The hordes of wellness app and wearables flooding the Indian market could be barking up the wrong tree. The latest report from Ericsson ConsumerLab — Living longer: wellness and the internet — found that most respondents in Delhi were more bothered about if their smart devices could check water quality, monitor city climate, ensure clean air and be a commuting ecometer.
Globally, 66 per cent said a smartphone that checks water quality of public facilities and compares it with similar facilities nearby would be useful. About 62 per cent would like a city microclimate monitor on their smartphone that locates cool areas on hot days, and less polluted areas in times of smog. Wearing a bracelet to continuously monitor air quality and pollution levels appealed to 60 per cent of those asked.
However, these figures shot up for the respondents in Delhi, Beijing and São Paulo, who are facing bigger environmental challenges.
The report found that half of the people surveyed were satisfied with their wellness and about 71 per cent of consumers see an opportunity to improve their wellness using connected technology. In fact, those surveyed were of the impression that a wearable monitoring and regulating physical activity could increase their life expectancy by1.9 years.
Michael Björn, Head of Research at Ericsson ConsumerLab, says: “Those already satisfied with their wellness say they are the first to try new health approaches. Rather than typical tech adopters or those with health issues, we therefore see people who are satisfied with their wellness being early adopters of wellness technology. This group has very specific requirements related to cloud, privacy, design and functionality that they want to be fulfilled simultaneously. Fulfilling one or two of these simply won’t be enough.”
