Dubai
The wearables market is growing fast and, according to several industry forecasts, the global market could increase from 20 million devices in 2014 to between 200 and 500 million devices by 2020.
For comparison, in 2014 over 1.2 billion smartphones were shipped globally according to research firm International Data Corporation.
Fabiano Vallesi, next generation analyst at Swiss private banking group Julius Baer, said that today’s wearables market is estimated to be worth $4 billion. In terms of potential market size, the forecasts range from $35 billion of up to $130 billion by 2020, whereby the average estimate is at $90 billion.
“As wearables are becoming more useful and integral to people’s lives, they will likely lead to significant change in behaviour, addressing a potential $1.6 trillion market, which centres on fitness, health, insurance, fashion, payments, entertainment, home automation and advertising. People will be able to quantify their lives, and companies will tailor their products and services based on that data,” he said.
However, he said that wearables not only need technical capabilities but must also remain fashionable. By the time they fulfil both conditions the market penetration could potentially accelerate.
Although it is very early to name any specific winners and losers, he said that we see a clear trend of rising connectivity and sensors content in everyday objects, which we believe will benefit the semiconductor industry in the long term.
“We recommend considering companies that are part of the enablers of the wearable trend and well positioned to gain market share. The investments should focus on companies that are involved in core technologies such as connectivity, sensors and power efficiency.”
“Furthermore, we think that device platform operators with the right mix of form and content will benefit from the continued growth in the mobile computing space,” he said.
