productivity voice assistant Archives

Posted on December 4, 2023December 4, 2023 by Lydia H

How to Take Notes in a Meeting

Knowing how to take notes in a meeting can spell the difference between success and failure. The devil is in the details, after all.

However, efficient note-taking is difficult to pull off, especially when dealing with people. You have to focus on what they are saying or risk losing the plot (literally). Not to mention basic politeness which implies active listening and eye contact.

So… How to Take Notes Efficiently?

First of all, come prepared. Choose the right tools. The pen and paper method is distracting, a laptop even more so. We suggest using a speech-to-text solution like Senstone Scripter, especially since it’s AI-powered.

There are many pros to using voice technology in meetings. That way you can bypass the constraints of typing speed, making sure nothing slips through the cracks. It also enables multitasking. You can keep your hands and eyes free to focus on work while the notes write themselves.

Furthermore, you can share your meeting notes with co-workers (if appropriate). This not only fosters collaboration but also ensures that everyone is on the same page. Voice technology makes sharing and storing notes easy because they are not confined to a page.

What Should I Write Down?

Your strategy should depend on the type of meeting you are hosting or attending.

It makes sense to record long stretches of important information completely. You can always review them later. Transcription means you are free to look up certain words and edit the text to your liking.

Sometimes it is useful to recap the meeting right after, recording your immediate thoughts, impressions, and ideas. Identify and emphasize action items or tasks assigned during the meeting. Recording these will help you prioritize and track progress post-meeting.

Keeping Things in Order

Spend some time playing with your recording tool of choice. Familiarize yourself with the device and/or app. The more comfortable you become with it, the more seamlessly it will integrate into your note-taking routine.

Apps like Senstone provide various sorting options, tags, and keywords. Establish a system for organizing your notes. Tag and categorize notes based on projects, topics, or deadlines. This makes it easier to locate specific information when needed.

By coming prepared, actively listening, and using voice-to-text to capture notes, you can turn each meeting into a truly positive experience. Experiment with different tools, incorporate best practices, and watch as speech-to-text revolutionizes the way you take notes, making your work life less stressful and more productive.

More productivity tips & tricks:

Posted on November 5, 2023November 5, 2023 by Lydia H

IoT Wearables For Dummies

IoT (Internet of Things) wearables are wearable devices equipped with sensors, connectivity capabilities, and often a user interface that allows them to collect data and interact with the internet or other gadgets. These wearables are designed to extend the capabilities of traditional accessories.

7 common examples of IoT wearables

1. Smartwatches: These are wrist-worn devices that not only tell time but also have sensors to track various health metrics (heart rate, breathing, steps taken), receive notifications from smartphones, and even run third-party apps. According to a Pew Research study, roughly 21% of Americans regularly wear a smartwatch.

2. Wearable recorders include button-sized recording devices that can be operated with a single button (see Senstone Scripter). Wearable recorders are usually powered by AI which allows them to instantly convert speech to text. They are popular with healthcare professionals, managers, consultants, and writers.

3. Fitness Trackers are designed primarily for monitoring physical activity and health. They can track steps, distance, calories burned, sleep quality, and more. They often sync with smartphones to provide users with a comprehensive view of their fitness and health data.

4. Smart Clothing. Some clothing items, like shirts, sports bras, or socks, are embedded with sensors and connectivity features. These sensors can monitor body metrics, such as posture or muscle activity, and transmit the data to a paired device for analysis. As of now, smart clothing is mostly used by athletes.

5. Wearable Cameras. Devices like body-worn cameras or life-logging cameras capture images and videos from a first-person perspective and may have connectivity features to transfer or store media. They are especially popular among content creators.

6. Wearable Health Monitors. These devices are often worn as wristbands or patches and monitor various health parameters, such as ECG, glucose levels, or skin temperature. They can transmit data to doctors or caregivers for remote monitoring.

7. Smart Jewellery. Certain jewellery items, like rings or necklaces, are manufactured with embedded sensors to monitor activity or stress. Some of them even come with safety features like a panic button.

IoT wearables are typically designed to enhance productivity, boost quality of life, or improve health monitoring. They often connect to smartphones or other devices to display data or provide control interfaces.

The data collected from these wearables can be used for almost anything: workplace productivity, personal insights, medical monitoring, fitness tracking, creative pursuits.

The IoT aspect allows for data to be transferred, analysed, and acted upon, opening up a wide range of possibilities for integrating wearables into daily life and various industries.

Wearables For Doctors: Evolving Healthcare

There has been a trend for wearables among doctors, and some wearable devices cater to doctors specifically.

The reason for this is rather obvious. Wearables are good for many things, and recording is one of them. Vitals or patient logs, you can record anything.

Wearable Tech in Healthcare: How It All Started

Wearables were initially popularized by fitness trackers and smartwatches. As the technology improved, it became more and more reliable. Eventually it found a significant place in the medical field. From ECG to breathing monitors, wearable devices have the potential to enhance patient care, streamline clinical workflows, and improve overall healthcare outcomes.

Writing on the Run

Voice-to-text conversion is a life saver (sometimes literally) for anyone working in the medical field. For one, it helps to navigate the bureaucracy. More importantly, it can be used to log patient data and streamline the workflow. Reliable speech-to-text and note taking tools provide accurate and time-saving documentation. A wearable like Senstone Scripter allows to do that with a press of a button, and AI enables it to ‘understand’ medical terminology.

Monitoring Vital Signs in Real Time

One of the most critical applications of wearable devices in healthcare is the real-time monitoring of vital signs. Devices like smartwatches, biosensors, and even smart clothing can continuously track a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and more. This data is invaluable for doctors as it provides a realistic view of a patient’s health over an extended period. Wearables can enable early detection of abnormalities and timely intervention.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Wearable devices empower doctors to remotely monitor patients, reducing the need for frequent in-person visits. Patients with chronic conditions (especially cardiac issues), post-surgery recovery, or those at risk of certain health issues can benefit immensely from continuous monitoring. This not only improves patient comfort but also allows healthcare providers to intervene right away in case of any concerning changes.

Enhanced Diagnostics and Decision-Making

Wearable devices can collect an extensive range of health data, which can be analysed to aid doctors in making more accurate diagnoses and decisions. Machine learning algorithms can process this data to identify patterns and trends, helping doctors detect diseases at an earlier stage and personalize treatment plans. Moreover, these devices can assist in tracking the effectiveness of treatments over time.

Augmented Reality

Surgeons are also benefiting from wearable technology. Augmented reality (AR) glasses can overlay critical information (such as patient data and 3D imaging) onto a surgeon’s field of view during procedures. This enhances precision, reduces the risk of complications, and allows for minimally invasive surgeries.

Enhanced Medical Education and Training

Wearable devices are not just for experienced doctors; they are also invaluable tools for medical students and trainees. By offering hands-on, real-time experiences and access to a wealth of medical information, these devices are helping the next generation of healthcare professionals learn and practice more effectively.

Conclusion

Wearable devices for doctors are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by providing real-time health data, allowing to record data more efficiently, enabling remote patient monitoring, improving diagnostics, and enhancing surgical precision. As technology continues to advance, we can expect wearable devices to become even more integrated into the healthcare system, ultimately leading to better patient care, reduced healthcare costs, and improved health outcomes.

As wearable technology continues to evolve, healthcare professionals and organizations embrace these innovations to stay at the forefront of patient care and medical advancements. The future of healthcare is wearable, and it’s an exciting journey filled with opportunities to improve the lives of patients and the practice of medicine itself.

Posted on September 3, 2023September 3, 2023 by Lydia H

Wearable Technology Trends: From Pet AI to Smart Clothes

Wearable technology trends have evolved significantly over the past few years. As wearables transcended their initial role as a fitness tracker, they now see more and more (unexpected) applications. These days, wearable tech is used for productivity, healthcare, fashion, security, gaming, learning, and even in the military.

Wearable Technology Trend #1: Productivity

Efficiency is the immortal classic of wearable technology trends. Everybody’s chasing it, and for a good reason. A couple of wearables can save you (or your company) massive amounts of time and money.

A wearable recorder like Senstone Scripter can record audio, perform voice-to-text conversion, and use AI to organize notes. Wearable assistants provide hands-free access to information and enable control of smart appliances.As a manager, you can pool the data tracked by wearables to assess your team’s progress.

(And since new productivity tech pops up like mushrooms after a rain, you can count on another trail blazer entering the market next Tuesday. God bless AI.)

Predictable Is Good: Health and Wellness

Wearable devices have moved far beyond basic step counting. Modern wearables can monitor heart rates, sleep patterns, stress levels, and even detect irregular heart rhythms and breathing patterns. With an increased emphasis on preventive healthcare, wearables with advanced sensors empower users to take control of their well-being. And since smart prosthetics technically do count as wearable tech, we’re doing a stellar job at improving those, too.

As for the health provider side, doctors, nurses, and paramedics can use wearables to log patient data. It’s faster than regular typing, and voice-to-text technology enables hands-free note taking.

Smartwatches Gone Smarter

Smartwatches have come a long way. Now they serve as miniature personal assistants, allowing users to check messages, make calls, and access a wide range of apps (and they tell the time!). A cheap wrist band has become an invaluable fitness companion, tracking workouts and helping navigate the city. Some models even offer medical-grade features like ECG monitoring and blood oxygen level tracking.

Whether you’re analyzing running form, measuring golf swings, or tracking your swimming performance, wearables can help you reach your fitness goals efficiently – and in style. Speaking of…

Wearable Is Fashionable

Fashion wearables are bridging the gap between style and functionality. Gone are the days of clunky, chunky, unattractive devices. Modern wearables include jewellery, smart clothes, designer smartwatches, futuristic wearable AI assistants, and even smart rings. They seamlessly integrate into your wardrobe, offering both utility and aesthetics. (We have dedicated a whole article to wearable art, check it out.)

Augmented Reality (AR)

Did you know F-35 pilots use an AR headset (aptly named “The Eye of God”) to see right through the plane? And it’s been old news for years.

As of now, AR is poised to revolutionize the way we interact with the digital world. By overlaying digital information onto physical surroundings, AR opens up a world of possibilities for everyone. From enhancing gaming experiences to providing real-time translation (hello, Google Lens!), AR has applications across various industries. The US army has been testing AR glasses for land warfare. Marketing agencies use AR to lure in customers. Trying on new clothes or testing hair styles in AR is becoming the new normal.

What About Wearable Payments?

Wearable payment solutions could transform how we conduct transactions. Smartwatches and fitness trackers equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology allow buyers to make secure payments with a simple tap. Forget about physical wallets.

Conclusion

The wearable technology landscape is continually evolving. As tech continues to advance, we can expect wearables to become even more intuitive, versatile, and integrated into our daily routines. Whether you’re a CEO, a fitness enthusiast, an army officer, a fashionista, a retiree, or simply someone looking to make their life easier, wearable technology trends are changing to suit your needs.

Stay tuned for an amazing future as wearables continue to shape the way we live, rest, work, and play.

Posted on August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 by Lydia H

Wearable Recording Device: Soon at Your Office

When you hear “wearable recording device”, you probably imagine a hidden camera straight out of a spy movie. This is about to change. More and more companies adopt wearable tech to record meetings and streamline note-taking.

Wearable Recorders & Voice Typing

A wearable recording device that uses AI to capture notes is the type of wearables that we are about to see enter the office.

Voice technology has evolved to the point where ignoring it would be inefficient. You do not use a 1930s typewriter when there is a perfectly good laptop right in front of you. This applies to manual typing and wearable voice recorders.

Why It’s a Good Idea

Incorporating a wearable into the office routine is a big step. It requires planning and adaptation. And yet, it is worth the hassle in the end. Why?

First of all, a wearable recording device works to help the user. Actively so. It manages files, corrects grammar and spelling, adds automatic keywords and titles, even creates reminders. This saves time and money.

Second, wearable recorders are built to keep you focused on the task. They do not distract you and never send notifications. Senstone Scripter is a good example of this design philosophy: it has only one button and no screen at all.

Third, wearables recorders boost productivity. You can instantly share recordings or transcripts with other employees. When there’s a business meeting, you can actually sit and listen – and emerge with every fine detail recorded.

Finally, wearables give you the advantage of correct posture and normal sight. That is something that inevitably suffers from the office setting, and wearable provide additional relief (but, sadly, cannot replace a good chair).

What to Expect From a Wearable Recorder

If you’re new to the world of wearable recording devices, you might not be aware of what counts as basic features. Apart from the obvious “it can record and transcribe audio”, your wearable recorder is expected to offer the following:

support for multiple languages
ability to work offline
correct and accurate transcription (the technology is there)
maximum recording length of at least 1 hour
automatic formatting
sharing & export options
encryption

Personal Tool – Or Fit For a Team?

You can use a wearable recording device alone. Voice assistants like Scripter do a great job at being your personal AI secretary. But they can also be used by a team.

For instance, outfitting managers with a wearable voice recorder allows them to keep real-time logs and pool those logs together. Tracking performance becomes an easy task.

Everything depends on the company and how it operates. Sometimes it makes sense to only use wearables for a certain unit. Sometimes quantity produces quality.

Do You Want to Learn More?

Visit our homepage and blog to familiarize yourself with wearable recorders. If you are thinking about integrating wearables into your work place, you can email us at team@senstone.io. We’ve been making productivity wearables for years, and this is something we can always help you with.

Digital Detox For Students: A Step-by-Step Guide

Digital detox for students is an interesting topic. On one hand, students have to spend time online. From e-learning to independent research, from homework to staying in touch with classmates, there is no way around it. On the other hand, they need to take breaks – or face burnout and stress, which tank academic performance.

If you’re a learner looking to detox from the internet, you’re probably worried it might impact your grades. With this in mind, we have prepared a step-by-step guide on how to kill two birds with one stone.

Step 1. Set Your Digital Detox Goal.

Decide how much time you as a student are willing to spend on digital detox and why. Do you want to de-stress after class? Do you want to get your homework (or cramming) done? Are you looking to improve your sleeping habits? These are some common digital detox goals, but yours might look very different.

We suggest you write them down.

For example,

I want to clear my head after class because it helps me get things done later in the day.

Step 2. Schedule Your Time Offline.

Look at your digital detox goal and decide where it’s going to fit into your schedule. Continuing our previous example, it might look something like this:

One hour offline right after class, Monday through Friday.

In this case, you could spend the hour taking a walk or socializing. You could also spend it studying. It fully depends on your definition of “clear my head” (Step 1).

Important! Contrary to the popular belief, students can stay productive while doing digital detox. Use screen-free wearables like Scripter to write essays and take notes. Voice tech is your ally.

Scheduling digital detox is important because it helps build a habit. Detox regularly, and your brain will get used to it.

Step 3. Adhere to the Plan (Using These Tips & Tricks).

The first few days are going to be the toughest. It’s called digital “detox” for a reason, and you’re going to crave some screen time.

If you do relapse, do not take it personally: just pick up where you left off.

Pro tip: Get your study buddies on board. If you do digital detox with other students, you build a powerful support network.

Here’s a few tips on how to avoid an impending relapse:

Change location. Switch your desk for an arm chair. Go outside. Study in the kitchen. The idea is to avoid places you associate with being online.
Work with your hands. Physical activity boosts your cognitive performance – and makes it harder to browse the net.
Talk to people. A good conversation will make you forget all about social media.
When you go to bed, leave the phone out of your reach.

Step 4. Adapt & Improvise.

You might find your initial plan obsolete, sometimes even after a week. College can be unpredictable, and that’s okay. There is no “right” way to do digital detox. Nothing is set in stone. It’s good to tweak your goals, move the time around, and try different things.

If you want to learn more about digital detoxing, try these:

This article was brought to you by Senstone. We make AI-powered wearables that help you stay productive anytime, anywhere: offline, on the run, at work, or at home. Our recorders are perfect for students, professionals, content creators, and even senior citizens. Visit our homepage and experience the future.

Posted on July 24, 2023July 27, 2023 by Lydia H

Digital Wellbeing: 5 Essential Tips

The concept of digital wellbeing is simple: ensuring we maintain a healthy lifestyle while using technology. Like many obvious things, it’s easier said than done.

In this article you will learn the core methods of digital well-being. They are key to balancing the benefits of technology and its inevitable drawbacks.

Digital Wellbeing: the Basics

If you go to bed with your phone, check every notification, and spend two hours watching YouTube when you meant to check your emails, you have a problem. Good news is, you can solve it.

(Pro Tip: Consider telling your friends and/or family all about your plans to cut down on the internet. This will create a sense of responsibility that will help you stay on course. Bonus points if you talk them into trying digital detox together.)

1. Declutter your subscriptions and notifications.

Any digital wellbeing journey starts with a digital clean-up.

Go through your following lists on social media and unfollow the people that flood your feed with nonsense. Unsubscribe from the channels you barely watch. Consider disabling notifications for social media apps completely, or leaving them on solely for things like private messages or friend requests.

Disabling as many notifications as possible will give you fewer excuses to pick up the phone. And when you do, the decluttered subscription list will guarantee you less time wasted and more high-quality content.

2. Create a phone-free bedtime routine.

Don’t put your phone on the bedside table. Just don’t.

Using a screen before bedtime disrupts your sleeping patterns. The bright light makes your brain think it’s morning and tampers with melatonin production. Not to mention it’s bad for your eyes.

Make the conscious effort to put your phone where you cannot reach it. Use screenless devices like Senstone Scripter if you’re the type to come up with ideas or plans after midnight. If you need a soothing activity to fall asleep, pick an offline habit, such as reading or journaling (which, again, you can do using a screenless gadget).

3. Make time for digital detox.

Awareness is an important part of your digital wellbeing, but for that you need a point of reference. In other words, you have to remember what it’s like to live offline. As much as it pains many of us to admit, that is when our brain works as evolution intended.

Set aside some time to “go off the grid”. There are degrees to digital detox, so don’t think you have to turn off your phone completely if you don’t want to. You can do short digital detox sessions every day. Some people go offline on Sundays. The point is to minimize the digital in your life and find balance in your surroundings.

4. Track the time you spend on the Internet.

Now, you say, all that digital detox stuff in fine and dandy, but how do I put down my phone if I have trouble doing that?

The answer is activity tracking. You want to identify the apps or websites that steal your time and go from there.

Look up “web activity time tracker” on any search engine and you’ll see many options for different platforms. Obligatory warning: make sure the apps you install come from verified sources.

5. Prioritize real-life entertainment for your digital wellbeing.

Some time after 20^th cat video, it stops being fun. And yet we keep scrolling away, because our brains crave that sweet, sweet dopamine. That’s very far from the genuine entertainment.

It’s much easier to tell yourself “nope, let’s do something else” when you do things offline.

Make it a habit to replace digital entertainment with real-world activities. Pick up a hobby. Visit your friends. Stay present and focused.

Finally, remember that your digital well-being is a matter of lifestyle. Much like a diet or exercise, a short, explosive effort will produce little result. Start small and start slow, and in a few months you will be amazed how much difference it makes.

This article was brought to you by Senstone. We make productivity wearables; you make decisions. Check out our home page to learn more.

Posted on May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 by Alla Koromchevska

No Going Back: Voice Input Is Set to Replace Typing

Voice technology is going to replace typing, and it’s going to happen soon. There is nothing we can do about it, but that’s a good thing.

Wait, what’s going on?

Physical keyboards (and that includes touchscreens) are about to suffer a mass extinction event by way of voice technology. It might not seem obvious, because most of the world lives in the eye of the storm. But if you look at the big picture, you start to notice the pattern.

Your grandma uses voice input, and so do all of her friends. She can’t type, but that doesn’t make her any less efficient. She mastered it seemingly overnight.
Your kids use voice input. They goad Alexa into helping them with home assignments. They make their favourite characters tell them stories, and employ black magic trickery to change how their voice sounds online.
More and more apps get voice-adjacent features, especially speech-to-text.
Said speech-to-text is nearing 100% accuracy. (We’d know, we have developed a device relying on that exact fact.)
Voice tech revenues.

What about those cases when using a keyboard is the only option, you ask. Like when you text your friend on the bus, quietly. Or type a report in your cubicle surrounded by identical cubicles where other reports are being typed out. What about users with a speech impairment? Strong accent? Sore throat?

Yeah, no.

The world secretly hates their keyboards.

Voice is going to replace typing. Brain chips are going to replace typing. The process has begun. Typing is going to be replaced for the very same reason why you no longer use candles for illumination. Several inventions combine, creating the suitable zeitgeist. Faster information processing is calling for faster input.

Typing was always a temporary crutch.

Entering commands letter by letter seems barbaric when you know just how fast your laptop really is.

It seems even more barbaric when you eventually develop carpal tunnel syndrome and scoliosis from communicating with the machine in slow-mo.

Now that we have better ways to talk to computers, typing is going to fade into obscurity. I like to think the invention of the computer mouse landed the first blow and broke the keyboard-centric paradigm.

Even writing by hand is better than typing.

I mean, it’s objectively faster and you can write on anything. Writing is closer to voice input than typing is. Think about that.

When?

The keyboard is going to be on its last legs by the 2030s. Most people are going to be using the combination of voice technology and predictive typing (bastardised, simplified keyboard layout). When the brain-computer interface devices become affordable and mainstream, the keyboard will disappear.

Do you want to help us kill the keyboard?

Check out our website and tell us what you think.

Posted on May 4, 2023May 4, 2023 by Alla Koromchevska

Top 5 Unexpected Benefits of Wearable Technology

While wearables offer many benefits we’re familiar with, like helping us stay in shape, they have some underrated, surprising advantages. Even the devices you already know and love can impact your life positively in more ways than you expect.

This article is 100% good news, no flavor enhancer needed.

Benefit #1. Improved mental health.

The overabundance of technology is often cited as a source of stress, but many wearables benefit a user by reducing their stress levels.

For example, wearables can help alleviate anxiety. A device like Senstone Scripter minimizes your time online without sacrificing productivity, so you can take a break from the notifications and still get things done.

Fitness bracelets calm you down just by providing real-time statistics on your vitals, which makes you feel in control. In the long run, they help you make better lifestyle decisions, which again impacts mental well-being.

Breathing patterns is another thing wearable tech can track and notify you about. This can be used for breathing exercise and stress monitoring.

Benefit #2. Better posture.

Counting steps is one thing, but did you know wearables can correct your posture? This particular market is a diverse niche that offers many good options: from a gadget that vibrates when you start slouching to posture trackers that send detailed statistics to your phone. Whatever you choose, your back is going to thank you.

Benefit #3. Enhanced learning.

Wearable technology is a boon to educators because it gives them more options. VR and AR are especially useful in the classroom. They allow for truly interactive lessons, which gives students a better grasp on scientific concepts.

Voice-to-text wearables are another helpful innovation, and we have covered them in more detail here.

Benefit #4. Healthier relationships.

Another benefit of wearable technology that might surprise you is this: it can help you maintain a healthy relationship.

Again, this might seem counterintuitive to some people. We are used to computers and phones taking away from our family time, and a promise to solve this problem with more technology seems suspicious. And yet, wearables have succeeded.

Some of them make communication easier. Others are designed for couples, like the device that lets you feel your partner’s heartbeat in real time. “Friendship lamps” are a thing as well, a concept that is both incredibly neat and heart-warming.

And, of course, we have to mention virtual reality. With VR, you get to share a virtual space with another person. You can talk, explore the interactive environment, and play video games together. Physical distance doesn’t matter.

Benefit #5. Environmental awareness.

Wearables can help our planet in a number of creative ways, raising awareness on a personal level and actually making an impact. For instance, there is a cotton apron that captures carbon dioxide. There are also CO₂ tracker wristbands, and nothing makes climate change a more pressing issue than watching your carbon dioxide meter go haywire in the middle of the street.

To sum up, wearable technology is expanding. It’s gone beyond basic fitness bands. Now we can use its advantages, such as mobility, to solve problems in new, unconventional ways.

And you know what? Unconventional is our speciality. This article has been brought to you by Senstone. Check out this homepage to learn more about cutting edge wearables. Follow us on social media or contact us at team@senstone.io if you have any questions. Stay cool!

Posted on May 2, 2023July 25, 2023 by Alla Koromchevska

How Do Wearables Connect to Your Smartphone?

Have you ever wondered how wearables connect to your smartphone? How do they “know” to send data to your phone specifically? What type of connection do they use? How does it work? Read on, and we’ll do our best to answer these questions.

Why Do Wearables Connect to Other Devices?

Before we get into how wearables connect to smartphones, let’s establish why they need to connect to your phone at all.

Unlike your laptop, most wearables are highly specialized. That means they were designed to perform only a certain amount of functions. For example, Senstone is a wearable voice-to-text recorder. Its functions are: 1) record audio on demand, 2) store the recordings, 3) make sure audio is transferred to the cloud storage and processed by artificial intelligence. As you can see, step 3 relegates the data to a more generalist and powerful machine.

This “division of labor” is what makes wearables so efficient. They connect to other devices and access their computing power. The ability to connect is a core feature, and wearables rely on it a lot.

Notifications are sent and received.
Commands allow you to control other devices.
Data is collected for storage and analysis. This is how you get your activity stats in real time.
More functions, such as AI spell checking, can be accessed by sending the data for processing to another computer.

In short, wearables really do need to connect to other devices. And your phone is perfect for the job!

Wearables & Wireless Connection(s)

We’ve come closer to answering the original question: how do wearables connect to smartphones? The reason why people ask this a lot is because they cannot see a visible proof of connection, i. e. wires.

Wireless technology shaped wearables as we know them. There would be no wireless headphones without a way for them to receive the music they are supposed to play.

With the many types of wearables we have today, there are several different technologies used to connect a gadget to your phone.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Bluetooth Classic. These two standards are the most common ways for your wearable to connect to your phone. Devices supporting Bluetooth connect using ultra-high frequency radio waves. You need to enable Bluetooth on both devices and pair them so that they automatically exchange data when nearby. The BLE standard is cheaper and better suited for low-power gadgets, and this is why most Bluetooth wearables run BLE.
Wi-Fi. Some wearables can connect to your smartphone via the regular Wi-Fi. This allows for a greater range and faster data transfer speeds. To connect your wearable to your smartphone via Wi-Fi, you usually need to connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network and then pair them.
Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC is a short-range technology that allows for contactless communication between two devices in very close proximity (4 cm or less). Some wearables have NFC capabilities, allowing you to pair them with your smartphone by simply holding the devices close together. Contactless payments is the usual reason for running NFC on a wearable.
ANT+. An ultra-low-power protocol. Unlike others on the list, ANT is meant for sports wearables.

Some wearables can use more than one protocol. The specific methods of connectivity will heavily depend on the make and model of wearable and smartphone, so you can always refer to the user manual for more information on how to connect your gadgets.

This post has been brought to you by Senstone. As a company, we have been actively contributing to wearable technology for years. You can visit our homepage – or read another article about cutting-edge inventions and trends. Stay cool!