What I want to see from smartwatches and wearables in 2024

Sunday Runday(Image credit score: Android Central)In his weekly column, our Senior Editor of Wearables and Fitness Michael Hicks discusses the world of smartwatches, apps, and health tech associated to operating and well being, in his quest to get quicker and more healthy (and enable you do the identical).As 2023 involves an in depth and everybody pretends January is the proper time to start out getting match, I’m already pondering forward to what subsequent yr has in retailer for us, from upcoming 2024 smartwatches to the software program and sensors our favourite manufacturers will stick inside them. All issues thought of, 2023 was a really robust yr for wearables. The Pixel Watch 2 got here into its personal as a Wear OS/ Fitbit hybrid, whereas Samsung performed it secure with efficiency upgrades and Apple received folks excited with gesture controls. On the health aspect, Garmin put out a few of its strongest-ever watches just like the Forerunner 965 and Venu 3, whereas opponents like COROS and Polar held their very own. Despite Fitbit’s struggles to regain its momentum and redesign its app, it did not less than launch the strong Fitbit Charge 6, which I reviewed extremely. Still, we are able to actually hope for newer and better issues this yr. The AI craze will virtually actually come for this yr’s watches, good rings will bounce into the general public eye — with or with out Samsung — and we’ve got to imagine some new well being sensor tips will make their technique to mainstream manufacturers. Here’s all the things I anticipate to see, or wish to see, out of smartwatches and different wearables in 2024!AI in your wrist(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)I spoke to 2 wearable analysts about what to anticipate in 2024, and each independently introduced up the identical function: on-device AIs.”I think wearables will most likely start to take advantage of AI,” mentioned Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. As the AI chipsets get smaller, Sag “foresees a future where AI helps to enhance the wearable experience in ways that we’ve only wished could be possible.”Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, agreed that “the inclusion of AI in wearables” will drive gross sales to new heights in 2024. He talked about Apple’s gesture controls as an early instance of its potential; subsequent, AI will assist provide “customized workouts or personalized nutrition plans” or inform you “the best time to have a cup of coffee is at 2 pm so you can have an optimal workout at 4 pm.”One of the principle upsides of a Garmin watch is its capacity to inform you how drained or sore you might be and regulate your day by day exercises accordingly. If larger watch manufacturers can actually flip to AI to supply this reliably, and with out the hallucinations AI is vulnerable to, that will be a serious upside — one I’ve been hoping to see for a while!Google can use Gemini for the Pixel Watch and lend it to Samsung, whereas some manufacturers could wish to accomplice with OpenAI or different manufacturers. With Samsung turning the Galaxy S24 into an “AI phone,” possibly the Galaxy Watch 7 would be the firm’s first “AI watch.”The yr of the good ring?(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)I’ve examined dozens of smartwatches however have but to put on my first good ring. My colleagues who personal the Oura Ring (Gen 3) swear by it, although, and different manufacturers like Ultrahuman, RingConn, Circular, BoAt, and Noise have jumped into the fray this yr. All of those manufacturers will attempt to strengthen their place earlier than the Samsung Galaxy Ring launches; it is presently rumored to reach both in the summertime of 2024 or early 2025, relying on how lengthy it takes to get medical approval. “Samsung’s entrance [to the smart ring market] would be huge because it’s a multinational brand with a very broad distribution network and plenty of marketing,” Ubrani defined, whereas most of its present opponents are “localized to a few countries around the world.”He shared his crew’s prediction for upcoming good ring gross sales, which did not take Samsung under consideration, predicting worldwide gross sales will high a million models for the primary time (a 16% improve) regardless of the dearth of a “major” worldwide model. With Samsung within the combine, that quantity may shoot up. Sag instructed that whereas good rings “solve a big problem with smartwatches” by way of snug sleep monitoring, he additionally thinks that “there’s still room for improvement in the form factor” and that they should “get thinner and more sleek” earlier than they begin exploding by way of gross sales. A unified Wear OS ecosystem(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)Moving on from what I anticipate to what I wish to see, Google must make it possible for Mobvoi, Fossil, and its different Wear OS companions aren’t left within the mud. When Wear OS 3 launched in mid-2021, it got here instantly to the Galaxy Watch 4 that summer time. Then Fossil received Wear OS 3 in October 2022 and needed to wait till mid-2023 to supply Google Assistant once more. Mobvoi, in the meantime, has solely simply begun to roll out Wear OS 3 to its previous watches as of December 2023, a yr after the unique promised date. It’s clear that the previous Snapdragon Wear {hardware} needed to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Wear OS 3 period. But for present and future watches just like the Ticwatch Pro 5 and Fossil Gen 7 — and new companions like Xiaomi returning to Wear OS — Google must do what it takes to clear the best way for its companions to have straightforward updates so clients aren’t ready years for brand spanking new options. Thus, 2024 is the time to indicate that unified entrance! While Google and Samsung bounce to Wear OS 5 or 4.5, companions ought to not less than be getting Wear OS 4, enhancing each software program and general efficiency. A a lot better Pixel Watch 3(Image credit score: Google)Android Central gave the Pixel Watch 2 our greatest smartwatch award of 2023, however that does not imply it is an ideal machine. When I polled my coworkers about their needs for upcoming 2024 smartwatches, most introduced up issues they need improved for the Pixel Watch 3.In specific, they need higher battery life, ideally matching with the 40-hour Galaxy Watch 6 and even longer with a “Pro” model. And as long as Google is just providing one dimension, they’d admire smaller show bezels, giving not less than a 1.3-inch show on par with most rival watches. What I discover most intriguing comes from a 2023 Google patent exhibiting a Pixel Watch with no crown. As you’ll be able to see within the patent Figure above, it could have haptic sensors alongside the diameter of the watch. You’d be capable of squeeze the Pixel Watch 3  from each side to open a notification or pause a tune. In one other instance, you’d slide your finger alongside the underside to show the quantity up or down or faucet a selected spot to activate a widget.I’m undecided how nicely this method would work in follow — it appears more likely to have numerous false touches or misinterpreted gestures. But it is nonetheless an intriguing concept that takes benefit of its soft-edged show and provides the Pixel Watch 3 a standout gimmick no different smartwatch may provide.New well being knowledge to shake issues up(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Earlier this month, I wrote about how Rockley, a health-tracking firm that is partnered with “six out of the top 10 consumer device companies,” has a brand new sensor that makes use of infrared to get a greater grasp of your present well being than skin-level coronary heart price sensors can detect. That expertise will in all probability come to main smartwatch manufacturers within the close to future, if not throughout 2024. But I’ll be trustworthy: I would like one thing a bit of extra thrilling than simply “more accurate health data,” and I believe that applies to loads of customers. Apple will allegedly add blood stress monitoring and sleep apnea detection to the Series 10. Samsung has measured blood stress for years and sleep apnea since late this yr however hasn’t managed to get FDA approval for both. Maybe Apple getting into the fray will assist push Samsung to realize the accuracy it wants. Otherwise, nicely, I’ll return to the AI level above. The first model to supply one thing like “Apple Coach” or “Galaxy Coach” with coaching or restoration time strategies — primarily based in your health stage, current actions, and sleep knowledge — would actually impress on a regular basis customers with desires of getting fitter or operating their first 5K. A Fitbit renaissance(Image credit score: Andrew Myrick / Android Central)I’m fearful about what Google has in retailer for Fitbit. We discovered not too long ago that Google had stopped promoting Fitbit in dozens of nations, in an effort to align its gross sales with wherever it sells Pixel Watches. That, mixed with the Pixel Watch 2 stealing the Fitbit Sense 2’s sensors, makes me marvel what the corporate’s plans are. Based on Fitbit’s standard launch calendar, we are able to anticipate a Fitbit Sense 3 or Fitbit Versa 5 launch in 2024. But what can they provide to drum up pleasure? The Versa 4 and Sense 2 already added Google Maps and Wallet, the identical as this yr’s Charge 6, so it will possibly’t simply depend on the Google namesake this time.Will Google give these new watches a Wear OS-lite expertise with extra third-party apps, as older Fitbits had? Or will Google and Fitbit work collectively on a extra superior model of Fitbit Premium, both counting on AI teaching or higher at-home exercise movies like Apple Fitness+? I’m undecided, however I do know that Google and Fitbit need to go all out this yr to impress us. Unpredictable pleasure(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)I do not know what’s going to occur with the Galaxy Watch 7, Pixel Watch 3, Apple Watch Series 10, or different smartwatches which can be positive to reach in 2024. I’m positive they will be good like their predecessors, however which one comes out on high within the AI smartwatch wars might be enjoyable to… nicely, watch!I’m additionally curious what Garmin has in retailer for 2024. It made a number of the greatest health watches of the yr, besides, I’ve already written about how a few of its health options may use a revamp, as may the maze-like Garmin Connect app. And I have not even touched on different gadgets within the wearables class, like good glasses. Like good rings, they’re nonetheless discovering their area of interest however hold getting an increasing number of well-liked yr by yr. In different phrases, 2024 ought to be an thrilling time for wearables, with developments we have by no means seen and make-or-break moments for some main manufacturers.