Mobile wearable devices and smart glasses to reach sales of almost 70 million by 2017
Augmented reality glasses from Apple, Microsoft and Google are set to drive the wearable mobile gadgets market to reach almost 70 million in sales by 2017, compared to almost 15 million sales in 2013, according to a new study.
Health and fitness devices are set to dominate the market that will include smart glasses and enterprise wearables, states Juniper Research. Fitness and sports wearable device, followed by healthcare devices, are forecast to dominate the market with a combined market share of over 80% in the final forecast year 2017.
However, even though the number of fitness and sports devices bought per year is higher than the number of healthcare devices sold, the health sector will be slightly larger in terms of retail value due to higher price points.
Juniper claimed there will be significant adoption towards the end of the forecast period, driven by the launch of augmented reality glasses and similar products from Google, Microsoft and Apple.
The report also notes that as the retail price for smart glasses declines towards the end of the forecast period, the adoption level amongst consumers will increase by 2017.
The report finds that the development of an app-ecosystem for wearable devices is essential to create a platform for further broadening the role of wearable devices similar to the smartphone app ecosystem.
'The development of the smartphone and app store model has opened up new avenues for other segments within the market, such as the wearable device market, by combining mobility with an efficient method of software delivery. The simultaneous development of app-ecosystem and wearable devices will integrate technologies, such as augmented reality, into human life more seamlessly,' said report author Nitin Bhas.
Juniper added that the market will be dominated by North America and Western Europe, representing over 60% of the global wearable device sales next generation wearable devices market, that including smart glasses will be worth more than $1.5 billion by 2014, up from just $800 million this year.
