1. WEARABLE TRENDS 2013 THE YEAR BEAUTIFUL FORM MEETS MEANINGFUL FUNCTIONALITY
INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION ENVISIONED
BY KORU CRAFTSMEN
EDITED BY CHRISTIAN LINDHOLM
Slide 1 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

2. KORU
At Koru we believe the wrist is the next mobile and social frontier.
Koru is defining the next generation of beautiful
wearable experiences that users will love and embrace.
Our passion is to develop the finest, most engaging experiences across
every touchpoint of the wearable revolution.
Follow us at @korulab or get in touch at info@korulab.com
KORU - CRAFTSMEN OF THE FINEST SOFTWARE FOR WEARABLES
Slide 2 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

3. NINE TRENDS IN WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
THE WATCH FUNCTIONAL SHRINKING WEARABLES AUDIO
SENSORS GET
ENJOYS ITS WEARABLES
JEWELLERY OUR EVERYDAY GET READY FOR
RENAISSANCE! SHAPE
TAKES OFF AS OBJECTS DRESS-UP
AS A PHONE LUXURY
ARMBANDS CONNECTED
ACCESSORY ELEC-
TRO-
NICS
APPS MAKE
WEARABLE
DATA
ACTIONABLE
GOOGLE S
PROJECT GLASS SENSORS IN LABS REVEAL OUR SOULS
BECOMES A
SOCIAL ENABLER SENSOR PLATFORM WAR
FOR THE STARTS IN THE BEDROOM
WEARABLES
REVOLUTION
Slide 3 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

4. WATCHES ENJOY A RENAISSANCE AS ACCESSORIES
I still glance at my watch!now because it tells me who’s calling without getting out my phone.
A host of connected smart watches will emerge in 2013, with the phone becoming a new WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
digital hub in this personal body network . Media poster child Pebble will be the tipping ! Smart watch makers could stumble on a
point for early adopters, while MuteWatch 2.0 looks likely to push functionality to new levels. killer app
! Will touch disrupt the market with
But creators face tough product choices between form and functionality, making 2013 the exciting experiences?
most interesting year in watches for decades. ! Can Casio, Suunto and Polar shake their
complex button legacies.
Meta Watch, for example, has taken the path of following form instincts, while Basis chases a ! How will Swatch react?
pure functionality route. For the past 80 years form has won - will 2013 turn things in the
other direction for watches?
Slide 4 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

5. FUNCTIONAL JEWELLERY TAKES OFF AS ARMBANDS
I m addicted to Fuel! next I want a diamond studded Fuelband.
The functional arm and wristbands pioneered by Nike FuelBand and Jawbone WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
are setting a powerful trend, sidestepping the functional and aesthetic legacy of wrist watches. A
! Luxury brands enter the functional
flood of new wristbands is emerging such as Disney World s MagicBand
armband space
which stores guest information and acts as ticket, room key, ride pass and more.
! Waterproof designs
! Personalisation and charm style options
The smartest bands will track a user s pulse, sleep patterns and more, helping to paint a holistic ! Wrist-based pulse sensors
picture of wellness. However, a high degree of style will become increasingly important as
functionality becomes standardised.
Luxury brands like Vertu will create iPhone accessories costing far more than any phone.
But flexible or curved ultra-bright OLED screens remain in the lab for another year.
Slide 5 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

6. AUDIO WEARABLES SHAPE LUXURY ELECTRONICS
Prada on my feet, Prada on my ears.
Prominent headphones have become a must-have accessory of the street-smart digerati, WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
while in-ear systems are also pushing looks and fidelity to new levels. Now the pre-existing ! Will luxury brands market themselves in
luxury brands are taking notice of these shifts. the electronics sector?
! Will the breadth of the €350+ headsets
But changing the distribution landscape will be a challenge and the traditional pure audio grow?
brands will start to feel the squeeze. ! How will the functionality evolve in the
headsets beyond music controls.
New high-end edgy brands like Monster, Jawbone and Parrot are shaping the market
upwards, while Logitech UE will continue to make a dent with a great price/quality/style ratio.
The high margins of a luxury product, combined with niche tech desirability, is the goal.
Slide 6 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

7. SENSORS GET OUR EVERYDAY OBJECTS CONNECTED
I don’t look for my keys in my apartment – they’re on my phone.
Retro-fitting smartness into everyday objects is one of the most fascinating trends we will be WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
living through. It s where the Internet of Things and wearable technology converge. ! Pioneering telecoms companies to
launch early solutions
The beauty of this is that it gives users the power to decide which objects should be made ! Value to be unlocked in visualising data
smart, and developers can create the optimal software to track it: keys, a jacket - even your based on objects around us
car.
Pill-shaped, cube-shaped and stickers will be typical form factors. The Nike+ sensor pills were
simply the neanderthal stage of this development. Bluetooth 4.0 is a crucial enabler, taking
everyday objects into a new world.
Slide 7 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

8. SHRINKING WEARABLES GET DRESSED UP
I spent five times the price of my Fitbit on the necklace to hold it.
! WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
The Fitbit Zip and Misfit Shine are the first generation of transformational wearables which ! Hobbyists produce covers for online sale
can be dressed with covers and ornamentation. ! Jewellery partnerships for style covers
emerge
We ll see this trend rapidly extend to more products: for example, footwear covers for
bicycling, or watertight wristband covers for swimming, as well as style-driven covers for
social situations.
Initially the covers will be non-functional, but eventually they will inform the wearable inside,
enabling instant adaptation of sensor software. We will see covers become more valuable
than the sensors they encase.
Slide 8 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

9. SENSOR PLATFORM WAR BEGINS IN THE BEDROOM
My bed to bathroom habit expanded via my scales. I am addicted to a daily snapshot of myself.”
The quantified self movement is the living lab of the wearables business, with thousands of WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
personal guinea pigs tracking everything in their lives. Its impact in shaping the next data agenda
! How are proprietary platforms of Nike,
will be crucial as privacy concerns grow.
Fitbit and Withings opening up to
developers?
Owning a personal data platform is seen as a strategic control point, but monetization remains
! Will platforms like Evernote create
unclear while we work out how they ll shape our lives in the long term.
Evernote Life?
! Can open source platforms gain
The question of who owns the habit-creating interface emerges. Withings smart scales has moved
momentum in time?
into the bedroom, aiming to shape daily habits and becoming a clear trendsetter here.
! Will we see context aware
phones in the second
My data, and how can it be used, remains in flux, as handsets still strive to gather ever higher levels
half of 2013?
of rich information.
Slide 9 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

10. APPS MAKE WEARABLES DATA ACTIONABLE
Everything I need to know about my wearables must be displayed in one app - Fix it!
Wearables will also begin to disrupt the app development sector. This has already started with WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
fitness apps, and is set to branch out to life recording and social features.
! Jawbone UP app overhaul
! Popular apps get sensor front ends
And although users may perceive The Cloud and the PC interface as mainly a passive back-up for
(home sensors, scales, bike pods)
their data, these will also become crucial for community data analysis and social media enablement.
! Will leading app creators like RunKeeper
create own line of wearables to increase
Development platforms are now mature, and will soon provide additional sensors for data
loyalty?
collection. The phone becomes the new digital hub, as its bigger canvas allows for more
! Will Facebook come to you, on a
personality and a bigger overview, with high-res screens used for rich data visualisations.
wearable?
Slide 10 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

11. SENSORS IN LABS REVEAL OUR SOULS
I had no idea I sit still more than I move each day.
Sensor development is exploding in labs and startups around the world. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
! How will the ear be used as a sensor
For example, the Muse headband provides a real-time view of the brain emotionally shaping your
hub?
e-mails, while the Vibe necklace shows your stress levels, and these are just the beginning.
! Will we see the first flexible display in
2013?
We will see 6-axis and 9-axis accelerometers. New forms of wrist based pulse sensors will make
! Will we change our habits from 5000
pulse reading an everyday thing. Hacks of favorite objects will emerge in new forms like Oyster card
readings per second?
rings.
These are moving the agenda forward, providing inspiration for the future. Most importantly they
are simply ideal platforms for learning.
Slide 11 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use

12. GOOGLE GLASS BECOMES THE SOCIAL TRANSFORMER
Take off your glasses. This is just between us.
Transforming sunglasses from a fashion accessory into a functional interface will herald a WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2013:
social revolution. Google s decision to build Project Glass in public is a brave one, as ! Reactions from the earliest adopters
changing consumer perceptions will take years. ! Direction, size and profile of the privacy
movement
That s partly because the intimacy of an embedded user interface transforms all our ! User behaviour around recording and
perceptions of privacy. We can t assume that everyone will readily accept being recorded all recollection
the time, or will welcome the idea of an interface between them and the world at every ! Response from developers
point. ! How will Luxottica react?
Hopefully Google will have the patience to persevere, while inviting early adopters to
participate in 2013 should steer Project Glass in new creative directions.
Slide 12 © Korulab 2013 | Non commercial use