Shipments from the wearable device market are expected to jump from around 80 million units in 2015 to more than 200 million units by 2019, a new IDC forecast shows.
Significant growth is expected over the next year, as the IDC forecasts wearable shipments will see just over 40 percent growth to reach 111.1 million units. By 2019, the number of wearable shipments is expected to reach 214.6 million units, for a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent.
Though IDC Senior Research Analyst for Mobile Device Trackers Jitesh Ubrani said the most common forms of wearables today are basics like fitness trackers, other segments are expected to grow. Smart clothing, eyewear and ‘hearables’ are “all in the early stages of mass adoption,” Ubrani said.
IDC predicts that smartwatches will become one of the most popular types of wearable. Nearly 21.3 million smartwatch shipments were expected in 2015, a figure that is expected to grow to 34.3 million in 2016 and 88.3 million units by 2019. The segment is expected to see a CAGR of 42.8 percent over a five year period.
Apple’s watchOS platform is expected to continue to lead the smartwatch market thanks to its ever-expanding app offerings and loyal customer base. Android and Android Wear-based devices are expected to be in a distant second.
Already, Apple has proven to be a dominant force in the smartwatch market. In November, research firm Canalys revealed that the Apple Watch shipped seven million devices in its first two quarters of availability alone. IDC figures show watchOS accounted for 61.3 percent of the smartwatch marketshare in 2015, while Android Wear accounted for just 15.2 percent.
However, while the leading platforms may have familiar names, smartwatch feature are expected to change as technology improves.
“The smartwatch we have today will look nothing like the smartwatch we will see in the future,” said IDC’s Wearables Research Manager Ramon Llamas. “Cellular connectivity, health sensors, not to mention the explosive third-party application market all stand to change the game and will raise both the appeal and value of the market going forward.”
“Smartwatch platforms will lead the evolution as the brains of the smartwatch, platforms manage all the tasks and processes, not the least of which are interacting with the user, running all of the applications, and connecting with the smartphone,” Llamas continued. “Once that third element is replaced with cellular connectivity, the first two elements will take on greater roles to make sense of all the data and connections.”
Filed Under: Devices
