On-Trend Smart Watches
Thanks to today’s innovative technology older adults who wish to continue to live independently and age freely in the comfort of their own homes have the option to do so and also stay healthy and safe thanks to smart watches or as some people call them “wearables.”
Wearable technologies like smart watches, emergency alert pendants and fall detection wearables for older adults have been around for a while and thanks to innovation they have become more sophisticated making it even more so easier and safer to age in place.
Personal Assistance On Your Wrist
In a nutshell, smart watches are for making our lives a little bit easier. The idea is that they are for simplifying our daily undertakings considerably. This includes medication reminders, fitness and health tracking, and a bevy of other important functions for living your best life.
An iWatch by Apple, for example, not only can it monitor your heart rate, but it also can answer phone calls, and check your email, as well as pair with your smartphone for use away from home.
A smart watch is meant to blend into your lifestyle in as simple a way as possible. It is not meant to be intrusive. The unassuming act of wearing this innovative technology can greatly affect your life in a positive way. Making life easier and your day-to-day manageable.
With all the smart watches on the market, how do you know which one is the best? The best smartwatch is the one that’s compatible with your smartphone if necessary and it fits all (or most) of your needs for living independently.
Features to Look For
Closely resembling a traditional wristwatch, a smart watch is able to tell time, is Bluetooth capable, has GPS navigation, message notifications, and can pretty much manage virtually every aspect of your life. Many smart watches are designed to link directly with other devices that have Internet connectivity, specifically your smartphone.
Just as with your smartphone, Internet access enables a smart watch to perform a whole world of potential capabilities, and of course, a Bluetooth connection to your phone means the watch can help you place calls or send and receive messages.
Not All Smart Watches Are Created Equal
Before you purchase your smart watch, a few things to consider is whether the watch works with your phone (iOS or Android); another is how long the battery lasts, and don’t settle for second best. Make sure to check that the smartwatch has all the bells, whistles, and features you want (and need).
For example, you might want to look for standalone GPS, which lets your wearable device track your location even when it’s not connected to your phone. If you like to swim you should look for a smart watch that is waterproof. If you take daily meds, vitamins and supplements you should consider a smart watch that is capable of reminding you to take them.
Of course, you’ll want to take into consideration how the smart watch looks, whether it fits your wrist, and if it is comfortable. Since, you’ll be wearing your smartwatch a lot of time you want to make sure it feels good on your wrist and not cumbersome.
It’s best that you first try on a few smart watches for size at a retail store near you. That way you can get an idea of the style that feels best on your wrist. Or you can peruse the Internet and perform your due diligence by combing through pictures and reviews on Amazon, Best Buy, New Egg, and the like.
Now that you know what to look for in a smart watch, we’ve done a bit of comparison shopping for you, and have selected three of the best (in our opinion) smart watches that are currently on the market that are well-suited for older adults who want to happily, and safely age in place in style.
Smartwatch Options
Tempo™ Wearable by CarePredict
The Tempo wearable device is a little bit different from the average smartwatch. This wearable sensor is intuitive and learns the activity and behavior of the wearer over time, so it can alert health professionals if for example the wearer is less active than normal, or is suddenly doing something dramatically different from their usual routine.
The Tempo wearable device comes with CarePredict’s own software, which can be accessed by healthcare providers and family members in real-time, from anywhere.
The Tempo Wearable by CarePredict is essentially a wrist-worn sensor like an emergency button except it can do a whole lot more than just alert the appropriate persons for various reasons. This wearable is capable of performing a vast array of functions for keeping you safe and well.
The internal sensor tracks a variety of data because it can detect motion. It will be able to tell when the wearer is running, sitting, standing, walking and even lying down. It can also discern location in a home and figure out what the wearer is doing activity-wise at any given time.
The collected data is transferred wirelessly to the cloud, and it can also be charged wirelessly — no reason to plug it in! Additional users including family members, or caregivers, can log into the service and check up on the wearer. Like any watch or smart watch, you can change out the band to give it a different appearance or style.
If you’d like to learn more about the Tempo Wearable system head on over to CarePredict and discover whether or not this wearable smart watch fits your needs.
Revolutionary Tracker
With an emphasis on allowing older adults to maintain their freedom and independence, The Revolutionary Tracker is a wearable device, a smart watch. It’s designed for older adults who wish to remain independent, and age freely in their own home while doing so safely. Features include:
- Advanced Messaging
- 2-way voice calls to – and from – authorized contacts only
- Authorized contacts can also listen in at any time
- Group calling support for all contacts
- SMS messaging with auto responses via a single button
- Tamper alerts via text, email, and with current location info
- Panic button that auto calls a designated guardian
- Geo-fencing support with location based “safety zones”
- Low battery alert
- GPRS real-time tracking
The Revolutionary Tracker provides “peace of mind at a single touch” in the form of a GPS enabled locator, smart phone, watch and other solutions and can also support an audio conversation between the user and caregiver, making it a uniquely qualified solution for aging in place.
With the Revolutionary Tracker older adults can stay safe and connected, easily and stylishly. The Smart Tracker is intuitive and easy to operate and easy to personalize, and will enhance your life so you can live the life you want and deserve, all in the comfort of your home. You also have the option to buy accessories for the Smart Tracker, like custom bands in different colors.
UnaliWear Kanega Watch
The UnaliWear Kanega Watch is a waterproof, impact-proof GPS tracker for older adults. It’s a standalone wearable device and does not need a smartphone to work. This approach is a plus, since many older adults don’t own a smartphone with Android or iOs capabilities.
And what is really innovative and makes this smart watch one of our top three picks is the Kanega Watch doesn’t have a single button on it; everything is voice activated. You speak, the Kanega smartwatch does it thing. Sort of like Alexa.
Another useful feature is the on-call emergency assistance. This voice-activated feature will connect the wearer to a trained operator who can coordinate medical assistance if needed, which could prove it be a life-saver in the event of an emergency.
The Kanega smart watch is a self-contained smart watch that is waterproof and is not dependent on a connection to a home-based system or a smartphone, so you can get assistance at home or on the go in one simple, stylish watch that doesn’t look like a medical device.
This wearable device has many valuable functions to make living independently easier. Including the capability of reminding you when you need to take medications, instructions for taking your medications and can help you keep track of what medications you have already taken. This is handled with an electronic connection to your pharmacy – no typing involved!
If you’ve been putting off buying a smart watch, you should consider one if you can answer “yes” to either of these two questions:
- Do you value your independence?
- Do you have the desire to live your best life in the comforts of your own home?
What do you think?
Are you sold on the concept of smart watches for living independently and aging freely.
