First it was about having a tech smart device on the go that is capable of multitasking and portable, we had the laptop. Then superior smartphones came in, but now it is the next step – the era of smart wearables. With 2016 seeing a staggering 102.4 million wearable devices being shipped, it is no longer a tall tale but a proven conclusion.
There has been a growth of 16.9 per cent year over year for wearable devices; it seems the tech world might just have taken the next step of integrating technology in their daily lives. The front-runner in the wearable race is Fitbit, an American tech firm, well lauded for their range of activity trackers and fitness devices. They shipped around 6.5 million units in 2016. Xiaomi and Apple are chugging around to occupy second and third spots respectively according to the report by market research firm IDC.
This was no doubt possible for the increased attention given by two major platforms - WatchOS and Android Wear by Apple respectively, so that a fresh round of enthusiasm could garner around this technology.
Garmin, another major player in the wearable market had a slight fall by 4 per cent but is still holding a strong hold of the market and has 6.2 per cent market share in the last quarter of 2016.
Samsung may have been riddled with controversies recently, but it looks like they also managed to have a modicum of success. Thanks to their surprise hits, Gear S3 Classic and Frontier Samsung managed to hold a 5.6 per cent market share translating to 1.9 million units being shipped in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, said, "With the entrance of multiple new vendors with strengths in different industries, the wearables market is expected to maintain a positive outlook, though much of this growth is coming from vendor push rather than consumer demand."
