IDC Forecasts Worldwide Wearable Shipments To Reach 173.4 Mln Units By 2019

(RTTNews) - According to the International Data Corporation or IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, wearable device shipments will reach 76.1 million units in 2015, up 163.6% from the 28.9 million units shipped in 2014. By 2019, worldwide shipments will reach 173.4 million units, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9%. Total shipments include both basic and smart wearables, which are two very different product categories in many aspects.

"Driven by advancements in user interface (UI) and features, smart wearables are on track to surpass the lower priced, less functional basic wearable category in 2018. Smart wearables will quickly move from a smartphone accessory primarily focused on notifications to a more advanced wearable computer capable of doing more processing on its own," said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers.

Driving the market and gaining attention is smart wristwear, including watches and bands, which are capable of running third-party applications. This includes the Apple (AAPL) Watch, Motorola's Moto 360, Samsung's Gear S-series, and Pebble's Time.

watchOS, in its first year on the market, will quickly establish itself as the overall leader in the smart wristwear market and maintain its position throughout forecast. IDC expects second and third generations of the Apple Watch will drive shipment volumes later in the forecast, particularly among those customers who take a wait-and-see approach. It will, however, see its market share erode as other platforms - particularly Android Wear - gain greater salience in the market.

Android/Android Wear will experience market-beating growth, with a combination of consumer electronics heavyweights and an expanding list of watchmaker brands also expected to launch their own smart watches in the years to come.