72.1 million wearable devices are expected to be sold this year. That represents an increase of 173.3% from the 26.4 million units that were shipped last year. According to data availed by the IDC, the upward trajectory in wearables shipments is expected to continue through to 2019 topping at 155.7 million units.
Low cost wearable devices like the Xiaomi Mi Band and Fitbit’s extensive range of fitness trackers are responsible for the increase in wearables shipments between last year and the first quarter of the year. The $12 Mi Band has been so popular that it has catapulted Xiaomin to the top wearable vendors list. According to Xiaomi, over 6 million Mi Bands have been sold.
Different wearables categories besides the obvious like fitness trackers are seeing an increase in shipments and are not expected to slow down any time soon. With Microsoft’s HoloLens expected to be ready for the mass market soon, the eyewear wearables will even be hotter with upto 3.8 million units expected to have been shipped by 2016. Smart clothing wearables on the other hand are expected to grow steadily and top the 8.4 million mark over a period of 4 years.
Smart wearables like the Apple Watch are expected to henceforth contribute a lot to the number of total wearables shipped. We are yet to see Samsung’s wearables lineup this year and they are likely to make a grand entrance when that time comes.
Source: IDC
