Wearable devices are moving towards a new stage of high fashion

Early wearable devices were mundane, focused on functionality and neglected appearance. People wore them to count steps, not to look fashionable. Now things have changed, and modern wearable consumer electronics are not only convenient and practical, but also have classic style, striving to capture a share of the lucrative and growing fashion market.

The global appeal of wearables
The wearable technology industry continues to thrive. According to Statista, an analysis agency, shipments of smart earwear, smart watches, smart rings, wristbands and other wearables will reach about 560 million units in 2024, an increase of more than 65% compared to 336 million units five years ago.

Currently, the market is dominated by mature smartwatch lines from major brands such as Apple, Garmin, Google Fitbit and Samsung. Manufacturers are trying to stand out from the competition by extending battery life, improving practicality, and adding health and fitness features.


Equal emphasis on function and form


Figure 1: The next wave of wearable technology will hit the lucrative fashion industry. (source: Nordic)
The next wave of wearable technology will hit the lucrative fashion industry. To meet new consumer needs, smart designers and developers are paying equal attention to product form and function. By integrating advanced technology with traditional watches, wearable devices are expected to break through the original appearance.
French consumer electronics company Withings is leading the way with the latest ScanWatch Nova, an advanced hybrid smartwatch that provides the wearer with accurate all-day health indicators while featuring an elegant "diver-style" stainless steel design.
This compact smartwatch integrates temperature, accelerometer, altimeter and multi-wavelength photosensor blood pressure (PPG) sensors, all driven by Nordic Semiconductor's nRF52840? multiprotocol Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) SoC, which can generate a variety of health data, including body temperature tracking, on-demand electrocardiogram (ECG) and menstrual cycle tracking. Smartwatches


aim for market share in luxury watches
Festina, a well-known global watch brand, also launched the latest product in its connected watch series, Festina Connected D, which has a stylish and modern design and is equipped with nRF52840 SoC, combining the functions of a traditional watch and an activity tracker. This stainless steel watch features a real physical dial and hands, and an OLED display screen opening.


Figure 2: The new product in the connected watch series, Festina Connected D, is equipped with nRF52840 SoC, combining the functions of a traditional watch and an activity tracker. (source: Nordic)

Meanwhile, Dayton Industrial’s Link2Care Smartwatch DA13700, powered by Nordic’s nRF52832™ SoC, is elegantly designed and equipped with 3D motion sensors for activity logging, inactivity reminders, sleep monitoring and fall detection. The smartwatch also incorporates Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP, which provides LTE-M/NB-IoT cellular IoT connectivity and GNSS, meaning the wearer’s location and SOS alerts can be transmitted to designated caregivers, while further information can be uploaded directly to cloud systems and customer service centers via the cellular network.
This trend towards form and function is not accidental. Luxury watch sales are not as affected by smartwatch sales as some might think. For example, Swiss watch exports grew 7.2% last year compared to the previous year, with mechanical watches accounting for almost 80% of the growth[3]. All signs suggest that connected watches could gain consumer favor if they can break through in both appearance and function.


Growing trend of fashionable smart jewelry
Another booming market is fashion-forward smart jewelry, which can also provide health data to the wearer, and sometimes has built-in safety and security features, such as location updates and SOS alerts.
In particular, aesthetically pleasing smart rings are challenging the dominance of smart watches in the entire industry. Smart rings target two different markets: those who do not want to wear a watch, and those who want or need to collect health parameters. Ultrahuman Ring
Air, a smart ring realized with Nordic technology, can track and record a series of health parameters, while providing activity or recovery health advice to the wearer. In addition to appearance, the device can also provide a series of pointer parameters, including exercise index and sleep index, to help users better understand and improve their physical fitness level and factors affecting metabolism.

Figure 3: The Ultrahuman Ring Air smart ring uses Nordic technology to track and record a range of health parameters while providing the wearer with activity or health recovery advice. (source: Nordic)

Although not a smart ring, the WHOOP 4.0 developed by the US-based human performance company WHOOP is also a non-traditional smart wearable device because it has no display and can be worn on one arm, allowing users to wear a traditional watch on the other wrist.


Stay tuned for future developments in wearable technology
The integration of wearable technology into high fashion is not a fad. In the near future, people can further expand the scope of wearable technology through concepts such as AI-driven clothing design and customization, or interactive fashion experiences that go beyond physical clothing.
With the use of a new generation of highly integrated wireless SoCs, such as Nordic Semiconductor's revolutionary nRF54H20 product, future wearable devices will not only be more fashionable, but also smaller, lighter, and more powerful.