Apple unveiled the Apple Watch at its event last week. It probably disappointed more than a few fans when it announced that it would only begin to ship in early 2015. Market research firm Canalys expects that when it does begin to ship, it will quickly make up the majority of smart band shipments.
Canalys expects the wearable market to grow 129% year over year in 2014 with shipments reaching 43.2 million units. 28.2 million will be smart bands capable of running third-party apps with the remaining 15 million being basic bands which cannot. Without providing specific numbers, Canalys expects Apple to dominate the former segment of the wearable band market but it still has to prove itself as well.
“By creating a new user interface tailored to its tiny display, Apple has a produced a smart watch that mass-market consumers will actually want to wear,” said Canalys Analyst Daniel Matte. “The sleek software, variety of designs and reasonable entry price make for a compelling new product. Apple must still prove, however, that the final product will deliver adequate battery life for consumers.”
Canalys believes that Apple will establish its market dominance thanks to its ability to address a variety of use cases, including health and fitness with its Health app, personal communication and mobile payments with the new Apple Pay service.
Canalys adds that Google will need to “greatly improve its wearable platform” to bettery compete with Apple’s. But both will also need to find a way to reach beyond simply extending smartphone capabilities to truly become something that justifies the purchase of an additional device.
Source : Canalys