Fitness Technology 2018 - Smartwatches

The most predominant theme of this past year has been the boom in fitness awareness in India. From the "HumFitTohIndiaFit" challenge to the innumerable marathons springing up all over the place, fitness is trending.

Pushing one's boundaries and surpassing limits is driving India to gyms in droves.

Instagram selfies of celebs wearing bikinis on Mediterranean beaches are dominating conversations and motivating the average gym goer to put in those 5 extra reps of those painful crunches. Restaurants are getting calorie conscious, with salad chains booming in every metropolitan city of India. Suddenly the fully loaded chicken tikka masala has been replaced by the Quinoa salad and a thick Oreo shake by a nice protein shake. Athleisure as a clothing trend has been the dominant fashion story of this season's catwalks.

Technology has played a big role in getting fitness into the hearts and minds of people. With various smartwatches and fitness trackers flooding the market, there has been a marked rise in increase in the desire of people of get fit.

Iconic brands like FitBit have got path-breaking products into India and have started a smartwatch revolution. Smartwatches have replaced the traditional boring watch on everyone's wrists. Gone are those mechanical dials and swiss finishes. It is the era of the digital OLED screen as the face of a watch.

Now a watch is no longer used to tell time, that's your phone's job. A watch does much more : 

• Get's you off that chair with a nice motivational buzz every time you sit too long
• Measures those calories burnt to ensure you keep you moving & motivated
• Counts those steps you take to ensure you remain healthy daily
• Measures altitude, tracks heart rates, checks blood pressure and blood O2 levels, monitors sleep patterns, tracks hydration, tracks location!! Whew

And oh yes, your smartwatch now can make and receive calls & messages too. Pair them with a wireless earphone & all you would need your phone now, would be to watch Hotstar or play games.