Wearable technology industry expands for women’s health

As we predicted earlier this year, wearable technology continues to be a hot item in 2015. As smart wearables continue to become more stylish, the creators are making other changes to their devices, specifically with women in mind.

In the past year, many voices have addressed the issue that wearable technology, especially health trackers, seemed to ignore the needs of women. They claimed that not only were the size and style of wearables not female-friendly, but also that the functionality of the devices excluded features useful to women. Take Apple’s HealthKit app, released in fall 2014, which included capabilities for tracking diet, activity, sleep and more. According to many of its users, it left one very important thing out: a female reproductive tracker.

This year, we can’t help but notice how wearable technology is responding and adjusting for women.

One example that has gained significant media attention is Bellabeat’s LEAF. Bellabeat is known for the SHELL, a device allowing pregnant moms to hear, record and share her baby’s heartbeat. The company introduced the LEAF earlier this month, and it sold out the first batch — 10,000 wearables within the first 48 hours! This stylish, smart jewelry can be worn as a necklace, bracelet or clip and tracks women’s stress, activity, sleep and reproductive health, and provides real-time feedback through its app. 

Smart wearables for women are showing up in the form of clothing as well. Just take a look at the new Sensilk’s Fight Tech smart bra that measures women’s heart rate, respiratory rate and calories burned during a workout.

And finally, Apple will be adding women health features to the HealthKit App in the Fall 2015 iOS 9 update. We expect to see more changes like these this year! 

Do you use wearable tech or smart jewelry? We’d love to hear your thoughts!