IDC Sees Smartwatch Eclipsing Fitness Tracker as top Wearable Device by 2020

in 2020, based on a 20.3 percent compound annual growth rate. Wrist-based activity trackers will be 50.5 percent of all wearables shipments this year, followed by smartwatches with 41 percent, IDC said. But those metrics will reverse themselves in 2020, when smartwatches will be 52.1 percent of all shipments, compared with only 28.5 percent for activity trackers, it said. “While smartwatches are in the spotlight today, future growth will come from basic watches that provide some sort of fitness/sleep tracking while not being sophisticated enough to run third party applications on the watch itself.” Through their simplicity, “fitness-focused wrist bands have dominated the market thus far,” it said. With big brands like Fitbit continuing to drive sales, “this category will remain influential and accessible,” it said. “However, that dominance will be challenged by watches as many watch vendors incorporate basic fitness features into their products.” Unit shipments of other forms of wearables through the end of the decade are expected to track well below those of smartwatches and fitness trackers, IDC said. For example, smart eyewear will account for fewer than one in every 10 wearable devices shipped in 2020, it said. "All eyes are on this lucrative category" because it will account for more than 40 percent of total wearables market revenue "due to the high prices for specialized commercial devices," it said.