In 2019, the worldwide shipment of wearables will reach 214 million. That is up from 80 million units this year, according to IDC.
Much of the market is smartwatches, in which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) currently dominates, though its product has not impressed Wall Street. That will change over time:
One of the most popular types of wearables will be smartwatches, reaching a total of 34.3 million units shipped in 2016, up from the 21.3 million units expected to ship in 2015. By 2019, the final year of the forecast, total shipments will reach 88.3 million units, resulting in a five-year CAGR of 42.8%
Also:
Apple’s watchOS will lead the smartwatch market throughout our forecast, with a loyal fanbase of Apple product owners and a rapidly growing application selection, including both native apps and Watch-designed apps. Very quickly, watchOS has become the measuring stick against which other smartwatches and platforms are compared. While there is much room for improvement and additional features, there is enough momentum to keep it ahead of the rest of the market.
Android/Android Wear will be a distant second behind watchOS even as its vendor list grows to include technology companies (ASUS, Huawei, LG, Motorola, and Sony) and traditional watchmakers (Fossil and Tag Heuer). The user experience on Android Wear devices has been largely the same from one device to the next, leaving little room for OEMs to develop further and users left to select solely on price and smartwatch design.
The Android OS created by Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google currently leads the iOS Apple uses in its iPhone family, which means the two operating systems will dominate as wearables join smartphones as part of the larger market of smart electronics.
Units shipped with watchOS will reach 45.2 million in 2019, according to IDC. Android Wear powered units will reach 34.4 million the same year.
The Apple Watch is considered a failure because of small sales. IDC forecasts that will change radically in five years.
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