What characteristic do wearable devices prioritize over absolute clinical precision?

Comfort and continuous usage.

The fundamental design philosophy differentiating wearable technology from specialized hospital equipment like PSG involves a pragmatic trade-off. Clinical systems are designed to achieve maximum accuracy and detail, which necessitates extensive wiring and specialized lab environments, sacrificing user comfort and natural sleep patterns. Conversely, wearables, such as wristbands and rings, are engineered for the consumer market, meaning they must be worn nightly without disruption. Therefore, prioritizing comfort and ensuring the user consistently wears the device for continuous data capture becomes the overriding design constraint, even if it means the resulting data fidelity regarding subtle sleep stages is inherently lower than lab measurements.