With the clicking of walking sticks and determined steps, a long line of walking group along the winding road is a fantastic sight. Almost each of the walkers is using some kind of fitness tracker. A few Fitbits, some Xiaomi wrist bands (手环), a couple of phone apps and some other pedometers (计步器) — and all, they say, are counting their steps.
Fitness trackers are in. Sales figures for 2016 released by Internet Data Center (IDC) indicated 25% market growth compared to the previous year, with Fitbit taking the lion's share, followed by the brand Xiaomi.
However, the wearables market has had a rollercoaster ride in recent months. Jawbone, once a popular fitness tracker brand, announced that it is leaving the consumer market. Microsoft has removed its Fitness Band on its online store although it is still available on retail (零售) giant Amazon. Fitbit remains a key brand name at the heart of the fitness tracker revolution. But it is recently reported to be cutting down on workers, and its founder James Park said it experienced “softer than expected” sales recently.
Counting steps is probably the most common use of wearable devices (可穿戴设备), but recently experts have questioned whether the golden goal of walking 10,000 steps a day is actually worthwhile, and a US study concluded that health trackers did not aid weight loss.
Analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight used to wear a fitness tracker on either wrist. Now, however, his concern is about users'experience — these devices don't tell you anything new after a while. There are also battery problems and many of the older and cheaper varieties aren't waterproof (防水的).
