Wearable sales to increase in 2019 – Gartner

Worldwide shipments of wearable devices will reach 225 million in 2019, an increase of 25.8% from 2018, the latest research from Gartner revealed.

The leading research and advisory company forecast that end-user spending on wearable devices is to reach $42 billion in 2019 and of that, $16.2 billion will be on smartwatches.

“At the moment, the smartwatch market is bolstered by the relatively stable and higher average selling price (ASP) of the Apple Watch,” said Alan Antin, senior director at Gartner.

“But the overall ASP of smartwatches is expected to slowly decline from $221.99 in 2018 to $210 in 2022, due to lower-priced competitors and as higher volumes lead to reductions in manufacturing and component costs, while strong brands like Apple and traditional watch brands try to keep pricing stable.”

In 2019, 74 million smartwatches will be shipped, which makes smartwatches the top segment of all wearable device form factors. However, Gartner predicts that by 2022, ear-worn devices (“hearables”) shipments will take over as the top segment with 158 million units shipped compared with 115 million smartwatch shipments in 2022 (see Table 1).

Table 1: Forecast for Shipments of Wearable Devices Worldwide 2017-2019 and 2022 (Millions of Units)

Source: Gartner (November 2018)

As the smartwatch segment continues to mature, it will subdivide into four main types of providers: leading consumer electronics brands, fashion and traditional watch brands, children’s watches, as well as special-purpose brands and startups that cater to niche audiences such as people with medical issues that need to be monitored.

While the consumer electronic brands such as Apple, Fitbit and Samsung have a comfortable lead, other brands are gearing up.

In fact, Huawei launched a range of smart wearables in South Africa for the first time just this week. The eight devices are, according to Huawei, compatible with all operating systems and designed to suit all kinds of South Africans – from the fitness obsessed to the casual exerciser.

“There has been a massive surge in popularity of smart wearable devices over the past few years,” notes Akhram Mohamed, chief technology officer at Huawei Consumer Business Group South Africa.

“At the same time, Huawei has increasingly grown its share of the mobile phone market globally, so it made sense for us to expand into the wearables market, given that this is an area where we can provide an even wider range of premium fashion and technical products to support everyday users at affordable prices.”

Huawei’s first smart wearables were launched in 2015. “Now, South Africans want wearable devices that offer more technology and are more affordable,” adds Mohamed.

Some of the key features of these Huawei smart wearables include:

• Huawei Band 3e – a pedometer that can be used either on your wrist or shoe. It measures cadence and provides full reports on your running and walking activities via your Huawei Health App, or notifications via SMS, WhatsApp, or calls. This is ideal for beginner runners who don’t need to have their heart rate monitored, but would like to measure their progress and running posture.
• Huawei Band 2 Pro – a smart device that monitors your heart rate and sleep and also has a GPS function.
• Huawei Watch GT Sport – a brand new fitness watch with a lightweight design for the sports enthusiast who loves running, biking, swimming, mountaineering, or hiking. This watch boasts a two-week battery life and offers various training options, including real-time coaching and training effect analysis. The device’s TruSeen 3.0 gets a more accurate heart rate monitoring experience 24 hours a day through its AI software model and next-generation hardware. It also has a standalone GPS that provides more accurate positioning through three different kinds of online satellite positioning systems simultaneously.

A review of the Huawei Band 2 Pro to follow soon or read about the Fitbit Charge 3 here.