Wearable shipments continue to show strong growth and Canada is no exception to this global trend. International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada expects that wearable shipments will 1.4 million units in Canada by the end of the year (and 76.1 million across the world). This includes both smart wearables and basic wearables, the difference between the two being that smart ones can run third party applications.
In contrast, only 905,000 wearable devices shipped in 2014. Growth is not expected to slow down either with shipments to reach 3.6 million units by 2019.
“The shipment changes for the consumer wearable device forecast in Canada are driven by evolution and innovations in form factors, the expanding functionalities of devices within the Internet of Things, the curation of apps for smart wearables, and new product launches and announcements” says author Emily Taylor, Senior Analyst for Consumer Services and Mobility at IDC.
“Innovation is important to grow the wearables market in Canada to its fullest potential and to show the real value wearable devices can bring. Disruption and even risk will be part of this growth. It will be very exciting to see how the market evolves over the next five years.”
Echoing global trends, basic wearable devices currently dominate but will smart wearables will come to dominate by 2019. Wrist-worn devices will make up “an important part of the market over the next five years” but smart glasses will also show strong growth thanks in large part to adoption by Canadian enterprises.
Other areas that could exhibit strong growth include connected clothing while hands-free applications, remote viewing, and body and ambient awareness will play increasingly important roles in the enterprise space.
The message is clear: Look for wearables in Canada to become more ubiquitous over the next few years both in the consumer and enterprise space.
Source : IDC Canada