Temperature monitoring may become standard, and can it also detect COVID-19? Smart wearable devices will go a step further in 2022

In February this year, Honor released the world's first temperature-measuring TWS headset, Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, at the MWC World Mobile Communications Conference, once again upgrading the application of smart monitoring functions on TWS headsets. Just recently, ETNews reported that Samsung is testing a prototype of the Galaxy Buds headset that supports temperature monitoring. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 that supports temperature monitoring will also be officially launched in August this year. There

has been no official response to the news for the time being, but it can be confirmed that "temperature monitoring" will be one of the themes of smart wearable devices this year, and smart wearable devices equipped with temperature monitoring functions may become popular. In

2022, smart watches will advance to the high-end: temperature monitoring, new crown detection

In terms of smart watches, there are already many smart watches with temperature monitoring in the industry. For example, in 2021, Huawei's WATCH GT3 and WATCH 3 series already have temperature monitoring functions. Official introduction, Huawei WATCH GT3 has added a high-precision temperature sensor that can detect wrist skin temperature and estimate body temperature. In addition, it is also equipped with blood sugar management, fall monitoring and other functions. Equipped with Harmony OS, the Huawei WATCH GT3 smartwatch can send reminders on the terminal device when an abnormality is detected.

WATCH GT3 (Source: Huawei official website)

It is worth noting that with the maturity of sensor technology, the accuracy of smart watches in monitoring human health data is getting higher and higher. It is understood that the Huawei WATCH GT3 series has upgraded TruSeen 5.0 and eight-channel heart rate monitoring technology, and at the same time, it has achieved accuracy upgrades through iterative heart rate algorithms. Similarly, the accuracy of body temperature monitoring sensors will continue to upgrade.

In addition to Huawei, Mobvoi has also released a body temperature monitoring smart watch TicWatch GTH overseas. According to the official introduction, this watch can be used to detect early symptoms of new coronary pneumonia. By monitoring the data of body indicators such as wrist skin temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, etc., plus other information such as symptoms and vital signs entered by the user, and then predicting through AI calculation, it will send reminders through the APP when abnormal situations are found.

It is understood that TicWatch GTH was jointly developed by Mobvoi and Turing Award winner Professor Raj Reddy and his team. Professor Raj Reddy said that "integrating prediction platforms and wearable devices to track all major vital signs is our continued effort to fight the new crown epidemic." The reporter learned from Mobvoi's domestic official website that the TicWatch GTH that currently supports new crown detection is hot in overseas markets.

From the development of the smartwatch industry in 2021, we can see two major characteristics. First, from the low-end to the high-end, the products of supply chain players such as main control chips, sensors, and power chips are constantly iterating. It is understood that Huawei WATCH GT3 uses the Hengxuan BES2500 series chip. Second, falls, sleep monitoring, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation have gradually become the basic functions of smartwatches, as more and more smartwatches with body temperature monitoring functions enter the consumer market. However, since the wrist is exposed to sunlight, body temperature errors will occur, so the body temperature monitoring sensor needs to break through this technical bottleneck, and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series watches may be the first to solve this technical problem.

TWS headset differentiation upgrade: body temperature monitoring, hearing aid function

TWS headset and smartwatch are the two pillars of smart wearable devices, and shipments are growing year by year. Like smartwatches, TWS headsets are seeking differentiation, integrating heart rate monitoring and temperature sports health monitoring sensors into TWS headsets, which will gradually become a standard feature of products in 2022.

In terms of temperature measurement accuracy, the temperature measurement error of Honor Earbuds 3 Pro is ±0.3℃, and it can record temperature in real time. When abnormal conditions are detected, voice reminders will be given through smart watches or mobile phones. In terms of the main control chip, Honor Earbuds 3 Pro uses a three-in-one single chip of Hengxuan Technology Bluetooth, noise reduction, and in-ear detection. Samsung's Galaxy Buds headset prototype that supports body temperature detection uses an infrared sensor to track the temperature of the eardrum.

Smart watches and TWS headphones equipped with temperature monitoring function
(compiled by Electronics Fan Network based on public information)

In the first half of 2021, Apple announced that it would integrate temperature monitoring and hearing aids on Airpods, and would integrate ambient light sensors from ASE Technology. By combining SiP technology with embedded AI design, TWS will be able to monitor heart rate and neck movement status. This product was revealed to be launched this year. Although there is no official response for the time being, it can be clearly seen that Apple is building a sports and health industry chain for smart wearable devices.

Summary:

In 2022, manufacturers of smart wearable devices such as smart watches and TWS headphones will create differentiated competition by adding innovative functions, thereby driving the smart wearable device industry to advance again. Integrated health monitoring functions will be the primary direction of advancement. At a time when the epidemic has not yet dissipated, body temperature monitoring functions may become standard in the 2022 smart wearable market.