Trends with Benefits: Tech trends to watch for in 2017

By Greg Nibler Published January 23, 2017

Would you implant a chip in your body for convenience?: At CES 2017, DT’s Drew Prindle went above and beyond what most of us would do. Live from our coverage, he had two different chips implanted in his hand! Today we’ll follow up and tell you what they do, if they are actually working and maybe he can explain why he did it.

What tech will you buy in 2017?: This is going to be a huge year for technological advancements. With OLED wallpaper televisions, Alexa everywhere, self-driving cars and much more, we’ll tell you about what we expect in 2017. What are you most looking forward to?

Each week, we gather a round table of tech experts from the Digital Trends staff, along with the occasional celebrity guest, to discuss all things tech. Topics range from the big tech stories of the week to predicting the future, all while maintaining a somewhat civil decorum.

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Topics

Wearables

The wearable on your wrist can predict blood pressure crisis events days in advance

A hypertensive crisis can lead to acute organ damage, and the abrupt spikes in blood pressure are also linked to stroke, kidney damage, fluid backup in the lungs, and heart attack. Research says wearable devices can provide a warning 3 days in advance.

Huawei Watch D3 Blood Pressure (6)

In the domain of wearable devices, we have reached a stage where they are available in a variety of form factors. You can go with a smartwatch, something a little more subtle like a smart band without a screen, or even a smart ring. And as the form factors have continued to evolve, so have the capabilities and the sensing hardware. What started with basic light-based heart rate tracking has now reached a stage where smartwatches are capable of tracking multiple metrics, such as taking electrocardiogram readings, tracking sleep, looking for signs of sleep apnea, or even detecting spikes in blood pressure levels.

Now, fresh research courtesy of the American Heart Association claims that these mass-market wearable devices can help predict episodes of dangerously high blood pressure, or hypertensive crisis, up to three days in advance. The research was conducted over a period of 12 months and involved more than 4,000 participants living with stage 2 high blood pressure.

Wearables

Wear OS is borrowing your phone’s status bar so you never lose track of time

Your smartwatch is finally getting the one thing it was weirdly missing.

The Pixel Watch on a person's wrist.

If you have ever opened an app on your Wear OS smartwatch and had no idea what time it was, Google is working on a fix. In October, the company launched a Wear OS canary emulator inside Android Studio. It lets developers try out new features and design tweaks well before Google ships them to anyone’s wrist.

The biggest addition in this build is a status bar that never leaves. It lives at the top edge of your round watch face, floats above whatever app you have open, and keeps the clock and your watch’s status icons in view.

Wearables

Samsung’s first AI glasses could arrive in December, but only in two countries

Samsung's Gemini-powered glasses might be arriving a little later than expected, and most countries will have to wait even longer.

Samsung AI Glasses

Samsung's first AI-powered smart glasses are finally getting closer to store shelves. According to a new report from South Korea's ChosunBiz, the company is planning to launch its Intelligent Eyewear in mid-December, and if you're waiting to get your hands on them outside the US or South Korea, you might be disappointed.

For those catching up, we reported earlier in October that Samsung was planning a November launch. However, the latest report suggests the release has been pushed back by a few weeks. Samsung hasn't officially confirmed the new date, and there's still no word on how much the glasses will cost.