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Wearables market predicted to grow nearly 175pc this year

by Mark Tyson on 19 June 2015, 13:06

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), HTC (TPE:2498), Valve, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Sony (NYSE:SNE)

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Wearables have been a hot topic over the last year or so. In recent months we have seen more and more tech giants getting around to launching wearable computer hardware and the wave of releases is only going to get stronger in H2 this year with all the VR headsets waiting in the wings.

IDC updated its Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker yesterday to take into account new trends and market observations. The market research specialist organisation now predicts that 72.1 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2015. This figure represents a huge 173 per cent leap over last year's 26.4 million unit shipment figure for the industry. Looking further ahead IDC predicts over 155 million wearables to ship in the year 2019.

The main impetus behind wearable adoption is due to basic wearable demand, according to IDC. "Vendors like Fitbit and Xiaomi have helped propel the market with their sub-$100 bands, and IDC expects this momentum will continue throughout 2015," said Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC senior research analyst. However next year there is expected to be some change, "We expect smart wearables, those capable of running third party apps, to take the lead in 2016." Ubrani went on to name-check the Apple Watch and Microsoft Hololens products as being particularly significant in the next year or so.

In recent wearable technology news we note the following:



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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I was looking at watches that monitor heart rate the other day. It's a good tool to monitor your health.
MrComputerSaint
I was looking at watches that monitor heart rate the other day. It's a good tool to monitor your health.
Cynic mode on - what's wrong with a “dumb” heart rate monitor? ;)

I've also read (somewhere - lost the link) that the readings returned by the typical “fitness band” are pretty lousy - with very high errors due to loose connection to the skin. Not sure how true it is, but I think I'd still have more confidence in the chest-mounted conventional type.

Truthfully say that “smart” wearables don't attract me much - mainly because of the incredibly short battery durations and the very limited lifespan of the devices themselves, and if you don't believe me on that second point then see the last two bullet points in the article … the aWatch went on sale in stores a couple of days ago, but Mark 2 is already being discussed.
To be fair, your typical HRM also need a watch (or phone I suppose) and he did not specify the sorts that need a chest band or not.
While I also suspect that a strap is more accurate for the reason you stated, but whereas I might see myself routinely put on a watch (even though I have stopped wearing watches for a while), than a strap and a watch in the morning. I only use my HRM when I do cardio, but if anyone want to monitor it all the time, then a watch alone is more convenient. I can sleep wearing my watch, but out of curiosity, I once tried to sleep with the strap and couldn't.