Gartner predicts that wearable devices will account for 50% of people's daily device interactions by 2017

By 2017, smart hardware will lead to ordinary users sharing their daily data with more than 100 apps and services - led by wearable devices and smart homes.

Currently, users share data on the Internet mainly in the form of information streams actively posted on social networks, but Gartner said in a report this week that hardware in emerging areas - health monitoring, smart homes and smart cars - will tap into a piece of daily activity data that has never been used in the past. This data will be used to analyze and provide services to users in return.

Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, believes that in the next 3-4 years, the scope of app calls will no longer be limited to mobile phones or tablets, but will expand to homes, cars and our daily wearables. Gartner predicts that by 2017, wearable devices will account for 50% of people's daily device interactions.

Since most smart hardware such as thermostats and bracelets do not have large screens that are very convenient for interaction, apps and other software will direct user data to our existing mature smart devices (such as mobile phones).

In the coming year, cognitive computing will become the key to smart homes - connected devices are increasingly aware of how to anticipate user needs and meet them in a timely manner. For example, data analysis can allow home appliances to turn on hot water at specific times of the week, or sound the alarm when an emergency occurs at home.

Some companies are already encouraging users to share their data. For example, Lumo will detect and help users improve their sitting posture, and the June bracelet tries to encourage people to get more sun.

Data is certainly a way to make devices more useful, but there is also a question of whether users are willing to share their (daily) data.

The involvement of giant technology companies will complicate this issue. For example, last week Google acquired Nest, and Nest had to quickly clarify how its data would be shared with Google and then draw a clear line.

Gartner's Blau also said that as long as the service provided by the device is useful enough, users are still willing to trust the process. For example, in the case of Nest, the thermostat is used to save energy costs.