Fitness devices will remain the primary wearable product until 2018, says Juniper Research. In 2019 fitness devices are expected to be used by more than 110 million people – but more than 130 million people will own and use a smartwatch.
Lines between the smartwatch/fitness tracker categories are beginning to blur, Juniper has found. Increasingly, fitness trackers offer some smart functionality, such as call-handling and notifications. App-enabled trackers, like the Microsoft Band, go further towards lessening the distinctions.
The popularity of fitness wearables is largely to do with their low cost and more obvious uses. Smartwatches are still struggling to find their purpose.
Juniper foresees fitness wearables increasingly being used in the professional sports world, and to a lesser extent in healthcare records. However, in the latter market the price of devices and their depending on smartphones will hold them back from full adoption by universal healthcare systems.
A whitepaper on the topic is available to download now, from http://tinyurl.com/j3ouyog.
