Research firm Berg Insight has calculated that shipments of connected wearable devices reached 19 million this year, more than three times last year’s total of 5.9 million devices.
This includes smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness and activity trackers, individual safety/monitoring devices and wearable medical devices.
Berg Insight now believes that shipments of these connected wearables will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 54.7%, reaching 168.2 million units in 2019. Although Bluetooth will be the main connectivity option, 16.6 million (9.9%) of all wearable devices shipped in 2019 - mainly smart watches and personal safety devices - are expected to include cellular connectivity.
Fitness and activity trackers currently form the largest device category, with 13 million shipped in 2014.
Johan Svanberg, Senior Analyst at Berg Insight, said “Decreasing prices and new form factors will still enable dedicated fitness & activity trackers to reach shipments of 42.0 million units in 2019. Smartwatches are already the second largest category of connected wearables and sales will pick up considerably in 2015. The Apple Watch will enter the market and other major smartphone vendors will launch next generation Android Wear devices.”
[Connected Wearables report brochure (pdf)]