Demand for health gadgets surges in coronavirus lockdown, likely to last

Fitness-tracking gadgets are selling out, home exercise classes have never been more popular and industrial robot designers are pivoting to making sanitation bots. The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a seismic wave of health awareness and anxiety, which is energising a new category of virus-fighting technology.

The fear of infection has accelerated the adoption of apps and wearables as a means to feel better protected. “Having accurate and immediate feedback about our body temperature, blood pressure and other health signals helps to restore people’s sense of control,” said Andy Yap, a social psychologist at graduate business school INSEAD.

Users, insurers and health care providers are all seeing the benefit of health gadgets, in a shift expected to persist long after the outbreak subsides.

That is galvanising the development of new devices by start-ups and gadget outfits in Asia, where the novel coronavirus first struck and consumers are known to be early adopters.

The Withings Thermo is a contactless thermometer that uses 16 sensors to take more than 4,000 measurements in 2 seconds – which it then syncs to a mobile app. It costs US$99.95, but nobody can buy one until mid-April because all inventory was depleted two weeks ago, according to the company. Use of the Thermo has been significantly higher than usual for this time of year, the company said.