Did you know that mobile users will provide personalized data streams to more than 100 apps and services every day by 2017? Indeed, according to Gartner research director Brian Blau, wearable devices are expected to utilize mobile apps as their primary conduit for data exchange and user interface. As such, wearable devices will depend on apps for all types of user input or output, configuration, as well as content creation and consumption.
“While wearable devices will not fully rely on, or be a slave to, mobile devices, it is a way for manufacturers to keep these devices small and efficient, therefore significantly reducing device costs in favor of using apps, which are more easily maintained and updated,” said Blau.
“Considering their underlying service, most wearable devices need some type of user interface. Taking the example of a fitness-tracking device, ultimately its onboard data will need to be uploaded into the cloud, processed, and then analyzed in reporting back to the user. Apps are an obvious and convenient platform to enable great products and services to be developed [and] by 2017, Gartner predicts that wearable devices will drive 50 percent of total app interactions.”
Meanwhile, Gartner research director Sandy Shen noted that mobile apps often function as a vehicle for cognizant computing – with data gathered via apps and corresponding analytics becoming more important in both volume and value.
“Cognizant computing takes intelligent actions on behalf of users based on their historical data, preferences and rules. It can predict user needs and complete tasks without users initiating the action or interfering with the service,” said Shen.
“It can take the very simplistic format of completing a recurring event such as to turn on the water heater at a preset time, or the more sophisticated format of calling the rescue services and connecting with the doctor when an emergency occurs.”
Clearly, cognizant computing can play a meaningful role at home because residential settings are stable with relatively fixed equipment and the user behavior there is routine or at least predictable. Tasks tend to be linear, in that each stays in its own boundaries with little interactions among different disciplines.
“Smart home solutions will likely span across various brands and platforms in order to become ‘intelligent’ and deliver good user experience. Those that are restricted to a single brand are likely to lose the competitive edge,” Shen added.
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