Global Top Five Wearable Device Makers Revealed: Apple Ranks Second
Today's Headlines:
Top Five Global Wearable Device Makers Revealed: Apple Ranks Second
Huawei, Johnson & Johnson, Guahao.com, and Chunyu Join Forces to Build a Health Management Platform
Big Data from 330 Million Users Reveals: What Health Information People Care About Most
BOE Plans to Invest RMB 3.2 Billion to Build a Digital Hospital
PwC: The elderly care system should be community-oriented, not institution-based
Top Five Global Wearable Device Makers Announced: Apple Ranks Second
According to the latest data from U.S. market research firm IDC, global wearable device sales increased by 200% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of this year, with total shipments reaching 21 million units.
Fitbit firmly holds the top position in the industry, with shipments increasing from 2.3 million to 4.7 million units. Its market share stands at 22.2%, which, although high, represents a significant decline from last year’s 32.8%. Apple is indeed a formidable competitor.
Apple lived up to expectations this year, securing the second position globally with a shipment volume of 3.9 million units and capturing an 18.6% market share. Notably, Apple’s market share was zero last year, underscoring its rapid penetration into the market.
Xiaomi, which followed closely behind, saw its shipments increase from 400,000 to 3.7 million, capturing a 17.4% market share.
Garmin ranked fourth; although its shipment volume increased from 500,000 to 900,000 units, its market share declined from 7% to 4.1%.
The last company is China’s BBK Electronics, whose XTC children’s smartwatches, although sold only in China, achieved strong sales with 700,000 units shipped.
IDC predicts that global annual shipments of wearable devices will surge to 126 million units by 2019.
Huawei, Johnson & Johnson, Guahao.com, and Chunyu Collaborate to Build a Health Management Platform
On November 26, Huawei released the “Mate 8,” a key highlight of which is the mobile health management platform developed in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, Guahao.com, and Chunyu Doctor. Users can monitor metrics such as physical activity, blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, and sleep on this platform.
Huawei has partnered with LifeScan, a brand under Johnson & Johnson. Leveraging the newly launched companion app, LifeScan Assistant, blood glucose meter readings can be transmitted to the Huawei Health platform through a single interface. This marks Johnson & Johnson Medical’s first foray into the mobile health sector.
By tapping the “Services” button on the Huawei Health platform, users can access two features: appointment registration and online doctor consultations. The appointment registration service is provided by Guahao.com, while the online doctor consultation service, offered by Chunyu Doctors, includes features such as asking questions, free clinics of the day, consultation history, self-diagnosis, common medications, and common diseases.
Big Data from 330 Million Users Reveals: What Health Information People Care About Most
Where lie the opportunities for healthcare startups? What is the next major health trend?
Today, at the “Arithmetic Health Data Release Conference” jointly organized by Toutiao and Health News, a dataset based on 330 million Toutiao users provided answers to the aforementioned questions.
Among the 330 million users, individuals aged 41–51 demonstrate the highest level of health consciousness, with over 30% of this age group actively following health-related information. They are closely followed by three other age groups—those aged 50 and above, 31–40, and 24–30—each accounting for more than 20%.
From a geographic perspective, the top five provinces most concerned about health information are all located in western China. Qinghai Province ranks first, accounting for over 27%, followed closely by Xinjiang, Yunnan, Gansu, and Ningxia.
Among the diseases garnering the most attention, diabetes ranks first. Additionally, cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer have also drawn significant concern. In Jiangxi Province, over 32% of the population pays attention to these five types of tumors.
Surprisingly, women and individuals under the age of 30 are most concerned about “constipation.” This may be closely related to unhealthy lifestyle habits among young people, such as binge eating and staying up late.
BOE to Invest 3.2 Billion in Building a Digital Hospital
On December 3, BOE announced that the company plans to invest RMB 3.2 billion through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mingde Investment, to build the “Hefei Digital General Hospital Project” in Hefei, and intends to contribute RMB 1.19 billion to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing Shixun, for the implementation of a complete-machine intelligent manufacturing production line project.
According to the announcement, the Hefei Hospital Project aims to establish a tiered healthcare service system in the Hefei area, comprising one digital hospital (hereinafter referred to as the “Main Hospital”), one comprehensive outpatient clinic, and several small-scale digital clinics to be set up as needed. The digital hospital is planned to be built in the Xinzhan Comprehensive Development Pilot Zone of Hefei City, with a planned capacity of 1,000 beds and a total investment of RMB 3.2 billion. The project will be implemented in two phases: Phase I involves the construction of 500 beds with an estimated investment of RMB 2.2 billion, and is scheduled to commence operations by the end of December 2018; Phase II involves the construction of another 500 beds with an estimated investment of RMB 1 billion, and is expected to open in 2023.
BOE stated that its digital hospitals are a vital component of the company’s smart health services division, serving as the offline embodiment of the core PCMH (Patient-Centered Medical Home) concept and providing essential support for online health management, telemedicine, and other related services.
This major investment in building a digital hospital represents another significant strategic move, following the acquisition of Mingde Investment, the partnership with Dignity Health, the fifth-largest healthcare services group in the United States, and the collaboration with IBM on healthcare software systems.
PwC: The elderly care system should be community-oriented, not institution-centric
On December 3, Ms. Xing Liping, Partner of PwC’s Healthcare Industry Consulting Services, provided an interpretation of the recently released global report on trends in the elderly care industry, titled “Sharing and Collaboration: Personalized Experiences in the Elderly Care Industry.” The details are as follows:
By 2020, the proportion of China’s elderly population (aged 65 and above) in the total population is projected to reach 12%. Relevant agencies predict that during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, total consumption in China’s elderly care market will exceed RMB 10 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 17%.
Going forward, elderly care services will be primarily categorized into three types: home-based care, community-based care, and medical care (provided by hospitals and clinics). Surveys indicate that the majority of seniors aged 65–70 prefer home-based care and receiving elderly care services in their own homes.
Xing Liping stated that the current concept of elderly care services primarily focuses on treating various diseases with professional medical technologies. Globally, hospital expenditures remain the most costly component of healthcare systems.
However, survey findings indicate that long-term institutionalized elderly care is not only costly but also largely unnecessary. A rational elderly care system should be community-oriented rather than healthcare institution-based. It is essential to develop clusters of community-based elderly care services, enabling various service providers to jointly assume responsibility for managing elderly care budgets and improving service quality.