CES 2015: 10 Wearables That Made Waves

Wearables Take Over CES

It's no secret that many companies are expecting wearables to be the next big thing in the tech industry in the not-so-distant future. Major vendors from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony and countless others are investing heavily in the space, hoping to ride the market just as it begins to take off.

Many partners and analysts remain skeptical that smartwatches are nothing more than a fitness and exercise device, while others believe that wearables are the future, some going as far to say that Apple's yet-to-be-released Apple Watch, expected to launch in March, will match the sales of its iPads, hitting north of 200 million shipments.

As expected, CES 2015 had all the latest smartwatches and fitness bands on display coming in all different shapes and sizes. Here are 10 wearables at CES that caught our eye.

Sony Smartwatch 3

Sony had its Android Wear smartwatch on display at CES, and even revealed some modifications to the device. It already comes with the option of a leather strap, or a rubber build (pictured), but also comes with a new stainless steel model.

The waterproof device comes with built-in GPS and a heart rate monitor in addition to a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor.

The Sony Smartwatch 3 has a 1.3-inch OLED display. Sony has yet to disclose the official release date of its new steel model of the device.

Garmin Vivo Fit 2 Active

Garmin unveiled two wrist-worn wearables at CES to go along with its rugged smartwatch, the Phoenix Watch.

The Vivofit 2 activity tracker counts users' steps and has a red bar on the side of the display that gets longer the more they stay inactive. The fitness band can be set up to beep if users have been inactive for an extensive amount of time. The band has one year of battery life and can work under water up to 50 meters. It also has an extensive array of interchangeable bands. The Vivo Active GPS Smartwatch can track activity whether users are golfing, biking, running or swimming.

Ring

Set for release in March, Ring is a device that does a plethora of things but with simple easy motions. When wearing the Ring, users can do anything from turning on or off a TV or light switch to opening and closing curtains all with the flick of a finger, as long as they are connected to the Ring Home Automation system,.

The device will feed the command from the motion to the Ring Hub and send it to the devices in the home automation network. Users can point and flick at their air conditioner to turn it on or off, and do the same to their door to lock it.

Withings Activite Pop

This elegant smartwatch counts steps, tracks calories and is completely waterproof as it can track swim workouts.

Users can track their activity on the Health Mate app for iOS and Android. The Activite Pop looks like a regular casual watch, but is actually a high-end fitness smartwatch. What is a real eyebrow-raiser is that the device’s battery life lasts for up to eight months. The Activite Pop uses silicon-based wrist bands for the watch and comes in an assortment of colors that can match the watch face.

Mira

Mira is a fitness band designed for women. The band is stylish enough to wear to a formal event or be sported at the office or gym.

Mira counts a user's steps, calories and more and syncs to the Mira app that runs on iOS, with Android compatibility coming later this year.

The Mira app gives users personalized motivation based on recent activity, and gives helpful tips and words of encouragement along the way.

The dark emblem that tracks activity on the bracelet is removable but can be kept in a pocket to continue to track movement.

Mira also works with a user's busy schedule by helping coordinate times for quick workouts.

MICA Smart Bracelet

The MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) Smart Bracelet from Intel and Opening Ceremony is a smart device that is disguised as a piece of women's jewelry.

The MICA is an attempt by Intel to offer more of a fashionable item than current products in the wearable space, and get a head start in the young market with that strategy.

Intel has partnerships with Fossil and Luxottica based around the device as it aims for the high-end luxury market.

The device has a sapphire display, and gets push notifications from a user's smartphone including text messages, calendar reminders and social media alerts.

The MICA can also get a 3G connection to be used without having your smartphone on hand.

i.amPULS

The i.amPuls was on display at CES after it was originally unveiled in October. The unreleased smart band made by rapper Will.i.am features its own operating system, a 1.7-inch PMOLED touch screen display, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, GPS, Bluetooth and more. One of the device's biggest features that sets it apart from a majority of the competition is that it gets a Wi-Fi signal on its own, can take and make phone calls and text messages, and doesn't need to sync with a smartphone. The device also has a slew of apps including social media apps and of course apps for music.

Lenovo Vibe Band VB10

Lenovo entered the U.S. mobile market in a big way with smartphones as well as wearables. The Chinese company showed off the new Vibe Band VB10 at CES, featuring its 1.43-inch curved E-ink display.

The band won't be released until April, but the company has already garnered a lot of interest thanks to its unique features.

Lenovo says the Vibe Band VB10 is compatible with any device running Android 4.4 and up as well as iOS devices. The band can count a user's steps, distance and calories as well as send notifications for culls, texts, and social media alerts.

Thanks to its power-saving E-ink display, Lenovo's new band has a battery life that lasts up to seven days with its display and Bluetooth always on.

Guess Connect

Guess is one of the first luxury watch makers to jump into the wearables tech ring with its new Guess Connect device. The company partnered with Martian Watches and came up with a fashion-focused smartwatch for users.

The device offers voice command functions and push notifications via Bluetooth. The watch is compatible with both iOS and Android and alerts can be customized to vibrate differently depending on the type of alert received.

There is no word yet on pricing or a release date.

Samsung Galaxy Gear S

Samsung's latest smartwatch was on display in its booth at the CES showroom floor, but also made quite the cameo at Samsung CEO BK Yoon's keynote address.

During the keynote where Yoon stressed the importance and the future of Internet of Things technology, the Samsung head invited BMW senior vice president Elmar Frickenstein on stage. That's when Frickenstein showed off the Galaxy Gear S in a video. With the watch, Frickenstein commanded a BMW i8 to pick him up and surely enough, the car turned on, and drove up to him without a driver. The show was reminiscent of a James Bond movie and showed off the future of the Interent of Things as well as the potential for wearables.