Domestic Wearables Market Overview: Over 100 Devices for Monitoring Physical Health
In early March this year, Li Ning Company reached a strategic agreement with Huami Technology to jointly develop a smart running shoe, which is expected to hit the market in July or August. Meanwhile, wearable devices designed to monitor users’ physical conditions continue to flood the market. Similar products can also be found on the market, such as the Codoon Smile for sleep monitoring, the Douya Thermometer for body temperature measurement, and the PBA Skin Manager for assessing skin hydration levels. So, exactly how many wearable devices capable of monitoring physical health are currently available on the market?
Recently, the foreign venture capital firm PureTech produced an infographic on “wearables that extract data from the body.” The chart outlines approximately 15 categories, including body temperature, physical activity, sleep, blood pressure, and blood glucose. As is well known, the wearable technology sector abroad started earlier and has long reached a mature stage. In China, although medical wearables led the direction of internet healthcare investment in 2014—with 28 companies securing financing and a disclosed total of $190 million—this niche segment appeared highly promising. However, how many products on the market are actually used for monitoring health conditions? And which categories are experiencing intense competition versus remaining under-the-radar? To address these questions, VCBeat’s Internet Healthcare Research Institute conducted a comprehensive analysis of domestic wearables designed for health monitoring.
Abroad
Domestic
According to statistics from VCBeat’s Internet Healthcare Research Institute, there are currently 148 health and medical wearable devices capable of monitoring physical conditions in China, with 103 companies operating in this sector.
Uneven Product Distribution: Fierce Competition in the Sports Category
Compared with the 15 monitoring categories abroad, there are no active products found in China for four categories: muscle activity monitoring, skin temperature, eye movement, and smart pills. However, two new categories have been added: fetal heart rate monitoring and body circumference, bringing the total to 13 categories. In terms of category distribution in China, exercise leads with a 32.9% market share, followed by sleep and body temperature monitoring. Although these three categories rank in the top three, the trend curve shows a 45° decline, indicating that the product volume in these categories has nearly doubled.
From the overall distribution of products across various categories, there is a significant imbalance: some categories are oversupplied, while others are severely underrepresented. For instance, categories such as exercise and sleep lead the average of other categories by nearly tenfold. In contrast, categories like body circumference, respiratory rate, and brain activity remain niche, accounting for less than 1% of the market. This polarization has resulted in an oversupply of exercise-related products, with severe homogenization intensifying competition. This situation further illustrates that the exercise category is facing a “too many competitors, too few opportunities” scenario, where competition is most fierce. Additionally, the lack of cutting-edge domestic technology has caused R&D efforts to concentrate predominantly on basic product functionalities.
The user base is predominantly composed of the elderly.
Among the wearable devices included in the statistics, users are primarily categorized into six groups: the general public, children, the elderly, women, infants and toddlers, and pregnant women. Excluding the significantly larger general public segment, the market product volumes for the elderly, women, and children are relatively comparable. Their corresponding monitoring categories are as follows: devices for the elderly mainly focus on blood pressure, blood glucose, and heart rate monitoring; those for women primarily feature skin moisture testing; and products for children emphasize temperature monitoring. For the remaining two groups, devices for infants and toddlers mainly monitor body temperature and sleep, while products for pregnant women concentrate on fetal heart rate monitoring.
Wristbands are the most prevalent product form factor.
In terms of form factors for wearable devices, 15 types designed to monitor physical health have been identified, with wristbands being the most prevalent and widely used for tracking exercise and sleep. Furthermore, four categories—wristbands, compact devices, smartwatches, and patches—far outnumber other form factors. Meanwhile, less common designs such as pens and necklaces appear to be injecting fresh vitality into this field; an example is the YBPOO Smart Myopia-Prevention Pen, a posture-correcting pen designed to help prevent myopia in children.
Established Enterprises and Industry Giants All Enter the Arena
In nearly every lucrative sector, fierce competition prevails. The niche segment of wearable devices for health monitoring is no exception. According to statistics from VCBeat’s Internet Healthcare Research Institute, nearly half of the established companies and tech giants have entered this field. Examples include Baidu’s Dulife smart health device platform, which features health-monitoring products such as the MUMU blood pressure monitor, the Tete ECG monitor, and the FashionComm activity tracker; Huawei’s TalkBand series; and ZTE’s Grand Watch.
Conclusion
1. Category: Products in the “sports” category are in oversupply, while products in categories such as smart pills and muscle activity monitoring are scarce;
2. User: There are few health monitoring products targeting infants, toddlers, and pregnant women;
3. Forms: Wearables such as wristbands, watches, and patches are crowded in the market, with largely overlapping core functionalities and severe homogenization;
Wearable Devices for Health Monitoring in China (Note:The following features only demonstrate the product's health monitoring capabilities; other functions are not shown.）：
