TRENDING: Are Smart Lights The Key To Creating Smart Cities?

Connected tech has become a staple of modern life. Everything from our cell phones to our homes and even simple appliances now come with embedded Intelligence of Things (IoT) technology.

And, that IoT-enabled technology is increasingly being woven into the fabric — both literally and figuratively — of places and products that have the potential to be transformed. They’re sparking transformation themselves through the introduction of IoT capabilities, including everything from inner-city infrastructures to a new jean jacket.

In the October edition of the Intelligence of Things Tracker, PYMNTS explores the latest headlines and trends from around the IoT space, including closer looks at smart wearables and smart cities, and how those trends could mean increased revenue for companies and more efficient spending for city governments.

Around the IoT world

IoT-enabled wearables are a quickly expanding industry. According to some recent projections, the market will likely generate more than $30 billion in revenue by the end of this year. As such, some of the most prominent companies in a range of industries are eyeing a slice of the growing pie.

Levi’s, for one, recently trotted out a new IoT-enabled version of its Commuter Trucker Jacket. The jacket serves as the debut for Google’s new connected apparel platform, Jacquard. Similarly, Amazon plans to enter the wearables market soon, with the company prepping to drop a pair of Amazon Alexa-enabled smart sunglasses into the market later this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung may have them both beat, debuting three wearable partnerships in the past few weeks alone. The company has partnered with three separate wearable technology providers — Solo Protect, Reemo and Ability Wearables — for a project designed to make commercial wearable technology more common in the workplace.

Find a roundup of the latest notable headlines from around the world of connected technology inside the IoT Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Lighting the path toward smarter cities

While the wearables industry is taking off, IoT-enabled technology is waiting for its breakthrough moment when it comes to smart city technology adoption.

For the latest IoT Tracker feature story, PYMNTS caught up with Roger Karner, president of Philips Lighting’s U.S. market group, to find out more about why smart city technology has yet to catch on with many cities and what potential it might hold.

While Karner attributed low adoption rates to the high overhead costs associated with smart city implementation, he said it’s on IoT providers to prove to cities why the technology is worth the investment.

“These kinds of things need to happen much more in order to get that really big scale, but you need someone willing to make the decision, to make the kind of large investment [it] requires,” Karner said. “But, when you have the chance to explain the energy savings, especially, and the other value propositions you can add on top of that — the effect it can have on traffic, on tourism, on safety — [those] can really impact how people think of smart cities.”

To read the story, along with the latest IoT headlines and trends, and for rankings of 219 major providers — including 10 new additions — download the IoT Tracker.

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To download the latest edition of the PYMNTS.com Intelligence of Things Tracker, click the button below.

About The Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Intelligence of Things Tracker showcases companies that are leading the way in all aspects of the Intelligence of Things. Every month, the Tracker looks at what these companies are doing across the ecosystem and in several categories, including Personal, Home, Retail, Transportation, Wearable, Mobile, Infrastructure, Data and more.