A new report from Juniper Research says ‘smart accessories’ that connect with mobile phones will become a major new market for manufacturers over the next five years. Examples of these wireless accessories include health monitoring equipment, fitness accessories and payment devices.
It forecasts that just over 10 million task-specific smart devices will be produced this year, with annual sales expected to exceed 100 million units by 2017.
Anthony Cox, the author of the Juniper Research report, said “App-enabled devices are the logical next step for the smartphone ecosystem and they tend to either fill a gap in the market or improve on what is already there.”
Companies profiled in the report include iZettle, Nike, Square and Vuzix.
[Whitepaper; report]