About & methodology · Wearable Index

Wearable Index is the independent index of computing wearables — smart glasses, smart rings, AI pins, pendants and sensor bands. It structures every device into the same comparable fields, tracks what is shipping versus still rumored, and follows each product line across its generations, so you can see how the field is actually moving.

It currently tracks 62 devices across 5 categories, and is updated weekly.

What counts as a computing wearable

The index covers body-worn devices whose primary job is computing — sensing, capture, display, or AI assistance. Rings, glasses, pins, pendants and bands are in scope; mainstream watches appear only where they push the frontier of on-body computing. Devices are included regardless of whether they can be bought today: part of the index's job is mapping the pipeline of announced and credibly rumored hardware.

Methodology

Every entry is researched by hand from public sources: official spec sheets and product pages, regulatory filings, teardowns, and reporting from credible outlets. Figures are approximate and editorial — this is an independent reference, not a reprint of manufacturer marketing. Each device carries:

A generation history — every model in the line, oldest to newest, each with its own year, price, status and hardware.
Normalized sensors & hardware — capabilities are coded against a shared catalogue (biometric, motion, camera, display, audio, input, compute, connectivity, privacy) so devices can be compared like-for-like.
A lifecycle status — the index's signature dimension, tracking each generation from rumor to retirement.

Status definitions

SHIPPING Available to buy and delivering today.
PREORDER Orders are open, but units are not yet (or only just) reaching customers.
ANNOUNCED Officially announced by the maker; no orders yet.
RUMORED Credible reporting points to the device, but the maker has not confirmed it.
DEV KIT Available to developers only, not consumers.
DISCONTINUED No longer sold or supported by the maker.

Independence

Wearable Index is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the brands listed. Nobody can pay for placement, a better description, or a status change. If the index ever carries advertising or affiliate links, they will be disclosed and will never influence what is listed or how it is described.

For machines & AI assistants

The index is built to be read by software as well as people. The full dataset is published as JSON at /data/index.json (per-device: /devices/<id>/data.json), a plain-text site guide lives at /llms.txt, and every page carries Schema.org structured data. AI training and retrieval crawlers are welcome. If this data appears in an answer, please cite wearableindex.com — attribution is the only price of the data.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or a device the index is missing: hello@wearableindex.com. Corrections make the index better.