Anya Zhukova · November 18, 2024 · 8 min read Wearable tech keeps developing new devices that aim to simplify your daily activities. Wearable electronics are no longer just about smartwatches and fitness trackers that can measure your heart rate. The latest wearable technologies go as far as providing users with health advice, giving enhanced turn-by-turn directions, and detecting the intensity of ultraviolet rays while you’re sunbathing.
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Wondering what wearable devices you need to watch out for in 2022? Here are some of the best wearable electronics that you can get your hands on right now. You can already order most of the devices mentioned in this list from Amazon.
1. Smart Rings
One of the most basic yet useful smart wearable devices you can get this upcoming year is a smart ring. If you’re someone who spends a lot of time in work meetings or in class and doesn’t want to look at your phone’s screen every time you get a notification, this is a perfect little device for you.
With a smart ring, you can receive alerts without drawing attention to yourself. You can also use a smart ring for contactless payments and even to open or lock your front door or your car. Plus, you don’t have to worry about constantly charging your smart ring, as these devices come with long battery life.
You can find plenty of smart rings on the market. The following are the smart rings that we found particularly impressive.
NFC OPN Smart Ring
The NFC OPN ring is waterproof and can control your smartphone apps (works both with iOS and Android), lock and unlock doors, transfer data, and even take care of your contactless payments. It’s not as smart as the Apple watch yet, but it’s also way cheaper and requires zero charging. You can buy one for under $20 from the official site.
Oura Smart Ring
If you want a smart ring with a fancy design, look at the Oura ring. It comes with real-time heart rate monitoring, temperature sensors, sleep detection, and activity analysis. Oura smart ring is compatible with Apple Health and Google Fit, so if you were waiting to ditch your smartwatch for something lighter and more stylish, this is the time. As Oura is a premium smart ring, it’s not as cheap as the alternatives. You can get the new generation 3 Oura ring for $299.
2. Smart Glasses
Did you grow up watching and reading science fiction where the main character puts a pair of glasses on and sees a display with the details about their surroundings? Then a pair of smart glasses is a must-have accessory for you.
Smart glasses come with small computers that process information and display the results in real time. They do it in a way that only you – the wearer – can see this information. Most smart glasses can connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, show incoming calls, provide GPS navigation, and similar. While other glasses can improve your life in a more significant way due to their AR or virtual reality capabilities.
Ray-Ban Stories
Ray-Ban Stories is a collaboration project of Ray-Ban and Meta (formerly known as Facebook). They’re smart glasses that allow you to capture everything around you by photo or video. Ray-Ban Stories aren’t virtual reality-capable but come with a set of cameras, speakers, and a touchscreen instead. You can use these glasses to shoot short video clips of up to 30 seconds, take pictures, make calls, and even play music. All of that in an iconic Ray-Ban style.
However, if you look at this gadget from a different angle, these smart glasses become a pair of creepy spy glasses that allow Facebook to gather even more data. If that doesn’t bother you though, you can get a pair of Ray-Ban Stories for $299 from the official store.
3. Smart Clothing with Sensors
A recent addition to the intelligent wearables family is smart clothes. These clothes come with sensors that measure various metrics about your body and send you notifications if something’s wrong or outside the norm.
Levi’s Trucker Jacket by Google
At first glance, it looks like a standard Trucker Jacket from Levi’s, but it’s actually a new wearable gadget. Thanks to Google integration, you can use this jacket together with your smartphone to control music, phone calls, or even get directions while you’re on the road.
The jacket connects to your phone via Bluetooth and can be paired with Android and iOS. According to Levi’s, this wearable is water-resistant. Also, it comes with a battery life of up to 14 days of active use.
Smart Swimwear by Swim.com
Another good example of smart clothing is connected swimwear by Swim.com. They offer swimsuits, swim caps, and swim goggles that come with swim trackers that can replace your Fitbit and perform fitness tracking in the pool.
This smart wearable is obviously water-resistant, doesn’t require charging, and allows you to track your swimming activity completely hands-free. You don’t have to activate or start your swim tracker; it’ll do so automatically once you start swimming. Since you won’t be wearing any extra wristbands, using connected swimwear will reduce drag forces and optimize the way water flows around your body.
4. Smart Earphones
Smart wearables aren’t all activity trackers. Some of them aim to reduce your daily stress levels and improve your sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, get yourself a headset that performs the functions of your regular earbuds and earphones simultaneously.
Bose Sleepbuds II
Sleepbuds II by Bose aren’t exactly headphones since they won’t play your favorite Spotify tracks. Instead, they play relaxing sounds and instrumental tunes to help you fall asleep faster and sleep better through the night. You can use the default selection of sounds or download more from the Bose Sleep sound library.
Bose claims that their sleep technology is clinically proven to improve your sleeping patterns. You can use a fitness tracker or a smartwatch with sleep tracking ability to see if that’s true.
5. Medical Wearables
Smart medical wearables are a popular type of wearable electronics nowadays. While Fitbit is enough for reaching their fitness or lifestyle goals for some people, even the best smartwatch can’t keep track of your blood oxygen, blood pressure, or hydration levels. Medical wearables are still in their early development stages but it’s already apparent that these can simplify the everyday lives of many people and have many applications in the healthcare sphere.
IQbuds Max by Nuheara
An ear-worn wearable that can enhance one’s hearing is a great gift for a hearing-impaired techie in your life. IQbuds by Nuheara are one of the world’s most acclaimed hearing buds that merge hearing aids with entertainment features.
IQbuds allow you to customize how you hear the world around you thanks to active noise cancellation and high-fidelity sound. You can optimize your earbuds and create your own hearing profile using the Nuheara IQbuds app that’s available for both iPhones and Android smartphones.
6. Smart Helmets
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a cycling (or skiing) enthusiast, wearing a good quality helmet can guarantee you a certain level of safety (you can never be absolutely safe when doing extreme sports of course). A smart helmet can enhance your riding experience and make your ride not only safer but also more comfortable.
Faro Smart Helmet by UNIT 1
Faro is a smart helmet that will help you stay visible on the road. This helmet has powerful front and rear lights you can personalize and add animation to make yourself more visible when riding. The Faro helmet can also react to ambient light, detect various weather conditions, and automatically adjust the lights for the best visibility.
This wearable can also automatically switch on and off turn signals and brake lights, as well as track your rides. The Faro smart helmet is entirely waterproof and has an important fall detection feature. If the helmet’s sensors detect a fall, it uses the Bluetooth connection to your smartphone to initiate an alarm. If you don’t respond after a certain time period, it alerts your emergency contacts with a location link to your whereabouts. Some other wearable devices with the same feature are Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 4, and later.
7. Biosensors
Biosensors are probably the most breakthrough tech in the wearable electronics field. The number of possible applications for them is unlimited, but they’re mostly used today for personalized health monitoring. Biosensors are portable electronic devices that integrate sensors into your body, so you can perform data recording, collection, and calculation using mobile and portable devices.
Biosensors can be of great use when it comes to patient monitoring (or self-monitoring), as they can automatically and continuously measure the patient’s vital signs, body posture, step count, as well as perform fall detection and more.
QuardioCore Wearable ECG EKG Monitor
QuardioCore is a wearable electrocardiogram that can easily help you monitor your heart’s health. This ECG records your heart rhythm and sends it to your cardiologist. Aside from helping you manage your heart condition, this ECG can be used to improve your cardio training.
What New Wearables Will You be Getting in 2022?
It’s only a question of time when most things around us will turn into one or another form of gadget. With wearable electronics tech, tech giants like Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Microsoft, Xiaomi, and others are filling the new niche where digital meets medical.
Which wearables from this list would you like to get your hands on in the upcoming year? Or maybe we missed some interesting wearable devices? Share your thoughts on the coolest new wearable tech in the comments section below.
