Will Android 2.0 revolutionize the healthcare wearable industry?
Will Android 2.0 revolutionize the healthcare wearable industry?
When we talk about the wearables and healthcare industry together, a round of feelings begins to move like any picture frame. While on one side the benefits they offer, on another the level of dependency which can be seen these days.
If you are the one planning to/have come with a healthcare wearable, you might be having the fear of it being rejected by FDA, or whether if the people will accept it. This is something general, especially after finding FDA rejecting Jawbone’s and Apple’s wearables. However, you might find it making space in the hearts of the general public, assisting them in general awareness (also shared by FDA).
See also: Four big trends pointing towards a boom in healthcare IoT
Somewhere in 2014 wearable devices had just 2,500 applications including health & fitness apps. But it is expected that by 2019 this will touch the mark of 349,000 third-party applications. The figure clearly narrates the future of health & fitness apps. If we talk about healthcare apps in particular, according to a survey report issued in 2016 FitBit rules the segment by covering 57% of the entire healthcare wearable mobility solutions.
But despite all these statistics and people’s mass acceptance globally, getting approval by FDA is still a difficult task for many.
Will Android Wear 2.0 be a game changer?
Jawbone isn’t the only one facing the tough time with FDA’s tough guidelines. The strictness recently shoved Apple as well. With such big names facing a tough time in having the FDA’s approval, how can we expect others to get things done?
Maybe to bridge the gap, Google decided to release Android Wear 2.0. The software is currently available in developer preview and is scheduled to be released on Feb 9, 2017, as shared by Evan Blass.
Expectations now flowing
With the very first knock of the news, people globally began expecting new innovations in the world of healthcare wearables. Well, to explore the exact scenario, we decided to have a look at the feature that the google will be unwrapping with this release.
As per the words shared, Google takes a massive step by including ‘Health’ feature. This new inclusion will make the Android wearables stand proudly and compete with rival devices like Withings Activite. The feature will activate as soon as the user begins to walk, run, or cycle. With the very news, mobile app developers have started to making plans to develop an application for same.
However, there are speculations that Android wear will be coming with a relevant tracking app. Apart from the above-mentioned special integration, here are few more features for Android 2.0:
- Complications: Another major integration in this new version. Though for the Apple Watch 2 users it was already available but the Android lovers will be getting this new treat soon.
- Notifications: Till date the notifications used to cover the entire screen. Though this might have been delivering ease to many users, but for this new version, Google will be introducing notifications in form of small screens. Upon tapping these notifications can be enlarged, allowing the user to go through them easily.
- Material Design: With this feature comes two interactive drawers; Navigation and Action. While the former will allow the user to navigate between the app views, the later will serve an easy access to some common actions that you perform within an application.
- Standalone apps: Google is finally coming with this feature, which will allow the wearable apps to work independently of phone apps. So now, there won’t be any need of keeping your Android smartphone close always.
- Input: The new feature brings three changes with it. The list of changes includes a swiping enabled small keyboard. This is like Android Proper, which will provide you better typing experience. The second in the list is Smart replies, that will assist you by suggesting three probable replies to a message.
The last one here is for the developers solely. This change will allow them to create their own third-party keyboards for use.
The bottom line
Wearables no doubt are the future of technology. Their bond with the healthcare industry and the efforts made till date are unmatched. But if in particular, we talk about the changes or rather use the term ‘revolution’ for the changes to come with Android 2.0, we might be over expecting.
There are indeed some great features, but still, the scope is wide. Apart from this, the limited compatibility of this new version (includes few devices from Asus, Casio, Fossil, LG, Motorola, Nixon, Sony, Polar, Michael Kors, and Huawei) points at little more patience for the brightest dawn of the healthcare wearable industry. As the famous quote says, ‘Miles to go before I sleep….’.
The post Will Android 2.0 revolutionize the healthcare wearable industry? appeared first on ReadWrite.
(60)
