Smartwatches will lead the wearables category in unit sales from 2019 to 2021, said a Thursday Gartner report, projecting 81 million unit sales worldwide by 2021 with $17.4 billion in revenue. This year, smartwatches are on track for 41.5 million unit sales, said Gartner. Average selling prices are projected to slip from $223.25 to $214.99 during the forecast period as higher volumes lead to “slight reductions in manufacturing and component costs,” said analyst Angela McIntyre. “Strong brands such as Apple and Fossil will keep pricing consistent with price bands of traditional watches." In other wearables, Gartner projects 2017 unit sales of 22 million head-mounted displays, 1 million body-worn cameras, 44.1 million wristband trackers, 21.43 million sports watches and 55.7 million “other” fitness monitors. It forecasts 150 million Bluetooth headsets will be sold this year, jumping to 168 million next year and to 206 million by 2021.
Apple’s AirPod shipping times have finally improved, narrowing from six weeks around the earphones' holiday season launch to two to three weeks Monday, Apple Insider reported. The dearth of product led some sellers to up their price for the $159 per pair in the interim (see 1702170055). In February, an Amazon seller charged $249 for the highly sought devices, and an eBay auction ended at $235 with 12 bids, while “buy it now” prices were as high as $299, we found. The Apple website Tuesday showed a delivery window of two-three weeks, but availability in our local New York Apple Store was Sept. 20. Numerous retailers came up in a Google search for the AirPods, including Macy’s, which reported it in stock and said the product “usually ships within 2 business days.” Other retailers showing the earphones for $159 were Adorama, B&H Photo, Abt, Target, P.C. Richard & Son, Best Buy and Verizon Wireless. Walmart’s price was $177.99, sold and shipped by Mian Brothers, said the website. Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the most recent earnings call the company had improved delivery time on the devices.
Personal safety company iMaxAlarm announced a line of personal security alarms Friday. The $20 key fob-size device emits a 130-decibel siren when its key is removed, and it continues to sound for 30 minutes or until the key is reinserted into the top of the device, said the company. It's available in four colors.
TriTech Software is developing public safety apps for the Samsung Gear S3, TriTech said in a Wednesday news release. The smartwatch could display alerts or GPS coordinates of an individual’s location, TriTech said. Among other possible applications, the watch’s motion detection capability could be used to automatically notify others in public safety when an officer is in pursuit or needs assistance, the company said.
Xiaomi leapfrogged Fitbit and Apple in Q2 to become the world’s largest wearables vendor, with 17 percent market share, said a Friday Strategy Analytics report. Xiaomi had 3.7 million of the 21.6 million wearables shipments worldwide in the quarter, said SA. Category shipments were 8 percent higher than in Q2 2016, it said, on strong demand for low-cost fitness bands in China and premium smartwatches in the U.S. Xiaomi’s Mi Band fitness trackers are “wildly popular in China” due to competitive pricing and a feature set that includes heart-rate monitors, step counters and calendar alerts, said analyst Neil Mawston. Fitbit’s 3.4 million shipped wearables placed it second, with 15.7 percent share worldwide, down from 29 percent a year ago, said the research firm. Fitbit is “at risk of being trapped” between low-end fitness bands sold by Xiaomi and Apple Watch, he said. Apple’s 2.8 million iPhone shipments in Q2 were up 56 percent from the year-ago quarter giving it 13 percent share, but Apple lost its leadership spot to Xiaomi because it doesn’t play in the massive fitness band subcategory, said analyst Cliff Raskind. “The rumored upcoming Watch Series 3 launch with enhanced health tracking could prove to be a popular smartwatch model and enable Apple to reclaim the top wearables spot later this year.”
Garmin’s fitness and automotive segments each had 15 percent sales declines in Q2, offsetting gains in the outdoor and aviation units, it reported. Revenue grew 1 percent to $817 million on a 46 percent jump in outdoor to $195 million -- led by the fenix 5 watch -- and a 15 percent year-on-year increase in aviation to $124 million. CEO Cliff Pemble said the drop in the fitness segment was driven by the sagging activity tracker category due to the “general decline of the basic activity tracker market.” The company is focused on growth opportunities in "advanced wearable devices,” Pemble said. The company raised full-year revenue guidance from $3.02 billion to $3.04 billion. Shares closed up Wednesday 4.4 percent to $52.22.
A study of future manufacturing trends released Monday said half of manufacturers expect to adopt wearable technologies by 2022 as part of Industry 4.0 and the smart factory. The study, commissioned by Zebra Technologies, which makes computer enterprise tracking and printing technologies, said globalization, increased competition and customer demand for higher quality products are driving the rise of the “fully connected factory.” By 2022, 64 percent of manufacturers are expected to be fully connected, vs. 43 percent today, it said. Workers will use a combination of radio frequency identification, wearables, automated systems and other emerging technologies to allow companies to make “decentralized” decisions, it said. Fifty-one percent of companies are planning to expand the use of voice technology in the next five years, said the report.
Bluetooth sportswear company Sena introduced a smart helmet for the cycling market that allows three riding companions to communicate via a built-in intercom. Riders can pair the X1 helmet ($199) to a smartphone to listen to data and cues from fitness apps, GPS directions and music as well as to place and receive phone calls via buttons on the side of the helmet, said a Monday news release. Open-ear speakers are built into the helmet above the ears, and the mic, with noise control technology, is integrated into the front of the helmet. A $349 Pro version, with a QHD (1440p) camera built in, will ship in coming months, said the company.
The transformative wearables market is expected to grow 20 percent this year to 125.5 million units globally and will top 240 million units by 2021, said a Wednesday IDC forecast report. Digital assistants, cellular connectivity and connections to larger systems will fuel growth, said analyst Ramon Llamas. In the next phase, wearables will move beyond gaining awareness to “getting the experience right,” said Llamas, predicting a proliferation in device diversity and declining prices that will appeal to a broader audience. Watches will account for most wearables shipped during the forecast period, with basic models from traditional watchmakers that don’t run third-party apps out-shipping smartwatches, IDC said. Smartwatches will see a bump in volume in 2019 as they gain cellular connectivity, said the research firm, and wrist-worn fitness trackers will see slowing growth in years ahead as users shift to watches for additional utility. Earwear, such as the Samsung Gear IconX and Bragi Dash, which send information back and forth to a smartphone app, will become more popular, offering fitness data along with real-time audio filtering and language translation, it said. Wearable clothing is moving ahead, largely on Chinese vendors producing connected apparel such as shirts, belts, shoes and socks. Consumers have had a tepid response to connected clothing, but professional athletes and organizations “have warmed to their usage” to improve performance, IDC said. The upcoming release of Google and Levi’s Project Jacquard-enabled jacket, with technology woven into the fabric, could change consumers’ attitudes toward connected clothing, it said.
The enterprise wearable camera market is projected to approach 24 million shipments in 2022, but privacy and data protection concerns will rise accordingly, said a Tuesday ABI Research report. Data collected from cameras worn by law enforcement, field services personnel and first responders can include recordings of victims, innocent bystanders and potential witnesses, and data in the wrong hands can be used to threaten those caught on camera, the report said. Publicity about massive data leaks has heightened public concern over the security of wearable camera recordings, "including who has access to such footage and for how long," said analyst Stephanie Lawrence. Some platforms have authentication, password and data encryption mechanisms that ensure only authorized personnel have access to the data, the report said, and others automatically blur out faces and possessions of innocent bystanders. Built-in storage ensures data can’t be forcibly removed or deleted before being uploaded through the proper channels, it said.