While wearable technology has been utilised in vertical sectors such as the military and healthcare industries for many years, ongoing advances have triggered a major resurgence of the concept, particularly among the consumer community. Key enabling technologies including low cost sensors, wireless connectivity, active materials and energy have converged to make wearable technology mainstream.
Driven by the ability to interconnect with key modern trends of healthcare, fitness, messaging and socialisation, the wearable technology ecosystem is attracting significant levels of interest. Companies as varied as smartphone OEMs, mobile operators, health insurers and retailers are circling the ecosystem alongside tiny startups, all vying for a stake.
SNS Telecom & IT estimates that wearable device shipments will grow at a CAGR of approximately 22% between 2018 and 2021. By the end of 2021, wearable devices will represent a market worth $45 billion (€38.50 billion) with over 250 million annual unit shipments.
The report, entitled “Wearable Technology Ecosystem: 2018 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts”, Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts“, presents an in-depth assessment of the wearable technology ecosystem including market drivers, challenges, enabling technologies, consumer and enterprise applications, key trends, case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles, vendor market share and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for wearable device shipments and revenue from 2018 through to 2030. The forecasts cover 9 device form factor submarkets, 7 vertical markets, 6 regions and 73 countries.
SNS Telecom & IT estimates that wearable device shipments will grow at a CAGR of approximately 22% between 2018 and 2021. By the end of 2021, wearable devices will represent a market worth $45 billion (€38.50 billion) with over 250 million annual unit shipments.
The report has the following additional findings:
- In terms of annual wearable device unit shipments, the top 5 vendors – Apple, Xiamo, Fitbit, Samsung and Garmin – collectively account for more than 55% of the market.
- Cellular connectivity and associated advanced capabilities – such as VoLTE (Voice over LTE) – are increasingly being integrated into consumer oriented wearables such as smartwatches.
- SNS Telecom & IT estimates that wearable devices will help mobile operators drive more than $12 billion (€10.27 billion) in service revenue by the end of 2021, following a CAGR of approximately 36% between 2018 and 2021.
- As wearable technology vendors seek to minimise dependence on hardware sales, new business models are continuing to gain popularity – ranging from corporate wellness programs to sports performance analytics.
In its 596 pages the report also tackles such questions as:
- How big is the wearable technology ecosystem?
- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?
- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?
- What will the market size be in 2021 and at what rate will it grow?
- Which vertical markets will see the highest percentage of growth?
- How do standardisation and regulation impact the adoption of wearable technology for the healthcare industry and other sectors?
- What opportunities exist for cellular chipset suppliers in the wearable technology ecosystem?
- How can mobile operators capitalise on the growing popularity of smartwatches, fitness bands, smart glasses and other wearable devices?
- What are the future prospects of hearables and other emerging form factors?
- Who are the key ecosystem players and what are their strategies?
- What strategies should wearable technology suppliers and vertical domain specialists adopt to remain competitive?
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