IDC: Worldwide Wearables Forecasted To Hit 45.7M Units Shipped This Year, 126.1M By 2019

The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently published the "Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker," a report that provides details on vendors, technology, market opportunity and trend analysis in the expanding wearable devices space.

According to the most recent issue, "A combination of new vendors, new devices and greater end-user awareness will drive the worldwide wearables market higher in 2015."

The Report

The analysts at IDC expect shipped units to reach 45.7 million in 2015, up substantially (133.4 percent) from the 19.6 million units shipped in 2014. Moreover, they project that shipped units will extend to 126.1 million by 2019. This implies a five-year, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.1 percent.

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The Market

There are two types of wearables: basic and smart ones. Smart wearables (like the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s Apple Watch, Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE: MSI)'s Moto 360 and SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F) (OTC: SSNLF)'s Gear watches) are capable of running third-party applications. Basic wearables are not.

The "explosion" is expected to come from the smart wearables segment, which is projected to more than sextuple over the year.

Looking Ahead

"Smart wearables are about to take a major step forward with the launch of the Apple Watch this year," said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's wearables team.

"The Apple Watch raises the profile of wearables in general, and there are many vendors and devices that are eager to share the spotlight. Basic wearables, meanwhile, will not disappear. In fact, we anticipate continued growth here, as many segments of the market seek out simple, single-use wearable devices."

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Ryan Reith, program director with IDC's "Worldwide Quarterly Device Trackers," added: "The explosion of wearable devices was clearly led by fitness bands, which, until recently, commanded prices that provided comfortable margins, but those days are changing […] The price of these fitness bands have come down [sic.] so significantly in some markets that smartphone OEMs are now bundling them with smartphones at little cost.

"Meanwhile, the market is quickly shifting toward higher-priced devices that offer greater functionality. While Apple's entry into the market is symbolic, the key to success will be to create compelling use cases for the average consumer. Many users will need a good reason to replace a traditional watch or accessory with a wrist-worn device or some other form of wearable that will likely require daily charging and occasional software upgrades," he concluded.