Tractica Sees Fivefold Increase in 2015 Smart Watch Shipments, Stimulated by Apple Watch
“Tremendous innovation and growth” pervaded the “nascent” smart watch market last year, with global device shipments more than doubling to 5 million units, said market research firm Tractica Monday in a report. Though several “prominent industry players” launched smart watch…
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products in 2014, Apple’s September Apple Watch announcement was the year’s “defining moment” for smart watch, even though the Apple Watch isn’t scheduled to begin shipping until April, Tractica said. “Since Apple’s announcement, there has been a flurry of activity among competitors trying to position and reposition themselves, and we expect a high degree of experimentation in terms of form factor, functionality, and operating system, offering consumers a wide range of options.” Tractica sees Apple Watch as Apple’s “biggest new product introduction since the iPad,” because it’s expected “to stimulate a surge in consumer awareness and adoption of smart watches,” the researchers said. They predict global shipments will grow nearly fivefold to 24.4 million, of which more than two-thirds -- 16.7 million units -- will be Apple Watches. It’s forecasting that the smart watch sector will continue to experience strong growth for the next five years. It sees 94.9 million smart watches shipping annually by 2020, based on a compound annual growth rate of 71 percent.