Wearable Market Poised To Explode

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

The global market for wearable health devices is expected to jump 173.3 percent compared to last year.

According to a report from the International Data Corporation, the global market for wearable health devices will increase 173.3 percent between 2014 and 2015. iHealth Beat explains that 72.1 million wearable devices will ship worldwide in 2015, up from 26.4 million wearables shipped in 2014.

“The demand for basic wearables, those that do not run third party apps, has been absolutely astounding,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers said in a press release. “Vendors like Fitbit and Xiaomi have helped propel the market with their sub-$100 bands, and IDC expects this momentum will continue throughout 2015.”

“We expect smart wearables, those capable of running third party apps, to take the lead in 2016,” added Ubrani. “Smart wearables like the Apple Watch and Microsoft's Hololens are indicative of an upcoming change in computing, and the transition from basic to smart wearables opens up a slew of opportunities for vendors, app developers, and accessory makers.”

Fierce Mobile Healthcare reports this increase in device popularity could be related to Fitbit’s recent decision to go public. The company’s stock is expected to start the market at $20 dollars, a dollar higher than originally predicted.

“Growth in the smart wearables market points to an emerging battleground among competing platforms,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager, Wearables. “Android Wear, Tizen, and WatchOS are moving ahead with improved user interfaces, user experiences, and applications. These will raise the expectations of what a smart wearable can do, and each platform is vying for best-in-class status. We're not there yet, but we're seeing the building blocks of what is to come.”