Home Wearables not just for your wrist: Xmetrics CEO

Wearables not just for your wrist: Xmetrics CEO

Today, most wearables fit onto your wrist and provide a wide range of information. But Andrea Rinaldo, CEO of wearables firm Xmetrics, believes that single-function wearables attached to different parts of the body are the future of the industry.

In an interview with Wareable, Rinaldo said “it is very important that the subject is the user not the device. This is why we didn’t do a bracelet and opted for something you put on your head. The interactions should be limited. I have a smartwatch but I think the interaction with a smartwatch is unnatural. [It] should just turn on and do nothing else.”

See Also: E-skin might be the slightly creepy future of wearables

Limited interactions is the opposite of what some wearable designers want, but speaks to Xmetrics’ singular focus on swimmers.

That might be useful advice for other wearable makers that are looking to attract customers that only do one type of activity, like rowing or indoor soccer. Instead of investing in a team of software engineers to build the platform for all types of exercise and sports, they can concentrate on the single activity and build a huge library of relevant charts, stats, and goals.

In the interview, Xmetrics CEO also spoke about the unique design of its wearable, located on the back of the head. In the past two years, Rinaldo said swimming wearables have moved from “100% on the wrist” to the back of the head. He also took a stab at designers that “copied” Xmetrics design, saying that while he takes the forgery as a compliment, they’re still not good products.

Xmetrics plans another swimming wearable soon

Rinaldo also spoke on the Indiegogo campaign that got the ball rolling for the startup, which reached $28,700.

“Crowdfunding is a great marketing tool to let people know about your product and your campaign,” said Rinaldo. “We had exposure on the biggest websites and in magazines about swimming. Without even having the product ready, we had the feedback of the customers. It was very helpful for us because it really helped us to shape the product. Our target wasn’t to sell the device but to do some valuable marketing research.”

Xmetrics plans to have another wearable for swimmers out by the end of the year, with new sensors to track even more. The startup also wants to build a community of swimmers using its Strava and Swim.com services in the future update.

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