Wearables are Just Around the Corner (or so says Apple)

June 11, 2014

By Ernest Worthman —

While Apple’s $3 Billion acquisition of Beats Electronics may not scream wearables, especially if one listens to Google and Samsung (Android Wear and Tizen-powered Gear, respectively) but it is a noteworthy tick in the shape of things to come.

Beats Electronics

Wearables promise to be the next big leap in technology. And it should be a golden child for small cells. Wearables such as the next iteration of Wi-Fi-enabled Beats headphones and Google’s Glass will rely heavily on Internet-based data. That has small cell written all over it, especially when next generation multimedia will choke macro networks.

Small cell relativity aside, Apple says that headphones will have an even tighter connection to us than smartphones, especially with their ability to be connected to wirelessly. Coupled with Apple’s Siri for voice control, Apple says that the headphones could eventually replace the handset as the device of choice for voice calls and deliver contextual information in real time.

There is some debate on how well heads-up displays may work at first, because wearables that rely on a user’s vision can create a virtual reality that competes with actual reality. Audio, according to Apple, may be easier for many people to process without the potential virtual and actual reality conflicts.

I’m all for that but right now I have this mental picture of everybody walking around wearing these huge Beats headsets and cool fashion eyeglass frames with a tiny heads-up visor, in their own reality – I kinda have to chuckle.

Ernest Worthman is editor of AGL Small Cell magazine