Technology
Wearable tech is searching for its next big breakthrough—and nobody's sure what it is yet
As the wearables industry experiments with everything from AI coaching to smart rings, manufacturers remain uncertain about which form factors and features will actually succeed.
The Verge
The wearables industry stands at a crossroads. Major manufacturers have settled on roughly the same long-term vision—smarter health tracking powered by AI, predictive alerts for emerging conditions, and personalized wellness guidance—yet remain deeply uncertain about how to actually deliver on these promises.
An industry in search of direction#
During conversations with Google ahead of its latest hardware announcements, company executives revealed that the sector is engaged in what amounts to a large-scale experiment. According to Rishi Chandra, Google's vice president of health and home, wearables still penetrate only about 30 percent of the population. That leaves substantial room for growth, but it also means the industry hasn't yet figured out the killer use case that would drive mainstream adoption.
The past year has seen manufacturers pursuing wildly different strategies. Some have shifted focus toward AI-powered glasses and eyewear. Others have embraced minimalist screenless trackers, smart rings, and intelligent jewelry like pendants designed to record and transcribe thoughts. Still others have abandoned health tracking altogether, positioning wearables purely as AI interfaces.
This diversity of approaches suggests an industry struggling to identify what consumers actually want. "Everyone is throwing wearable spaghetti at a wall, desperately hoping that something will stick and be the next smartphone," as one assessment put it.
Where Google is placing its bets#
Google's strategy centers on building an ecosystem of diverse wearables rather than relying on a single device. The company is currently focused on expanding its wrist-worn offerings—including the new minimalist Fitbit Air—rather than pursuing smart rings in the near term, despite frequent customer requests for that form factor.
The company has also set a seven-second interaction benchmark for wrist-based features, reflecting the view that smartwatches should enable quick, glanceable information retrieval rather than extended engagement. This philosophy is guiding decisions about what features belong on which devices.
Google appears less interested in an "Ultra" variant of its Pixel Watch, the approach taken by Samsung and Apple, instead positioning the current Pixel Watch as its premium offering.
