Even though wearable devices such as smart watches have been around for sometime they have never really made a major splash in the market. They have been seen as novelty items despite the fact they are packed with the latest technology and extremely useful. However, it looks as though analysts are now starting to look at wearable devices in their own right and things may be changing behind-the-scenes.
Verizon mentions wearables in results conference
While Verizon is quite rightly seen as a US telecoms company, today’s quarterly figures were packed with an array of information which has been broken down like never before. We know that the company took on 603,000 new telecom accounts and we still have the new Apple and Google phones to follow – which many believe will increase upgrade numbers. However, the term “other connected devices” has caused a flurry of interest from analysts.
We know that the company sold 238,000 wearable devices in the last quarter. This is the first time the company has deemed wearables to be worthy of a mention in their own right. Indeed wearables are now outselling Verizon’s own smart car technology device “Hum”. So, inadvertently Verizon has actually unleashed a whole new business subject amongst telecom analysts.
Apple in prime position
We already know that Apple has invested large amounts of money in smartwatches and sees this as a major market going forward. Unlike Verizon, Apple still lumps smartwatch sales in with the likes of Apple TV and earbuds under “other products”. Interestingly, over the last quarter, revenue received from Apple “other products” increased by 23% year-on-year and that was even before the release of the new Apple watch. So, are we now standing on the edge of a major expansion in the wearable technology sector?
The simple fact is the technology has improved dramatically in recent times; everything is smaller than it used to be and this has created a perfect platform for wearable devices. If you consider this together with the ongoing craze for fitness and health it seems inevitable that wearable device sales will continue to rise for some time to come. While many mocked the style and look of the Apple smartwatch, and ridiculed FitBit, it looks as though these companies may have been ahead of their time when it comes to wearable devices.
More to come
Mobile device trackers, health monitors, fitness trackers and many other types of wearable devices have emerged over the last few years. There was an early indication that many of these apps would be included in the modern day smartphone but the trend seems to be very different today. Even those who have their smart phone on their hip 24/7 seem very keen to have a different wearable device for activities such as running. So this is an emerging market, and while FitBit may have struggled, even some of the smaller players could make some ripples and attract the attention of cashrich competitors?
It will be interesting to see how this market develops, whether Apple dominates as it has done in years gone by or whether the more niche market players grab the attention of investors and consumers.