A new report released by Juniper research has shown that app-enabled smart watches will experience an explosive growth by 2018, something that will see the global shipments rise to over 36 million units from the current 1 million units.
In the report dubbed “Next Generation Smart Watches: Market Prospects 2013-2018”, the tech research firm projected that this growth will be prompted by a new generation of multi-functional smart watches that will allow users to track fitness and sports activities, payments and ticketing among other functionalities.
Samsung and Apple are also expected to spur the adoption of these new gadgets once they venture into this segment, primarily based on their already established brands.
“By educating and publicizing this device segment to the consumer, Apple and Samsung will indeed act as a catalyst to the market,” Report author, Nitin Bhas stated.
“In addition, being a key influencer, these player’s entry into the smart watch segment will benefit existing smart watch players – providing an increase in awareness and adoption of other wearable devices” Bhas added.
For those in app development, this is interesting news, considering the untapped opportunities developing apps in the health, fitness, sports and communications segments.
The report was however quick to caution that the smart watches will not come close to being as popular as tablets and Smartphones, based on the fact that only a specific demographic will find the gadgets useful in their day-to-day activities.