Smartwatches + Home Displays Boost Family Health Tracking by 2.6x
Study of 12 families reveals home displays increase mood tracking frequency over smartwatches alone.
A new study published on arXiv and accepted for IMWUT 2026 evaluates how families adopt multi-device health tracking using smartwatches and home displays. Researchers from UC Irvine, Chapman University, and other institutions recruited 44 participants across 12 families for a 9-week experiment. Participants alternated between three setups: smartwatch-only, home display-only, and a combined smartwatch + display configuration. The focus was on tracking moods and goals—key domains for collaborative family health management.
Log analysis revealed that mood tracking and goal reporting were significantly more frequent when a home display was present compared to smartwatch-only use. Tracking peaked in the afternoons, dropped on weekends, and occurred 2.6 times more often at home. Interestingly, children tracked more consistently than adults across all designs. Interviews highlighted that smartwatches supported "glanceable" opportunistic tracking and awareness when family members were apart, while home displays served as persistent reminders and facilitated collaborative tracking during household routines—even including members who avoided wearables (non-participants). The researchers emphasize that multi-device redundancy accommodates diverse routines, mobility patterns, and device preferences within the same family.
- 44 participants across 12 families tracked moods and goals over 9 weeks using smartwatch-only, home display-only, and combined designs.
- Mood tracking frequency increased significantly with a home display present; overall tracking occurred 2.6x more at home and peaked on afternoons.
- Children tracked more consistently than adults; smartwatches enabled opportunistic tracking away from home, while displays encouraged home routines and inclusion of non-wearable users.
Why It Matters
Designers of family health tools should combine smartwatches and home displays for inclusive, consistent, and collaborative tracking.