How wearable devices and smart machines will develop

The MWC World Communication Conference in 2015 has ended. At this exhibition, new technologies and new products have attracted most of the visitors. Among them, wearable devices have captured the limelight of mobile phones and become the hottest in the exhibition hall. In the category, HTC, LG, Huawei, ZTE, etc. have introduced new wearable devices, Samsung, Lenovo and other manufacturers have also put their recently released wearable devices in a prominent position. So what are the features of this year's wearable devices and what are the development trends?

First, smart watches Smart watches and smart bracelets are the most common wearable devices. They are also the largest and most mature wearable device category. According to IDC's forecast, China's smart wearable device shipments will exceed 6.5 million in 2015, including more than 6.3 million watch and bracelet products. Although not as good as the shipment of mobile phones, it is about to form a scale and the outbreak is inevitable. Among them, this year's smart watches more in appearance with a circular dial, and gradually gain independence through the use of voice input, and gradually seize the phone as the future control center.

The round dial is well-received at this MWC conference. Huawei and LG are the most active watches. Huawei released its first smart watch on MWC. HuaweiWatch uses a 1.4-inch circular AMOLED screen with a resolution of 400*400 (pixel density of 286ppi) and is available in three colors: silver, black, and gold. AndroidWear system. Whether it is from the design or system experience are like MOTO360. And LG introduced the latest smart watches GWatchUrbane and UrbaneLTE, also invariably used a round dial design, the former based on the AndroidWear system, the latter based on WebOS system, the latter increased the physical buttons, larger batteries, support NFC mobile payment. In addition, ZTE also demonstrated three smart watches, the main function is health testing, recording sports data and so on.

Some analysts believe that the major manufacturers invariably push smart watch new products, because Apple is about to hold a conference on March 9, and is likely to release Apple Watch. The major manufacturers rush to advance the layout in front of Apple, and the introduction of different from the AppleWatch circular dial design, it will prove AppleWatch's launch is about to detonate the smart watch market, on the other hand also shows that the smart watch is promising, the manufacturers are actively exploring .

The four functions make it possible for independent smart watches to become more and more independent of mobile phones because they have a separate operating system. Some watches have built-in WiFi and SIM cards, which makes it possible to become a separate product and have The opportunity goes beyond the phone. From the perspective of current products, the four functions of voice input, mobile payment, motion tracking, and notification and reminding will become the cornerstones of smart watch explosion.

As we all know, because of the screen, you can also use the built-in microphone, vibration reminder, etc. Therefore, the notification notification function is as good as the mobile phone, but it needs to be optimized for the watch. The input, limited by the small screen, the touch typing method does not work, and the watch can not use too many physical buttons, so the voice input has become the most suitable input method for smart watches. In September last year, ZTE took the lead, Nuance, Audience and Baidu Gaode established the Intelligent Voice Alliance. At MWC, NXP and Sensory are also joined, which will jointly solve the problems of voiceprint recognition, background noise reduction, and mobile phone automatic judgment scenes, and let more manufacturers push voice operations. From this it can be seen that the voice operation will become a truly independent fuse for smart watches.

In addition, the mobile payment and motion tracking functions are currently the two core functions of the smart watch, and are most closely related to the characteristics of the watch. Because it is always worn on the wrist, using NFC and other chips to achieve mobile payment, data exchange and other functions is better; and motion tracking can replace some of the functions of the bracelet, and convenient display of data and results. In the future, smart watches will be able to challenge the central position of mobile phones.

However, smart watches also have many major issues that need to be addressed, such as short battery life, inability to complete voice calls, and so on.

Second, the smart bracelet About the smart bracelet positioning and the difference between smart watches, whether the screen is not a strict limit, in the MWC, many smart bracelet also hit a low-power screen, and some smart watches No built-in touch screen. The real distinction is whether or not there is an operating system and whether it can be extended. From the products exhibited by MWC, smart watches should be more like an independent product. It has its own independent operating system and input and output methods, which can achieve functional expansion and control operations. The smart wristband is more like an accessory, and it can achieve continuous and stable data monitoring. At the same time, it has a more compact appearance and incorporates the beauty of the body. At present, the functions of smart watches and smart bracelets are becoming more and more involved, but whether the two can be integrated depends on power consumption and future development trends.

Ink screens and other low-power screens were added to Lenovo's booth to display the VibeBand1, an ink-screen smart bracelet released at CES. This bracelet is a proud feature of Lenovo. The addition of an ink screen makes it appear as if it were a normal watch. The function of time, but also can simply display notification information and data. Sony also showed the bracelet SmartBandTalk SWR30 released at CES in the morning, also equipped with an ink screen. In addition, HTC joint sports brand UNDERARMOOUR launched Grip smart bracelet, equipped with low-power digital display, in appearance more close to the Microsoft bracelet, also has a sports monitoring, built-in GPS module and other five sensors. Acer launched a smart bracelet LiquidLeap, equipped with a 1-inch OLED touch screen, equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, IPX7 waterproof certification, support for iOS, Android, Windows three platforms, with mobile notification push, activity and sleep habit tracking and music control and other functions. Of course, specialized wearable companies like Fitbit are also actively demonstrating their products.

The addition of low-power display screens such as ink screens can solve the problem that smart wristbands have no output channels, consume less power than smart watches, have longer battery life, and are more flexible and versatile in appearance design.

From deformation to innovation In the field of smart bracelets, besides the screen, the highlight of the author is Huawei's launch of the smart bracelet TalkBandB2. Apart from the conventional fitness tracking function, this bracelet can still be removed as a Bluetooth device. Headphones can be used up to 5 days for normal use and 7 hours for continuous talk time. This kind of dual-purpose device is a useful exploration of the smart bracelet function and the transfer of voice calls to wearable devices. However, the practicality of the device still requires long-term consumer testing.

In any case, the smart bracelet will continue to grow in the short term, and at the same time it will avoid introducing more functional and distorted designs on the smart watches. From this point of view, this year's smart bracelet will reach maturity.

III. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Devices At the MWC show, many technology vendors have started to launch their own virtual reality (VR) devices and augmented reality (AR) devices.

Positioning is more clear VR, HTC and VALVE launched VIVE headset virtual reality device, you can play games and watch video, the future may launch customized content. Samsung showcased GearVR virtual reality glasses, equipped with the latest Galaxy S6, to be more realistic in display and truly bring a subversive experience. Of course, there is Oculus Rift, a special virtual reality vendor called Oculus. At present, VR devices are mainly used for playing games and watching videos, which can bring very shocking effects to users. In terms of AR, starting from Google Glass, to Sony glasses, and Microsoft HoloLens holographic glasses all caused a sensation in the industry. These devices are mainly used to enhance the game effects and smart device management and analysis.

The subversive experience is from card games, online games, page games to mobile games, game room equipment, etc. The development of the game industry is gradually moving toward an immersive experience. VR and AR devices have become the most promising products to enhance the game experience. It can be said to be a disruptive experience. At the MWC exhibition hall, even communication companies like SK have all launched their own virtual reality devices, which shows that they are hot. In 2015, major mobile device manufacturers will not only further enhance the experience on the products, but also jointly develop games targeting VR or AR devices jointly with game manufacturers.

Another application scenario of the VR device in particular is an immersive 3D video experience. Imagine how cool and joyful the 3D or 4D movie that you would be able to experience in the future would be more shocking than the cinema.

In short, VR and AR equipment will become the future of black technology, and it will also become a new gathering place for wealth.

Fourth, other wearable devices In other wearable devices, Huawei launched smart headset N1, a headset with activity tracking function. Its built-in accelerometer allows it to track the pace, has a basic dust and waterproof features, can answer the phone via Bluetooth.

V. Conclusion Wearable is destined to become the new darling of smart devices in the future. The MWC in 2015 indicates that new products for wearable devices in the new year will emerge in an endless stream. The major technology giants will rush to layout and this area will become a new competition. It also lays the foundation for the upcoming shuffle. For small vendors, the new field has brought great opportunities, but it cannot ignore the combined development of hardware and software, especially the cooperation and construction of big data and cloud services. In 2015, new products emerged and everything was connected, but the ecology has not yet formed.