IDC Forecasts Only 3.9% Growth in Smartwatch Unit Shipments This Year
A year after the Apple Watch set a “new benchmark” for the global smartwatch market, new smartwatch shipments will grow only 3.9 percent this year to 20.1 million units, IDC said in a Thursday tracker report. "To date, smartwatches have…
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remained in the realm of brand loyalists and tech cognoscenti, but we expect that to change over the next few years," said the research firm. It sees smartwatches getting a market boost when more models “will look and feel like traditional watches, appealing to those who put a premium on design and style,” it said. Once more smartwatches get cellular connectivity, “they’ll disconnect from the smartphone, making them more useful,” it said. It also sees smartwatch pricing coming down, “making them more affordable to a broader market," it said. IDC sees global smartwatch shipments increasing at a 23 percent compound annual growth rate in the next four years, reaching 54.6 million units in 2020, it said. It’s becoming increasingly “obvious” that consumers are not willing to deal with poor battery life and the other “technical pain points” that are associated with smartwatches, IDC said.