Watches today have got a new term added to them-SMART. The evolution of smart watches changed the purpose of using watches vastly; the current users of these watches get everything updated just by clicking the screen on their wrist. Gone are days when watches were mere time showing devices; they are today highly upgraded technology devices which are expected to have a mammoth growth in sales from being the present small sector. The sales of these smart watches are expected to cross a whopping 350% by the end of this year and if the experts are to be trusted, this is just the start.
The smart watch industry recorded a shipment of 20,000 wearable branded devices by the first half of 2013. The same shipment numbers jumped by a brow raising 700% and recorded a shipment of 1.6 million devices including different brands. These devices are getting more famous among its users as the count of tech geeks using these wearable devices is increasing around the globe. The shipments are estimated to close at over 8 million by the end of 2014. The device is predicted to have an additional 15 million sales just within a year as the shipment units are bound to reach a massive 23 million by the close of 2015.
Fitness monitoring is the leading application used in these smart watch devices and though the number of users today is relatively low; it is sure to jump as health awareness and healthcare segment is developing fast thus making the utilization of such advanced technology for constant monitoring necessary. According to the market research, specialists from the segment indicate that the current year 2014 will be the game changer for these smart brands and place their demands to unprecedented rates for the years to come.
As stated before, fitness is the major concentrated segment for this smart watch market as personal self-health monitoring was first made a reality in early 2013. Fit-bit launched the first health tracker and holds a dominating share of 58% of the total market demand since its introduction in the year 2013. The company has its variants such as Flex and Force which had massive introductions in May and October respectively. The smart wearable maker is followed by Jawbone UP which holds a 21% market share and Nike’s Fuel-band range of devices with a share of 13%.
As per the shipment records of these hi-tech devices; Samsung rules the industry with its Galaxy Gear product that held a share of 54% by the second half of 2013. The maker pushed this product with a nickname “Smart Band” which as expected turned into a craze among its users. The list is followed by Sony with a 19% share and Pebble which posted 16% sales for the year 2013. Other companies together displayed a notable performance with an 11% sale.
