Report: Smartwatches in use to reach over 100 million by 2019

According to Juniper Research, more than 100 million smartwatches will be in use worldwide by 2019. The report reveals that over the next 12-18 months, a number of premium brand launches will help bring the category into mainstream consumer consciousness.

The report, entitled “ Smartwatches: Market Dynamics, Vendor Strategies & Scenario Forecasts 2014-2019,” highlights that differentiation is now shifting from merely hardware to other connectivity features, such as GPS and near field communication (NFC) technologies.

Juniper Research also claims that the range of functionality available means that it is unlikely that a ‘killer app’ for smartwatches would evolve, using Fitbit as an example, which grew to dominance in the fitness space with a varying device form factor.

“Given the greater scope for development in smart watches, the industry should not expect a single capability to make or break the category,” the report argues.

Additionally, if international vendors like Google, Apple, Sony and LG roll out high-end products, the demand for notification-based watches will diminish, even in markets where budget pricing is the biggest purchase driver. What this means is that smaller players will need to respond to increasing consumer expectations or lose further market share.

Juniper goes on to note that high functionality and premium branding means that the average smartwatch price will remain north of $200 over the next five years, while smartwatches will slowly gain more sales outlets as brands outside of the tech sector enter the space.

As wearable developers continue to push the boundaries of performance and power, Atmel’s underlying design technology will make it easier to use, secure and afford.

Wearables shipments to reach 22 million in 2014

According to CCS Insight, 22 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2014 — more than double last year’s 9.7 million total. The latest report projects that over 250 million smart wearables will be in use by 2018, nearly 14 times more than in 2013.

“The wearables market is in its Stone Age right now. There needs to be huge improvements to broaden their appeal,” explains Marina Koytcheva, Director of Forecasting at CCS Insight.

The forecast predicts that wrist-worn devices will account for 87% of wearables to be shipped in 2018 — comprising 68 million smartwatches and 50 million smart bands with no screen or with a minimal, one-line display. Fitness and well-being trackers remain the fastest-growing category, given that they have a clearly defined purpose, user benefits and are relatively affordable. CSS Insight believes fitness trackers will account for over half of the 35 million wearables in use at the end of this year.

“Wearables are poised to be the perfect gift for the person who has everything this Christmas. We believe this will fuel strong growth in the final quarter of 2014 for smart bands, particularly fitness trackers, which will account for more than half of the 35 million wearables in use at end of 2014,” Koytcheva adds.

According to the report, CCS Insight also foresees strong future growth in smartwatches. The company expects many smart band manufacturers to extend their product ranges by adding devices with screens. As smartwatches broaden their appeal, capabilities are refined, new functions are added and prices fall, CCS Insight expects smartwatches to displace fitness bands and become the most used form of wearables.

A smart wearable category that will become much more prominent in the second half of 2014, CSS reveals, is stand-alone cellular wearables. “We expect a number of high-profile devices with their own SIM cards will be announced in the coming months. However, these devices will face significant challenges as people are reluctant to take out another contract with their mobile operator.”

North America currently leads the way in terms of adoption of wearables with 5.2 million wearables sold in  2013, and over 40% of all wearable devices currently in use are there. Reason being that a majority of companies are based in North America, while the region possesses a proven eager to adopt new technology. Western Europe is catching up and from 2016 is expected to buy more wearables than North America, the analysts predicted. Adoption will be slower in emerging markets and primarily driven by tech-savvy, affluent users.

“The market is still in a chaotic stage of development, and there’s still a huge amount of uncertainty. Every category faces different risks: the way people use wearables is still changing, one type of device could kill sales in another category, people are unsure whether some wearables are socially acceptable, and intellectual property rights are a minefield for the dozens of start-ups entering the wearables market,” Koytcheva points out.

To learn more, you can access the entire report here or view the detailed infographic from the research firm below.

 

Report: Wearables need makeover to maximize market

According to a new Beecham Research report, the wearable tech market stands for a greater chance of mass consumer adoption if it can somehow up its chicness. The report notes that wearable devices will swiftly move beyond just smart glasses and watches to embrace products in a wider variety of sectors, such as safety, security, glamor and healthcare.

The fashion-forward wearable tech market could hit $9.3 billion by 2018, which would nearly triple the current market prediction. As validation of the uptick, ABI Research recently also predicted that the annual average demand for wearable devices will skyrocket by 22% during the period of 2013-2018, rising from less than 200 million units to 500 million.

“Current market forecasts are based on smartphone-centric view of wearable technology,” explained Saverio Romeo, Principal Analyst at Beecham. “We see wearable tech as playing a critical role in the drive to greater connectivity and the Internet of Things.”

As previously reported in Bits & Pieces, smart wearable band shipments increased dramatically in the second half of 2013, with analysts at Canalys predicting a significant acceleration of the trend to continue this year. Over 17 million wearable bands are forecasted to ship this year alone, driven primarily by devices with wearable-specific sensors. More specifically, Canalys estimates this number will grow to over 23 million units by 2015 and over 45 million by 2017. In 2018, that number could swell to almost 112 million.

“There is a very strong focus on technology around wearable devices [which is] a problem as they should be user-centric,” Romeo added during the launch of the firm’s latest report.

According to Beecham analyst Claire Duke-Woolley, one of the areas that needs to do more to embrace wearable technology is in the fashion market. “If this market really is to take a different route, we should look at partnerships that we have never seen before, between technology companies and fashion,” she urges.

While several companies currently offering smart watches prefer a more tech-centric approach, Beecham Research points to the new Withings Activité that merges Parisian design with Swiss watch making to create desirable, stylish and functional products. It also highlights the newly-unveiled Fitbit and Tory Birch collaboration as an example of how the fitness market is moving beyond the functionality of traditional products. Another sector where Beecham Research sees progress is in smart clothing and textiles, from the likes of Cute Circuit and Wearable Experiments, along with Studio XO, which exemplifies the right ethos and multidisciplinary approach, but is still to move beyond the couture end of the market.

Ranging from SAM4S to tinyAVR MCUs, Atmel finds itself smack in the middle of the rapidly-evolving wearable tech revolution. In addition, Atmel devices integrate numerous features to save circuit board space, such as USB transceivers and embedded termination resistors. Many devices are offered in very small form factor packages, a critical characteristic for engineers and Makers designing wearable tech and elaborated upon further in this wearable computing white paper.

Want to read more? Download the entire Beecham Research report entitled “Wearable Technology — the Fashion Tech Era: Towards a Multidisciplinary Approach.”

 

An $18 billion wearables enterprise market

Analysts at ABI Research confirm that wearable device technologies will become an integral part of enterprise mobile enablement strategies – increasing at an impressive CAGR value of 56.1% over the next five years.

Atmel-powered Agent smartwatch

As expected, the North American region will be the largest, growing at a CAGR value of 39% over the next five years. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region is slated to become the second largest market, outpacing Europe by 2019 with a CAGR of 90%.

“There are cases being made for wearables in the enterprise despite the relative newness of the technology. However, which wearables are primed for enterprise usage and adoption is a more important question,” senior ABI Research enterprise analyst Jason McNicol explains.

“Wearable technology such as smart glasses and those used for healthcare are better suited for the enterprise as corporate-liable devices. Smartwatches, on the other hand, will most likely follow the trend of BYOD into the enterprise.”

More specifically, ABI Research has identified six types of wearable devices: smart glasses, cameras, smart watches, healthcare, sports and activity trackers and 3D motion trackers. Healthcare wearables, smart glasses and smart watches will be the dominant form-factors purchased by the enterprise and used by employees.

“Like any digital device supporting the enterprise, wearables will need to be secured and managed,” ABI practice director Dan Shey adds.

Atmel-powered Agent smartwatch

“Wearable use cases in field services, maintenance, training, etc., highlight the need for enterprise mobility management providers, mobile operators, enterprise application and platform vendors, system integrators, device OEMs and other enterprise mobile suppliers to add services to support wearables. Enterprise connectivity continues at a rapid pace and its benefits are only achieved when end-to-end solutions – including security and management services – support the devices and connections.”

It should be noted that ABI Research expects a total of 90 million wearable devices to ship in 2014 across multiple markets. As senior analyst Joshua Flood notes, wearable tech will be characterized by a diversity of products, although only those with clear use-cases and target audiences are likely to succeed.

“[2014] will be a critical period for the acceptance and adoption of wearable devices. Healthcare and sports and activity trackers are rapidly becoming mass-market products,” the analyst says.

“On the flipside, wearable devices like smart watches need to overcome some critical obstacles. Aesthetic design, more compelling use cases, battery life and lower price points are the main inhibitors. How vendors approach these challenges and their respective solutions will affect the wearable market far in the future.”

According to Flood, chipset vendors are beginning to pave the way with interesting wearable reference designs that will allow non-technology OEMs and brands to quickly jump upon the wearable device bandwagon and offer diverse, innovative, unique and stylish solutions.

“While smart glasses could be the starting point moving away from today’s touchscreen smartphones to eyewear devices using a voice interface, pricing, battery life and style will all play crucial roles for market traction,” he continues.

“Due to these limitations, the enterprise sector will be the early target for smart glasses before they are ready for mass-market adoption. [We] expect more than two million smart glasses [to] ship in 2014, [with] the category forecast to grow rapidly from 2015 onwards. Mobile enabling technologies like augmented reality will play a vital part in enhancing smart glass capabilities.”

Indeed, smart glasses and smart watches will account for a relatively small segment of the wearable device market in 2014, with medical, wellness and sports and activity wearable devices expected to provide the bulk of wearable device shipments this year.

“Activity trackers will continue to be the most popular wearable device as people carefully monitor their activity levels and energy output,” Flood concludes. “Concerns around weight management and even obesity are the prime drivers behind this wearable device type. The collection and analysis of the captured personal performance data through associated websites and their communities is also a crucial element in building out the use-case.”

90 million wearables to ship in 2014

Analysts at ABI Research expect 90 million wearable devices to ship in 2014. As senior analyst Joshua Flood notes, wearable tech will be characterized by a diversity of products, although only those with clear use-cases and target audiences are likely to succeed.

Amulyte pendant powered by Atmel’s SAM4L

“The next 12 months will be a critical period for the acceptance and adoption of wearable devices. Healthcare and sports and activity trackers are rapidly becoming mass-market products,” the analyst explained.

“On the flipside, wearable devices like smart watches need to overcome some critical obstacles. Aesthetic design, more compelling use cases, battery life and lower price points are the main inhibitors. How vendors approach these challenges and their respective solutions will affect the wearable market far in the future.”

According to Flood, chipset vendors are beginning to pave the way with interesting wearable reference designs that will allow non-technology OEMs and brands to quickly jump upon the wearable device bandwagon and offer diverse, innovative, unique and stylish solutions.

“While smart glasses could be the starting point moving away from today’s touchscreen smartphones to eyewear devices using a voice interface, pricing, battery life and style will all play crucial roles for market traction,” he continued.

“Due to these limitations, the enterprise sector will be the early target for smart glasses before they are ready for mass-market adoption. [We] expect more than two million smart glasses [to] ship in 2014, [with] the category forecast to grow rapidly from 2015 onwards. Mobile enabling technologies like augmented reality will play a vital part in enhancing smart glass capabilities.”

Indeed, smart glasses and smart watches will account for a relatively small segment of the wearable device market in 2014, with medical, wellness and sports and activity wearable devices expected to provide the bulk of wearable device shipments this year.

“Activity trackers will continue to be the most popular wearable device as people carefully monitor their activity levels and energy output,” Flood added.

“Concerns around weight management and even obesity are the prime drivers behind this wearable device type. The collection and analysis of the captured personal performance data through associated websites and their communities is also a crucial element in building out the use-case.”