The Consumer Electronics Association predicts that 38 million wearables will be purchased in 2016 and according to the Forrester Consumer Technologies Survey, 1 out of 5 of consumers now use some kind of wearable gadget.
There’s no denying that the adoption of wearables has been fairly quick. So quick that the market for smartwatches grew by 350% from 2014 to 2015. Technology adoption is usually a defining factor on the success of an electronic product. Think back to the 90s when mobile phones were a brand new technology. Here and now, it would be odd for someone not to have some kind of mobile, with many people planning their entire life through their smartphones. Now that wearable technology is moving past the early adoption phase and into the mainstream consumer arena (and demonstrating such impressive growth rates), it’s possible that this tech will become as commonplace as the smartphone.
However, just like the smartphone, consumers will start demanding more from wearables. Better looking, thinner, more functional. Now that the technology is more commonplace, the fascination of wearables is wearing off and consumers want to know what benefits the technology gives them.
In light of this, more and more brands are looking at making products more attractive and wearable. Fashion brands such as Kate Spade are cashing in on the wearables trend, FitBit have released new, better looking models such as the Flex 2 and Samsung showed off their tailored Smart Suit at CES 2016. The market is clearly starting to pay more attention to the appearance of their product.
But creating better looking and more comfortable devices can only go so far while traditional PCBs are used. A rigid circuit board creates design barriers and a fully flexible device isn’t possible. However, with our Iflex technology, the electronics in your device have the ability to flex and move as the wearer does. Additionally, complex curve technology means that you can better utilise three-dimensional space more efficiently by forming a rigid circuit to the curve of your end product.
Simply speaking, our electronics can make wearables smaller, more attractive and more comfortable for the end-user, and this is something the end-users are going to start demanding. Just as consumers demanded thinner and lighter smartphones, they’ll demand thinner and lighter wearables. The best way to achieve this is with flexible electronics such as our Iflex solution set.
