage – therefore not taking up any valuable space on your smartphone – and yes, if you prefer, you CAN use these as Bluetooth buds, to wirelessly play tunes on your phone, plus an integrated microphone means you can take a phone call, too.
#9: The TomTom Spark 3 smartwatch
Building on its popular predecessor, the TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music Bundle GPS Fitness Watch leverages TomTom’s heritage in GPS location and mapping to be a trusted companion while jogging, running, cycling, swimming, and more. That is, along with its integrated heart-rate monitor and multiple sports modes.
#8: Fitbit Charge 2
The latest from the most popular activity trackers available, Fitbit Charge 2 helps you stay informed and motivated while on the go. This wearable lets you set a daily goal – such as a certain number of steps taken, distance traveled or calories burned – and the lightweight and water-resistant wristband keeps track of your daily progress. Along with fitness info displayed on the device’s small screen, including heart rate, it wirelessly syncs with your phone or tablet to see how well you’re doing with colourful charts, graphs and historical data.
#7: Apple Watch Series 2
Apple’s second Apple Watch features everything found in the original – you can get directions, take calls, read and reply to texts, see calendar entries, wirelessly play music, and use your voice to ask Siri questions, and so on – but Apple Watch Series 2 features water resistance up to 50 metres and integrated GPS so you can run without an iPhone.
#6: Hexoskin
In a nutshell, Hexoskin is smart clothing. Created by a Montreal-based company of the same name, these smart shirts are loaded with sensors that give you insight into your exercise goals – like steps, cadence and calories burned — along with heart rate, breathing and even sleep quality. Information is then wirelessly sent in real-time to a companion app for iOS and Android.
#5: Ringly’s Bluetooth Rings
From smart clothes to smart jewelry, Number 5 is Ringly’s Bluetooth rings. Slip on one of the five different Ringly models on your finger…such as one of the black onyx or quartz models…and it can help track your activity – including steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned.
#4: Shockbox Helmet Sensors
For those worried about concussions while playing hockey or football…Shockbox Helmet Sensors… There’s a few different ones to choose from but ideal for athletes, coaches or parents of young athletes who are concerned about head trauma during contact sports. The Hockey Shockbox helmet sensor is designed to be attached to the top of a hockey helmet and provide an immediate wireless transmission to your smart phone of a hit count and when a player has experienced a head impact that could result in a concussion.
#3: HTC Vive
For virtual reality buffs there’s HTC Vive. There’s a few VR players but HTC Vive has “room scale†support, which means you’re encouraged to walk around with this wearable on and your motion is tracked, along with your head movement, for a truly immersive experience. The head-mounted display features twin high-resolution screens, and a built-in camera for when you need to see around you. Grab the two wireless controllers and you can also interact with the content whether you’re shooting zombies, or something a little less violent like painting in a 3D space.
#2: Google Daydream
Number 2 is the newest PORTABLE VR wearable…Google Daydream… The big brother to Google Cardboard, Daydream was designed to work with newer Google Nougat smartphones which you snap into the headset, and then you can load one of the many games and other VR experiences designed for it and use the small wireless control pad that ships with Google Daydream to move around these digital worlds and interface with the content in it.
#1: Microsoft’s Hololens
While not commercially available, I can tell you Hololens is an awesome augmented reality headset with a lot of future promise – whether it’s this model that eventually is sold to consumers or a future iteration that’s smaller and lighter.
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