Sunday Runday
On this weekly column, Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks talks in regards to the world of wearables, apps, and health tech associated to working and well being, in his quest to get quicker and healthier.
As we are saying farewell to a 2024 full of new smartwatches, sensible rings, and different enjoyable wearables, I am utilizing my 12 months’s expertise as Wearables lead for Android Central — and insights from key wearable analysts — to foretell what 2025 has in retailer for us as smartwatch followers.
We had a very robust 12 months for smartwatches in 2024, however some traits, like an elevated give attention to AI insights and higher well being instruments on mainstream smartwatches, had been half-baked. They had been the precursor to what must be a better push in these areas with the following era of Android watches, Apple Watches, and different wearables.
Beneath, I will break down the surefire predictions, probably potentialities, and wishful guesswork for smartwatch, sensible ring, and sensible glasses traits in 2025.
A wider vary of smartwatches, particularly flagships
Garmin was one of many first to get away with promoting a smartwatch that prices as a lot as a smartphone with the Fenix collection, however Apple introduced that concept into the mainstream with its Extremely collection, after which Samsung fortunately adopted Apple’s lead and ditched its mid-tier Classics and Execs for a Galaxy Watch Extremely. In 2025, search for extra manufacturers to begin testing loyal customers’ willingness to spend extra on pricier status-symbol smartwatches, says Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s Worldwide Cell Machine Trackers.
“Samsung (due to Apple) kicked off the Extremely tier, and we anticipate extra distributors to additionally launch higher-priced fashions,” he predicts. That would imply a Pixel Watch Extremely, OnePlus Watch Extremely, or a titanium TicWatch. And that might simply apply to different health manufacturers which have sometimes tried to undercut Apple/Galaxy Watch costs.
On the identical time, Ubrani additionally thinks the inverse is true: We’ll see “extra choices for extra customers,” particularly thrifty watch patrons. The Galaxy Watch FE and OnePlus Watch 2R began that development this 12 months, and we may see much more price range or mid-level watches with strategic downgrades subsequent 12 months.
2025: The 12 months of smartwatch AI?
I already introduced up this level in my Put on OS 2025 predictions column, however I believe that Apple, Google, and Samsung will shove their big-name AIs into smartwatches in 2025 with the identical urgency and eagerness as they did with telephones this 12 months. Which means Gemini (or Bixby AI) on Android watches and Apple Intelligence on Apple Watches, in some type.
Anshel Sag, principal analyst for Moor Insights & Technique, agrees in precept that AI will grow to be “the connective material between all of our wearables,” from watches and earbuds to rings and glasses. “Apple Intelligence and Gemini might be massive drivers, however so will Meta AI and probably even ChatGPT.”
Nonetheless, he additionally cautioned that he thinks Google “nonetheless wants to determine a approach to get Gemini to run easily on such performance-limited {hardware},” noting that it “may include RISC-V or another extra succesful platform.”
He is significantly enthusiastic about RISC-V‘s potential for Android watches, saying “the payoff might be large” for its customized chips. However even when new chips just like the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 have extra compute energy, the tokens wanted for a conversational LLM could merely be an excessive amount of for the watch type issue proper now, and RISC-V itself may “take a bit longer” to reach.
Ubrani appeared to agree that “AI will make a splash [in 2025], although this will likely not solely be on-device.” As a substitute, identical to we acquired cloud-based AI evaluation like Samsung Well being’s Vitality Rating and Wellness Ideas in 2024, we’ll see “extra customized experiences” for well being and health in 2025.
Smartwatches will grow to be much more of a cell physician’s appointment
You understand how a lot information smartwatches can observe already, from coronary heart well being and sleep apnea to pores and skin temperature and AGE index. The Pixel Watch 3 added Lack of Pulse Detection, whereas most mainstream watches warn you when you’ve fallen or catch in case your coronary heart fee is greater or decrease than regular. So, what’s subsequent?
Cease me when you’ve heard this earlier than, however blood stress may roll out extra broadly. Samsung has supplied it for years however with out FDA approval. Apple may add it to the Extremely 3 in 2025 (through MacRumors), although leaks have steered this for years now. Ubrani predicts that the function will “come to extra gadgets and extra international locations” in 2025.
In any other case, he believes that we’ll begin to see a “extra holistic method to well being monitoring” in 2025, incorporating information from third-party gadgets into first-party well being evaluation. For instance, we may see “glucose screens working with smartwatches or in-home gadgets that observe environmental affect on sleep and restoration.”
I personally would like to see higher hydration and sweat monitoring on watches in 2025, so you understand when you could refuel — or when you’re near passing out — throughout powerful actions.
Sensible rings will continue to grow — then plateau
Ubrani shared IDC’s gross sales estimates and projections for watches and sensible rings. Sensible rings offered about 880,000 models in 2023 and doubled to 1.77 million in 2024. By 2025, they imagine the quantity will climb to 2.54 million, a major 43% increase.
Little question, the finest sensible rings will hold getting higher with new well being insights. However IDC predicts that the following jumps for 2026 (15%), 2027 (9%), and 2028 (5%) will lower, with sensible rings in all probability not rising a lot past 3–4 million anytime quickly. That is a far cry from smartwatches (156.8 million in 2025) and health bands (35.3 million). Even sensible glasses are anticipated to develop quicker (extra on that subsequent).
Once I requested Ubrani why he thinks sensible rings will not develop to supplant different wearables, he blamed “provide challenges inherent to the shape issue,” like the necessity for a sizing equipment and the problem of various stock for each dimension and end of a hoop.
Additionally, “from a client perspective, pricing is a barrier,” and “the market is not large as a result of many would discover a smartwatch to be ok.”
“I personally use [a smart ring] on daily basis,” Sag says, however “they’re extra of a distinct segment product that is predominantly targeted on well being…rings merely do not substitute smartwatches, they’re largely complementary.”
He particularly praised the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the way it can “allow higher UX” however argued that “its limitation to Android solely hampers its potential.” I argued that precise level final 12 months about Galaxy exclusivity, so it felt a bit vindicating.
As for what I need to see from extra sensible rings in 2025, I coated that in a earlier column: haptics for alarms and notifications, higher “discover my ring” instruments, NFC assist, extra well being vectors like passive AFib detection, and extra distinctive kinds than the everyday thick-band look most of them share. And customarily talking, I simply need extra sensible rings from mainstream manufacturers; give me an Apple Ring, Pixel Ring, Garmin Ring, and so forth.
Sensible glasses escape into the mainstream
Sensible glasses may not suit your typical imaginative and prescient of “wearables,” however they’re really fairly much like sensible rings. Hear me out: They’re one thing you sometimes purchase based mostly in your trend sense and style. They provide options already out there in different standard sensible tech like audio (earbuds), cameras (smartphones), and AI (telephones once more). And it’s important to design them for a number of kinds and finishes, making them more durable to promote and distribute.
Ubrani identified many of those issues, saying that “most customers do not want” AI, music, and pictures in a single $300 bundle on high of an costly smartphone value. Individuals who already put on glasses “is likely to be delighted to have further options built-in,” however these digital tech corporations “do not have the experience to promote eyewear,” particularly by means of conventional channels. And people who do not put on glasses “may not wish to put on glasses except it is fixing an unsolved situation.”
But regardless of all these roadblocks to success, IDC tasks that sensible glasses’ gross sales will bounce from 2.5 to three.5 million in 2025 and a further 1 million every year by means of 2028, making them the fastest-growing wearable class.
“Sensible glasses are usually not going to stay area of interest,” Sag argued. “They’ll proceed to develop as a result of they’re probably the most pure platform for AI and I imagine that Meta’s gross sales will proceed to develop because it begins to co-market with EssilorLuxottica.” Meta gained the bidding warfare for EssilorLuxottica, allegedly beating out Google’s bid, giving them the sting with their standard Meta Ray-Bans.
Past Meta, Google lately introduced its Android XR platform that’ll energy mixed-reality headsets, AR glasses, and sensible glasses. Samsung additionally introduced its “Undertaking Moohan” XR headset, however we have additionally seen leaked studies about Samsung AR glasses arriving subsequent 12 months.
Not like displayless sensible glasses, it is exhausting to say whether or not AR glasses are prepared for large gross sales. We like manufacturers like Xreal that use AR glasses as prolonged shows for gaming — and we’re excited for the spatial Xreal One Professional coming subsequent 12 months — however we’re nonetheless years away from the wide-FOV Meta Orion AR glasses meant to be worn exterior or all day.
We’ll see whether or not AR glasses prototypes like Google’s Undertaking Astra will make an look in 2025 and whether or not they’ll take the world by storm like Google Glass (quickly) did. Sag was way more bullish in regards to the prospects of AR glasses within the subsequent few years, whereas Ubrani stated an AR show would “change a few of this dialog, however distribution will stay a problem.”
No should be grasping
I wrote final week about how surprisingly good smartwatches have gotten in 2024 when it comes to speedy app efficiency, dependable well being & health information, and a wider vary of designs and model choices. No matter occurs in 2025, we’ll nonetheless have that baseline of high quality to rely upon.
My private wishlist for brand new smartwatch options in 2025 could be very area of interest: I might like to see extra rucking sports activities modes that allow you to enter your pack’s weight and take it under consideration for coaching load, and the leaked Garmin Intuition 3 may just do that. I would like customizable Google Maps programs you’ll be able to obtain to Put on OS watches for offline turn-by-turn navigation throughout hikes and exercises. And I would like all watch manufacturers to proceed to enhance their coronary heart fee algorithms and sensors so they are not all so mid-tier in the case of anaerobic observe exercises, so I need not put on a chest strap.
What are your hopes and predictions for smartwatches, sensible rings, and sensible glasses in 2025? I hope no matter they’re, they arrive true within the new 12 months.
