Wearables set to spike
Ninety million wearable computing devices will be shipped this year, according to ABI Research, thanks to the growth of sports, fitness and health applications.
Medical, wellness and sports and activity wearable devices will provide the bulk of wearable device shipments this year, according to ABI, but activity trackers will continue to be the most popular wearable devices as people concerned with weight management use them to monitor their activity levels and energy output, the firm said in a statement.
"The next 12 months will be a critical period for the acceptance and adoption of wearable devices," says ABI Research analyst Joshua Flood. "Healthcare and sports and activity trackers are rapidly becoming mass-market products."
Wearable devices face signficant obstacles, according to ABI. "Aesthetic design, more compelling use cases, battery life and lower price points are the main inhibitors. How vendors approach these challenges and their respective solutions will affect the wearable market far in the future."
Smart glasses and smart watches will account for a small portion of the wearable device market in 2014, the firm predicts, also saying that more than two million smart glasses will be shipped in 2014 and that the category will grow rapidly from 2015 onwards.
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.