Market research firm NextMarket Insights predicts that smartwatches are here to stay. Current models may leave us wanting more but advances in displays, such as flexible ones, and mobile processors, could see the market grow from an expected 15 million shipped in 2014 to an impressive 373 million by 2020.
“The watch industry ships over 1 billion watches a year, and there are nearly 7 billion mobile subscribers worldwide today,” says Michael Wolf, Chief Analyst. “We believe the smartwatch category can become a substantial market opportunity even with fairly modest penetration of the broader mobile and watch-wearing public.”
Companion smartwatches that pair to another device such as a smartphone (the Samsung Galaxy Gear is an example of such a device) will remain popular but standalone watches will also establish themselves as a credible alternative. “Native voice and data capabilities in smartwatches will be attractive to a segment of the market” that sees such devices are smartphone replacements or as backup and lifeline devices.
The report expects the market to focus on three operating systems: Android, iOS and new smartwatch operating systems such as the Pebble OS.
No wonder companies from Apple to Google and Microsoft to Sony are all rushing to get smartwatches out if they have not already done so.
Source : NextMarket Insights