Wearables Week In Review

Mask-friendly Face ID

Apple has launched the public beta of iOS and a key feature is the ability to unlock your phone while wearing a mask. The way this works is by using your Apple Watch as the key, allowing the phone to unlock when it detects a mask-wearing face.

The NPD Take:

• It’s hardly a new concept: Android has long had the ability to use other devices as the key to unlocking your phone, but it will certainly be a welcome addition for iPhone users.
• More importantly, the new solution provides yet another reason to purchase an Apple Watch, thus further strengthening Apple’s consumer ecosystem

Step by step

Under Armour has upgraded its connected running shoe line, adding three new pairs that will connect with MapMyRun. They will track cadence, stride length, foot strike angle and ground contact time, as well as the more mundane such as distance and pace. As with the previous versions, these running shoes do not need to be charged as the sneakers are expected to ear out from use long before the battery gives up.

The NPD Take:

• The running shoe has been Under Armour’s main approach into wearables. While the company initially anticipated connected the athlete via a range of clothes, the sneaker seems to be the only option to date.
• UA claims that over a million pairs of its connected shoes have been connected, which is fairly impressive. Having said that, the company has not talked about the length of engagement for these users, and whether they continue to use the connected features, or revert back to the more manual one step-by-step running technique.