Your slogan here
Gartner Says Worldwide Wearable Device Sales to Grow 17 Percent in 2017
EGHAM, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 310.4 million wearabledevices will be sold worldwide in 2017, an increase of 16.7 percent from
2016 (see Table 1). Sales of wearable devices will generate revenue of
$30.5 billion in 2017. Of that, $9.3 billion will be from smartwatches.
In 2017, 41.5 million smartwatches will be sold. They are on pace to
account for the highest unit sales of all wearable device form factors
from 2019 to 2021, aside from Bluetooth headsets. By 2021, sales of
smartwatches are estimated to total nearly 81 million units,
representing 16 percent of total wearable device sales.
"Smartwatches are on pace to achieve the greatest revenue potential
among all wearables through 2021, reaching $17.4 billion," said Angela
McIntyre, research director at Gartner. Revenue from smartwatches is
bolstered by relatively stable average selling prices (ASPs) of Apple
Watch. "The overall ASP of the smartwatch category will drop from
$223.25 in 2017 to $214.99 in 2021 as higher volumes lead to slight
reductions in manufacturing and component costs, but strong brands such
as Apple and Fossil will keep pricing consistent with price bands of
traditional watches," she added.
Table 1: Forecast for Wearable Devices Worldwide 2016-2018 and 2021
(Millions of Units)
Device
2016
2017
2018
2021
Smartwatch
34.80
41.50
48.20
80.96
Head-mounted display
16.09
22.01
28.28
67.17
Body-worn camera
0.17
1.05
1.59
5.62
Bluetooth headset
128.50
150.00
168.00
206.00
Wristband
34.97
44.10
48.84
63.86
Sports watch
21.23
21.43
21.65
22.31
Other fitness monitor
55.46
55.7
56.23
58.73
Total
265.88
310.37
347.53
504.65
Source: Gartner (August 2017)
Smartwatches: A Market Divided Between Four Types of Providers
Apple will continue to have the greatest market share of any smartwatch
provider. However, as more providers enter the market, Apple's market
share will decrease from approximately a third in 2016 to a quarter in
2021. The announcement of a new Apple Watch expected in September may
enable direct cellular connectivity for interacting with Siri, texting
and transferring sensor data when the phone or Wi-Fi is not present. We
expect other consumer electronics brands such as Asus, Huawei, LG,
Samsung and Sony to sell only 15 percent of smartwatches in 2021,
because their brands do not have as strong an appeal as lifestyle brands
for personal technologies.
Two sub-categories that Gartner expects to perform well are kids'
smartwatches and traditional watch brands, which will emerge as
significant segments for smartwatches. Gartner expects kids'
smartwatches to represent 30 percent of total smartwatch unit shipments
in 2021. These devices are targeted at children in the two to 13
year-old range, before parents provide them with a smartphone.
The other sub-category, which will account for 25 percent of smartwatch
units by 2021, is fashion and traditional watch brands. "Luxury and
fashion watch brands will offer smartwatches in an attempt to attract
younger customers," said Ms. McIntyre. A final sub-category is
represented by the startup and while-label brands (e.g., Archos, Cogito,
Compal, Martian, Omate or Quanta), which will account for 5 percent of
smartwatch unit sales in 2021.
Bluetooth Headsets to Account for 48 Percent of All Wearable Devices
in 2017
In 2017, 150 million Bluetooth
headsets will be sold, an increase of 16.7 percent from 2016. Sales will
increase to 206 million units in 2021, meaning Bluetooth headsets will
remain the most sold wearable device through 2021. The growth in
Bluetooth headsets is driven by the elimination of the headphone jack by
major smartphone providers. "By 2021, we assume that almost all premium
mobile phones will no longer have the 3.5 mm jack," said Ms. McIntyre.
Head-Mounted Displays Remain in Their Infancy
Head-mounted
displays (HMDs) account for only 7 percent of all wearable devices
shipped in 2017, and will not reach mainstream adoption with consumers
or industrial customers through 2021. "Current low adoption by
mainstream consumers shows that the market is still in its infancy, not
that it lacks longer-term potential," said Ms. McIntyre.
Near-term opportunities for virtual reality HMDs among consumers are
with video game players. Workers will also use them for tasks such as
equipment repair, inspections and maintenance, but also in warehouses
and manufacturing, training, design, customer interactions and more.
Theme parks, theaters, museums and sports venues will purchase HMDs to
enhance the customers' experience in interactive attractions or movies,
and add information and supplemental images at sporting events.
Gartner clients can learn more in the report: "Forecast:
Wearable Electronic Devices, Worldwide, 2017."
Additional analysis on driving digital business transformation will be
presented during Gartner
Symposium/ITxpo 2017, the world's most important gathering of CIOs
and other senior IT executives. IT executives rely on these events to
gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome
business challenges and improve operational efficiency. Follow news and
updates from the events on Twitter using #GartnerSYM.
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:
September
18-21, Cape Town, South Africa
October
1-5, Orlando, Florida
October
23-26, Sao Paulo, Brazil
October
30-November 2, Gold Coast, Australia
October
31-November 2, Tokyo Japan
November
5-9, Barcelona, Spain
November
13-16, Goa, India
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) is the world's leading research and advisory
company. The company helps business leaders across all major functions
in every industry and enterprise size with the objective insights they
need to make the right decisions. Gartner's comprehensive suite of
services delivers strategic advice and proven best practices to help
clients succeed in their mission-critical priorities. Gartner is
headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has more than 13,000
associates serving clients in 11,000 enterprises in 100 countries. For
more information, visit gartner.com.