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  • Smartwatch market set for a shakeup: Juniper Research

    Smartwatch market set for a shakeup: Juniper Research

    Big brands are set to lose share in a major shakeup of the smartwatch market. According to Juniper Research, the largest brands in the category now will see their market share fall by 2023 as new niche players gain ground. Four leading brands including Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, and Fossil will see sales decline from an estimated 58 per cent of the market last year to 47 per cent by 2023. The decline is due to the growth of smaller players such as Garmin, Huami and Huawei.

    Smaller players will thrive thanks to strategies tailored for niche markets, their choice of cases or price points, while other brands are releasing premium smartwatches combining the best of fitness, outdoor activity and health features. While Apple will remain the largest single vendor in terms of shipments over the next four years, Huawei will enjoy the fastest growth, at a CAGR of 20 per cent.

    An intensified focus on healthcare integration will also contribute to an increase in smartwatch shipments over the next few years. Juniper forecasts that Apple and Withings will lead this section, followed by Fitbit and Garmin.

    China to become the biggest market

    The rise of smaller players is linked to the rapid expansion of the Chinese market offering lower-priced smartwatches. The Far East and China have now overtaken North America as the largest geographical market, with more than 24 million smartwatches shipped last year, compared to 19.5 million in North America.

    The gap between these two markets will widen by 2023, with the Far East and China trebling its shipments by then.

    Slower hybrid market

    The adoption of hybrid smartwatches will be slower than expected. Last year, hybrid smartwatches represented about 22 per cent of all smartwatch sales. The slower growth is linked to smaller players focusing on digital smartwatches offering more possibilities in terms of apps, connectivity and sensors than hybrid watches, which remain limited in their functionality.

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  • Hearables is the next big thing in wearables

    Hearables is the next big thing in wearables

    Specialised fitness wearables integrated into clothing and ear-based “hearables” will grow from an expected 4.5 million shipped this year to nearly 30 million in 2022, according to Juniper Research.

    This is an increase of more than 550 per cent, while by contrast, conventional activity tracker shipments will grow by only 20 per cent in that time.

    Hearables or smart headphones are defined by Wikipedia as “technically advanced, electronic in-ear-devices designed for multiple purposes ranging from wireless transmission to communication objectives, medical monitoring and fitness tracking”.

    In its report Health & Fitness Wearables: Vendor Strategies, Trends & Forecasts 2018-2022, Juniper says that as growth in basic trackers has slowed, session‑specific wearables, such as those monitoring gym or training sessions, have multiplied. Devices from companies like Atlas, Gymwatch, Jabra, Sensoria and Under Armour provide more granular metrics.

    It found that as detailed metrics become widespread among all vendors, lifestyle tracking leaders such as Fitbit and Huami will decline in market share. Combined, these players will account for 28 per cent of total fitness wearable shipments by 2022, down from more than 40 per cent last year.

    Data is now the key battleground for fitness wearables, says the report. Thanks to initiatives like Suunto’s Movesense platform, data will ultimately become device-agnostic. However, because of a lack of consumer interest, Juniper expects fitness software and services revenues to stay under $200 million a year over the next four years.

    Despite the promise of wearables in healthcare, little specialised hardware is available, with fitness wearables being adapted for such purposes. Juniper expects healthcare wearables to make up less than a third of all of the sector’s devices in use by 2022, as regulation slows roll-outs and keeps prices high.

    “Healthcare use has long been the goal of many wearables manufacturers,” says research author James Moar. “However, more research needs to be done on activity tracking in order to make typical wearable data clinically meaningful to healthcare professionals.”

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