Apple, whose only wearable is expected to be its highly-anticipated Apple Watch smartwatch, will sell 20 million units, accounting for a quarter of the entire wearables market in 2015, according to the technology analyst firm CCS Insight. “The Apple Watch will be instrumental in taking the wearables market to the next level of growth. If […]
Apple, whose only wearable is expected to be its highly-anticipated Apple Watch smartwatch, will sell 20 million units, accounting for a quarter of the entire wearables market in 2015, according to the technology analyst firm CCS Insight.
“The Apple Watch will be instrumental in taking the wearables market to the next level of growth. If successful, it’ll create a rising tide that will lift the whole market,” said Ben Wood, Chief of Research for CCS Insight, in a statement.
The group’s conclusions align with those of Canalys, another market research firm. “All eyes are now on Apple,” said the firm, expecting Apple Watch to hit store shelves sometime in April. When it does, the iPhone-friendly smartwatch will “dramatically grow” the wearables market, the company boasted.
CCS expects that an estimated 7 percent of iPhone owners with compatible handsets – Apple Watch requires an iPhone 5 and up – to pick up the device when it launches.
“The current love affair affluent US consumers have with the iPhone guarantees a strong start for the Apple Watch in its home market,” said CCS in a statement. Conversely, if Apple Watch proves to be a dud, CCS cautions that “it could hurt the whole smartwatch market.” Regardless, the firm expects Apple to leverage its premium brand and exert its legendary “marketing arsenal” to help elevate the device into a “must-have status symbol.”
Despite the deafening buzz surrounding Apple’s wearable, Android users will have plenty of options.
“People without an iPhone will still have a huge choice of alternative wearables,” continued Wood. “If the Apple Watch performs as well as expected, its halo effect will result in a sales bonanza in the second half of 2015, with record-breaking shipments in the important fourth quarter.”
By 2018, CSS predicts that the wearables market will reach 172 million units, a dramatic jump for 29 million units in 2014. The bulk of those devices are expected to come from the smartwatch and fitness tracker categories.
Fitness buff and health watchers will also drive demand for wearables, said CCS Insight analyst George Jijiashvili.
CCS predicts “sales of fitness and activity devices to double in 2015 to 40 million units. In contrast to many other commentators, “we don’t believe smartwatches will dent sales of fitness products in the short term,” he remarked in a statement. A head start along with lower prices and long-lasting batteries will help the device category “outperform smartwatches for several years to come,” he added.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InfoStor. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to Datamation, eWEEK, and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.
