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Fitness watch market set to top $1 billion in 2013, even without Apple’s iWatch

Updated Oct 30th, 2013 2:57PM EDT
Fitness Watch Sales 2013

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As rumors surrounding Apple’s (AAPL) supposed “iWatch” continue to swirl, one market research firm believes the fitness watch industry will see explosive growth this year even without an offering from Apple. ABI Research recently released a new report stating that the “GPS fitness watch” market will balloon in 2013 as sales reach $1.07 billion this year. The figure would represent 50% growth by ABI’s estimates.

“Low cost watches rapidly emerged in 2012, and are forecast to take a significant chunk of the market in 2013,” said ABI analyst Patrick Connolly. “From a competitive point of view, projected GPS IC shipment estimates indicate leading watch, fitness apparel, and electronics vendors are planning to release new products in this space in 2013. In 2012, Motorola’s MOTOACTV watch was a great example of how a new entrant can instantly win market share with a strong feature set and good price point.”

ABI notes that apart from established vendors, startups including Leikr, Pebble, Basis, I’m Here and Bia Sport are poised to make waves in the market as well.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.