Wearables Momentum Continues

Market Poised to Reach $14 Billion Revenue and 123 Million Units in 2016

CCS Insight forecasts 411 million smart wearables worth $34 billion to be sold in 2020

Virtual reality on track for record growth in 2016, as 13 million smartphone VR headsets are sold and dedicated VR approaches a $1 billion business

China is world’s biggest market, buying one in every three wearable devices in 2015

London, 17 February 2016: CCS Insight’s latest global wearables forecast indicates strong growth over the next five years, with revenue poised to reach $14 billion in 2016. Wrist-worn devices continue to be the trailblazers in the wearables market, with fitness, activity and sports trackers accounting for almost half of all shipments in the next 12 months, at more than 60 million units; smartwatch sales are expected to exceed 30 million units.

Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, commented, “Given the rising consumer apathy toward smartphones, it is little wonder so many companies are chasing the rapidly growing opportunity presented by wearables. We’re particularly excited about the potential for augmented and virtual reality devices, and we predict 2016 will be a pivotal year.”

Furthermore, CCS Insight’s analysis confirms that China has emerged as the powerhouse for wearables. In the quantified-self segment, local player Xiaomi dominated the market with its keenly priced Mi Band and Chinese consumers’ broad love of technology has continued to drive smartwatch sales to record levels in the region.

Apple remains the biggest name in the smartwatch market, but it fell short of CCS Insight’s initial expectations of 20 million Apple Watch sales in 2015. Based on analysis of Apple’s financial results, CCS Insight estimates just over 9 million Apple Watches were sold in 2015. This gave the company a 41 percent share of the 22 million smartwatches sold in 2015.

The current momentum enjoyed by augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) is also reflected in CCS Insight’s analysis, with shipments of AR and VR headsets forecast to grow 15 times to 96 million units by 2020, at a value of $14.5 billion.

The success of smartphone-based VR products in 2015 has seen sales of almost 5 million low-cost designs based on Google Cardboard, and strong shipments of Samsung’s Gear VR headset. This trend will continue into 2016, with the expected arrival of dedicated VR headsets from HTC, Oculus VR and Sony; CCS Insight predicts dedicated VR devices will record sales of nearly $1 billion by the end of 2016.

CCS Insight expects user-generated 360-degree pictures and films will be an important source of viewing material for VR headsets. This will trigger greater interest in 360-degree wearable cameras, with sales of 250,000 units expected in 2016. Sales will rise to 3.3 million in 2020, accounting for 13 percent of the entire wearable camera market of 25 million units.

Augmented reality will also continue to grab headlines over the next twelve months. The technology is playing an important role in a growing number of pilot projects as businesses start to understand its benefits. CCS Insight expects the segment to grow into a $1 billion business by 2017. In contrast to consumer-focused VR, augmented reality is predominantly an enterprise market opportunity, other than for high-end sports products such as cycling glasses.

Click on the infographic above for a larger version or click here for a PDF version.

Notes to editors

CCS Insight is a leading provider of wearables-related research. Its wearables forecast covers numerous product segments including quantified self (fitness, activity and sports trackers), smartphone companions (predominantly smartwatches but also other devices that work in conjunction with smartphones), wearable cameras, augmented reality glasses and virtual reality headsets.

The forecast is part of a broader suite of wearables services including an extensive database of over 500 wearable devices, regular reports on various market categories, and monthly updates on the latest wearables-related developments.

The company conducts an annual wearable end-user survey (more details can be found at: https://www.ccsinsight.com/press/company-news/2401)

About CCS Insight

CCS Insight is a global analyst company focussing on mobile communications and the Internet. It provides comprehensive services that are tailored to meet the needs of individual clients, helping them make sense of the connected world.

For further information contact:
Sarah Wilson
Harvard PR
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7861 3933
E-mail: ccsinsight@harvard.co.uk

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