Several forecasts issued in the last months (IDC, CCS Insight, 451 Research) are estimating significant increase of the wearable volumes in 2015 compared to 2014 and even stronger growth by 2019, with volumes estimated between 155 and 250 million units globally.
What appears evident from all the forecasts is that wearables are becoming a mainstream business.
The change might be fueled by couple of new business models – which are breaking the current limitations of the category perceived as solving only “niche consumer needs”.
Symbiosis with a mass-market industry: Smartwatches - Automotive integration accelerates
At IFA 2015 in Berlin, a new generation of smartwatches has been introduced. Top brands like Asus, Motorola, Samsung, Huawei and Alcatel each presented at least one smartwatch and several of them were stressing the devices' capabilities to integrate with some late-model connected automobiles and offer new levels of control and interaction.
Volkswagen partnered with Samsung. Car-Net e-Remote app for Gear S2 will interact with certain Volkswagen models and offer the capability to start, lock and unlock the car as well as enable access to climate control or locate the car.
BMW groups together its range of intelligent services under the BMW ConnectedDrive banner. At the IFA 2015 BMW showcased new solutions for the “connected car”, including a new Remote App for Samsung Gear S2.
Ford developed an advanced remote-control key app for Moto 360 – which allows users to check driving range and battery charge for plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles. It also allows them to track their vehicle.
Wearable technology seem to be the next wave of our digital world interweaving with our automotive lives. This newly born symbiosis between smartwatches and cars might become one of the best use cases and killer apps for the wearables.
Addressing the growing consumer segment: Smart bands for seniors
According to a new study the AARP agency conducted in conjunction with Georgia Tech and Pfizer, elderly users find fitness trackers handy but feel they lack the right features and functionality.
Toshiba has decided to enter into this (potentially large) untapped market and launched in August a pair of smart bands specifically targeted for seniors. The Silmee W20 and Silmee W21 are professional-level devices with the Silmee biometric sensors for health and fitness measurements. They can automatically measure the amount of conversation and detect the user’s meal time, able to track the UV level, the heart rate, the skin temperature, the sleep quality as well as measures related to the physical activity. Both feature an emergency button to call a preferred phone number in case of need. The Silmee W21 contains GPS for remote location tracking.
With Japan market being few steps ahead in terms of aging population (25% population is over the age of 65 compared to US and UK where the percentage is about 15%) it comes natural to have a Japanese firm leading the focus on this specific consumer segment. But the aging population trend is global, this consumer segment will continue to increase across the globe and we can expect more companies tapping into it.
Entering the Enterprise
451 Research, an information technology research and advisory company, has released this summer a report titled "Time for Work: Smart Watch App Development Turns to the Enterprise" which concludes that wearables - specifically smartwatches - are no longer a niche consumer products but are gaining traction within the enterprise.
Key findings in the report showed 39% of the US IT decision-makers at companies that use or plan to use wearable technologies will deploy solutions in the next six months with another 24 percent planning to do so in the next year. The vast majority favor smart watches.
“The release of Apple Watch has opened the flood gates governing wearables’ adoption,” said Ryan Martin, analyst, IoT and Wearable Technologies. “We expect wearable technology to deliver a key interface and input into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Wearables have the potential to become an interface – if not the interface – for IIoT access.”
The idea of wearables playing a larger role in the enterprise space is one shared by other players in the industry, including Intel’s Steve Holmes who said he expects wearables to become a major influence in the IT space
