The Future Of Wearable Tech Isn't Geeky Google Glass

Have you seen the new Smart Belt? It has a battery that recharges every time you remove your pants. You can plug in all your devices, wirelessly topping up your Smart Watch. And it integrates with your Smart Hat, which has a camera and display, so everyone can see what you’re seeing.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But I have to ask this question: Why do technology companies continue to believe the future of wearable tech is tied to garb that few of us even wear?

Smart Solutions, In Search Of Dumb Problems?

Don’t wear glasses? No worries, tech companies believe you soon will.

Don’t wear a watch anymore? That’s okay, tech companies think you’ll start soon.

Hats no longer a part of your daily attire? No problem, you won’t be able to pass up on the cool tech that hat-wearing now offers.

Wearable technology is clothing or accessories incorporating computer or advanced electronic technologies. Google Glass, the Pebble Watch, and Nike Fuel are some well-known examples. The market for wearable tech is around $5 billion today—Credit Suisse estimates this will increase to $50 billion in 3–5 years.

It’s a large and growing market. And it’s traditionally targeted at men.

This Is A Man’s World...

It’s not just James Brown’s opinion: Tech companies also think men tend to be early adopters of new gadgets.

In fact, according to a 2012 study by Ipsos, 22% of men consider themselves “early adopters”, compared to 17% of women. This perception has caused tech companies to tailor their offerings and marketing to the male demographic.

But that trend has been criticized by Sephora’s CMO, Julie Bornstein. She predicts that the male lead in early adoption is eroding as women embrace technology.

But men’s lead in technology adoption may just reverse itself when it comes to wearable tech. How? If tech companies continue the trend of delivering a product more focused on the wearable, and less on the tech.

...But It Don’t Mean Nothin’ Without A Woman

When it comes to integrating technology and fashion, wearable tech is often an easier sell for women than men.

Bags, bracelets, necklaces, earrings: Typically, women are used to wearing and carrying these items, which increases the opportunity for adapting technology to fashion (instead of adapting fashion to technology).

However, the trend among men has been to reduce accessories. We stopped wearing hats. Ties are less ubiquitous. Suit wear is down. Most men I know stopped wearing a watch, once they could check the time on their cellphone (the exceptions are those friends who can afford a Rolex or Breitling).

Not so women. My female colleagues tell me they’ll wear watches that have been dead for years—because the watch is viewed as accessory first and technology second. Women’s fashion embraces accessories. Men’s does so to a far lesser degree.

This means that moving to wearable tech has less friction for most women. That’s especially true if the tech meets a need that they feel, such as being able to be connected in a less obtrusive way.

For men to widely embrace wearable tech, it needs to be practical, but not necessarily unobtrusive. When a man spends a lot of money on something, he wants people to notice.

What Next?

What are your thoughts? Will women reverse the trend and take the lead in early adaption of wearable tech? Will wearable-tech manufacturers and retailers take Bornstein’s advice and tailor their products more toward women?

And which of the products listed in the opening paragraph was fake? The part about removing your pants.

What's your style? Weigh in with a comment below, and follow Richard Bliss (Google+) @RichardBliss (Twitter).

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