Does the Apple Watch do anything for you or your residents?

Today Apple announced their new Apple Watch into an already crowded field of sophisticated and not so sophisticated wearable technology. Here are some of the bullet points:

  • The cost will start at around $349
  • It will have a heartbeat sensor
  • It will track activities
  • Using it will also require the wearer to own a iPhone 5 or later device.
  • The device can provide coaching/cueing to encourage higher activity levels by the wearer.

Wearables and Senior Living

It seems to me that today, with respect to senior living, wearables look almost very appealing. The ability to monitor heart rate and activity is really appealing. Problems remain:

  • Will residents wear them?
  • Will anyone build a device that has a reasonable cost?
  • Can a device be built with a reasonable battery life?
  • How do we use the collected data to the benefit of residents and the community?

A late addition just for fun. Samsungs response to the Apple Annoucement

 

Steve