The Rise of Wearable Tech

As the name suggests, wearable technology refers to a group of electronic gadgets that you can wear on your person, such as a watch, eyeglasses, an earpiece or a clip-on. These devices have the ability to perform many of the same tasks as your laptop and mobile phone. For example, they can provide information about health and fitness, notify the user of a new SMS or email, give driving directions, select musical tracks, and many other tasks.

 

The industry is projected to increase exponentially in the next 5 years; in fact, it is estimated that 245 million wearables will be sold in 2019, according to the Global Wearables Forecast of CCS Insight, making it a $25 billion industry.

 

Fitness and activity trackers are projected to account for over half of the sales in terms of units shipped however smartwatches will comprise more than 50% of the market revenue.

 

This is because smartwatches cost more than fitness bands. Chinese companies like Xiaomi even have fitness trackers that are currently available for $15. The attractive price tags have enabled China to surpass the United States as the biggest market for fitness trackers.

 

Earlier this year, the most talked about wearable was the Apple Watch followed by Google Glass. According to Morgan Stanley, an estimated 10-30 million units of the Apple watch have been shipped so far. Google unfortunately halted the sales of the Google Glass perhaps due to its exorbitant price tag and also because wearing it made people look goofy.

 

The Apple Watch is the best selling smartwatch in history and it has raised awareness to the point where even the most reputable watchmakers can no longer overlook its threat.

 

Analysts consider these devices as a game-changer leading to the creation of more innovative gadgets in the coming years. They’re poised to become the next big thing after smartphones, surpassing sales for laptops, tablets and TVs.

 

Experts believe that smart wearables will quickly evolve from being a smartphone accessory to a more sophisticated wearable that can do more on its own. Take a look at these trends for the next few years:

 

• The popularity of wearables will continue to increase. In 2015, nearly 40 million American adults used wearables, a marked boost of 57.7% from last year.
• Smartwatches won’t put an end to activity trackers. Tech industry watchers thought the Apple Watch would kill off the fitness band business but that hasn’t been the case at all. Apple sold 7.5 million units of its Apple Watch in the last 2 quarters of 2014 but Fitbit sold 9.2 million trackers in the same period.
• However, there’ll certainly be tougher competition for Fitbit as the Mi Band from Xiaomi is gaining a strong following because of its cheap price. Fitbit’s Zip sells for $60 which is 4x more expensive than the Mi Band ($15). Garmin is also creating a portable navigation device for running, swimming, golf, hiking and water activities as evidenced in their Vivo smartwatches.
• And lastly, it’s not just the devices themselves that will become more advanced; the wearable apps will also evolve and become more sophisticated. Apps will utilise the sensors in the fitness and activity trackers and even provide users with cloud-based storage for their info.

 

Indeed, wearable technologies will continue to develop, expand and become even more popular in the coming years.