Wear computers are going: an overview of wearable technology

While wearables feels like a recent addition to our collective vocabulary, in reality the concept has been a long time coming. As long ago as the mid-1970s, digital quartz watches were widely available, and in 1979, the Sony Walkman introduced much of the world to wearable entertainment. While those devices delivered information and media, the latest wave of wearables take a quantum step forward in how they interact with—or collect information about— the wearer.

The evolution of wearable technology has been fueled by the convergence of a variety of enabling technologies. Miniaturization and portability of processors, sensors, and displays make components small and light enough to carry. Wireless networking advances allow devices to receive and share data. And efficient computing and batteries enable devices to be sufficiently powerful while also being affordable.

Sizing the opportunity

For those who are familiar with Geoffrey Moore’s technology adoption life cycle model, you could say wearables are just now ‘crossing the chasm’. In other words, the category is moving from the Visionaries phase, where only early adopters purchase, to the Pragmatists phase where an early majority of mainstream consumers are willing to buy. Google Glass, which sold perhaps 100,000 units in beta release during 2013 and 2014, serves as an example of an over-hyped wearable technology that never made it out of the experimental stage. Meanwhile, Fitbit sold 13.2m devices in the first nine months of 2015, proving a mainstream consumer market for wearable devices does exist.

Figure 1. Google Glass

Analysts at PwC estimate roughly 20 per cent of American adults already own some type of wearable computing device. That’s similar to the penetration rate of tablet computers in 2012, which has since doubled. The opportunity is staggering in terms of dollars. Grand View Research forecasts the wearable technology market will grow at a global CAGR of 34.2 per cent from $18.9bn in 2014 to over $196.5bn by 2022.

According to comScore research, more than 80 per cent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. now have smartphones. In some cases, wearable devices could be perceived as an alternative to smartphones. However, for the foreseeable future, wearables are more often going to function as a companion device, like the Apple Watch which depends on the iPhone to be a connective hub. When PwC surveyed consumers to ask if they’d need a wearable to replace an existing device (such as a smartphone) to justify its purchase, 76per cent replied ‘no’.

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