Wearables on the Rise

As summer draws to an end, the wearable market shows no signs of slowing down. Grand View Research estimates healthy growth (~39% CAGR) in the global wearable sensor market through 2025. By 2022, Statista estimates 361M people will be using some form of wearable technology

The concept of wearable technology has expanded well beyond fitness trackers and smartwatches to include other connected devices, such as smart socks from Sensoria, smart shoes from Under Armour, smart hats from Oakley, and smart yoga pants from Wearable X.

In addition to augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headset device growth in the short term, expect growth across wearable segments => Juniper ranks the fastest growing wearables sectors (in terms of shipments over the next two years) as connected clothing, smart glasses, smart jewelry, hearables, and smartwatches. While smartwatch growth is the slowest of the categories, IDC estimates the product is starting from a strong base of ~35% market share among worldwide wearables, on its way to ~45% in 2022.

Wristbands slightly lead smartwatches (~36% to ~35%) in wearables market share, yet IoTC expects the leader position to flip as additional health and fitness functionality migrates to smartwatches. Two other factors are adding to a smartwatch future: traditional wristband vendors like Fitbit and Garmin are switching gears to pursue smartwatch growth and many sport watch and kids watch vendors are transitioning their user base to smartwatches. While IDC estimates the market adoption of basic watches (sport watches, kids’ watches, hybrid watches) will still grow (~7%) until 2022, the category’s market share will decline to ~20% from ~30% in 2018.

The hearables product momentum, which started in 2015 when Bragi launched its Dash, the first completely wireless in-ear headphones, followed by the introduction of Apple’s AirPods in 2017, continues, with ResearchandMarkets estimating global earbud sales of $10B by 2023 (~30% CAGR). Features such as active noise cancelation, the integration of hearing aids, extended battery life, and gesture recognition to end calls are being incorporated into hearables, which should further drive demand.

A larger role of wearables is likely to play out in the evolution of "connected neighborhoods" -- as aggregate data from wearable devices can add insights within specific neighborhoods. The idea is not new (in 2013, then-fitness tracking company Jawbone reported waking patterns of consumers experiencing an earthquake and of the sleeping patterns of those in one Boston-area neighborhood following the Boston Marathon bombing), but wearables' market penetration and artificial intelligence capabilities are advancing to the point of practicality.

Use cases continue to be found for wearables in healthcare. These range from advanced innovations, such as by researchers at MIT who created wearable smart fabric technology by weaving electronic devices into fibers to create high-tech bandages that could monitor healing, the Cardea SOLO, a wireless, wearable ECG sensor introduced by Cardia Insight, Inc. for detecting early heart arrhythmias, and the SmartVest, a tight-fitting shirt with sensors to monitor heart rates for early cardiovascular disease detection, developed by Lenovo Group and Southeast University in China’s Jiangsu Province.

Expect an increase in wearable connected health devices as the population ages, with Parks Associates finding 45% of caregivers “very interested” in a home system that senses emergencies and alerts them or first responders. However, vendors may be challenged by the business case for such devices, with 48% of those 65 and older finding alert capabilities to be useful, but only 27% willing to pay for the service. A large number of wearable medical devices have been centered around activity and exercise, comprising fitness trackers, wearable patches, and clothing, though recently expanded into remote patient monitoring and home healthcare with Market Research Future estimating continued growth (23% CAGR) to 2023.

As sensors and networks continue to evolve, IoTC expects an increase in the introduction of more non-traditional wearable technology innovations, such as the SmartThings Tracker, a Samsung Electronics device launched by SK Telecom on its IoT network to track the location of children and pets, and the LG CLOi SuitBot, a human-centric, wearable robot from LG Electronics that adds lower limb strength and connects to other LG service robots. Expect wearables and the data insights they generate in the aggregate, to become another data-source point for smart homes and smart cities, two of the five key focus areas of the IoTC.

The IoTC (www.iofthings.org) is the leading business development association for the IoT ecosystem. IoTC consists of over 75 members and covers five IoT sub-verticals:   connected cars,  smart cities,  connected homes, wearable tech and  digital transformation in retail.      

For information on membership, contact us at membership@iofthings.org.    

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