Why Testing Wearables is a BIG Idea

Wearable technology is exploding.   We are starting to see it appear across so many industries — healthcare, fitness, lifestyle, security, gaming, travel — you name it and there is a wearable device and app that already exists or is currently being created.   All to help make your life easier, and more connected.   But what about testing wearables?   Why is it so vital now?

1. The market is here, finally

The market for wearable technology will balloon to $50 billion in 2017, a significant increase from $5 billion in 2014.   The money is there and companies would be smart to get in on the act before rivals take mindshare, then the market.   There is always the argument about first-mover versus second-mover advantage in new technologies.   But when Apple, the king of taking-existing-technology-and-making-it-sexy, gets into the game (i.e. the Apple Watch, available in April), you know there is no time to waste in getting your product right.

2. The customer experience has to come first

A customer only needs one negative experience to lose loyalty to your brand.   Most people don’t feel they have the time to pick up a technology that let them down even once.   It goes into the mental file of things that they will figure out or fix later, when they have more time.   Which is never.   Without thorough testing of your wearable’s hardware and software, your brand’s image, then your revenues, will slide.   Your customers may elect to go with a rival wearable that received the right amount of testing to ensure that it works more consistently.

3. The enterprise and vertical wearables are coming

Yes, it’s the consumer wearables that are hitting the headlines, but in many markets, it’s the niche (or not-so-niche) enterprise and vertical applications that are the real cash-cows.   If you think consumers are picky, try enterprises.   They won’t express their displeasure in a one-off, frustrated tweet.   They will notify you that they’re considering pulling their whole (potentially multi-million dollar) account from you or they’ll dump you without notice.   Or maybe they’ll consider legal action for the supply of faulty merchandise.

4. And healthcare wearables are already here

Wearables are starting to trickle into the healthcare industry.   Soon it will be a flood.   Wearable patches.   Remote monitoring devices.   Ingestible sensors and smart pills.   In a few short years, medicine as we know it will be completely transformed.   This is not hyperbole.  Wearables will supercharge the transformation of medicine and preventative healthcare.   When there are lives at risk, there is no excuse for not testing again and again, in the labs, in the field, for the firmware, the accompanying app, the hardware.

5. Information security needs to be a constant priority

Sustained security is essential when information is being passed back and forth between your smartphone and/or tablet and a wearable device.   It is crucial to individuals and enterprises alike to keep the data gained by these wearables private.   No one wants his or her sensitive personal data or their company’s proprietary information to be leaked due to insufficient testing.   And no wearable developer wants to hit the headlines for being responsible for a new and troubling “massive loss of consumer medical data”.

Apexon has worked with many of the world’s most innovative wearable device companies helping them with data testing using firmware, simulation based testing, data comprehensiveness and accuracy testing and interruption testing.   In doing so, we have developed the deepest and widest center of excellence for wearable device development and testing.   For more information contact us at info@apexon.com.