Expect Unprecedented Growth In Connected Wearables By 2019

By Cheryl Knight, contributing writer

The growing popularity of wearable technology is apparent from the statistic that 19 million devices shipped in 2014 — compared to 5.9 million in 2013 — the wearable market grew at an annual rate of 54.7 percent. This is not all, according to Berg Insight, a machine-to-machine (M2M)/ Internet of Things (IoT) market research firm, cited in a Field Technologies Online article. The number of wearable devices shipped is expected to reach more than 168 million devices shipped by 2019.

The report adds that although Bluetooth will remain the most common connectivity option, about 16.6 million of the devices shipped in 2019 will offer cellular connectivity.

Opportunity Beyond The Consumer Market

According to John Svanberg, senior analyst at Berg Insight, smart glass technology is expected to become the third largest category of wearables over the next five years. He says promise use cases include enterprise and healthcare.

“The opportunities are plentiful — improved imaging capability together with hands-free operation, real-time communication and augmented reality functionality would for example make smart glasses a serious contender on the action camera market,” Svanberg says.

Field Technologies reports in addition to wearables used for healthcare monitors and wearable computers already in use in enterprise and healthcare, Svanberg says to look for “new connected wearables such as authentication and gestures wristbands, notification rings, smart motorcycle helmets and smart gloves.”

You can order the full report on the Berg Insight Website here.