Wearables Market to Nearly Double to 222.3 Million Units in 2021, Says IDC
The overall global market for wearables will nearly double to 222.3 million units in 2021, from 113.2 million this year, said IDC Wednesday. “Basic wristbands” like the Fitbit Charge are the most popular category of wearables this year, but they’re…
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“quickly becoming commodities” and will yield their market leadership to smartwatches in four years, said IDC. Basic wristbands had a 39.8 percent unit share this year compared with 27.9 percent for smartwatches, but in 2021 smartwatches will be 32.1 percent of total wearable units, vs. 21.5 percent for basic wristbands, it said. Smartwatches, led mainly by the Apple Watch, are expected to ship 71.5 million units in 2021, up from 31.6 million in 2017, IDC said. Contributing growth factors include the adoption of cellular connectivity, additional SKUs from fashion brands and the transition of kids’ watches “from basic location tracking watches to more sophisticated watches that allow kids to play games, run apps, and communicate with friends/family,” said IDC.