Smart Assistants Helping to Drive Growth of Wearables

Wearable devices will continue to see healthy growth over the next five years, driven by new use cases, new devices and the rise of smart assistants.

According to a new report released by IDC, wearables will increase 15.3 percent worldwide in 2019 compared with 2018, with 198.5 million units expected to be shipped this year. IDC forecast smaller but still substantial annual growth (8.9 percent) through 2023, when shipments are expected to hit 279 million units.

Watches made up 44.2 percent of shipments in 2018 and are expected to account for an even larger percentage of the market by 2023, 47.1 percent. But headsets/ear-worn devices will have a major impact on that growth with the rise of smart assistants, reaching 31 percent of the market by 2023.

Wearable devices will continue to see healthy growth over the next five years, driven by new use cases, new devices and the rise of smart assistants.  

"The rise of smart assistants on wearables, both wrist-worn and ear-worn, is a trend worth watching," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers, in a prepared statement. "Though still in its infancy, the integration of these assistants with wearables opens up new use cases, from allowing these devices to tie into the smart home to making the devices more proactive at urging users to live healthier or more productive lives."

"Two major drivers for the wearables market are healthcare and enterprise adoption," said Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC's Wearables team, also in a prepared statement. "Wearables stand to play an important role in digital health, constantly collecting important patient data while also giving patients the ability to self-monitor. Within the enterprise, wearables can help to accelerate companies' digital transformation by transmitting information back and forth while allowing workers to complete their tasks faster. This is where both vendors and companies can streamline processes to achieve faster results."

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • ClassVR headsets

    Avantis Education Launches New Headsets for ClassVR Solution

    Avantis Education recently introduced two new headsets for its flagship educational VR/AR solution, ClassVR. According to a news release, the Xcelerate and Xplorer headsets expand the company’s offerings into higher education while continuing to meet the evolving needs of K–12 users.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    Nonprofit LawZero to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • magnifying glass highlighting a human profile silhouette, set over a collage of framed icons including landscapes, charts, and education symbols

    New AI Detector Identifies AI-Generated Multimedia Content

    Amazon Web Services and DeepBrain AI have launched AI Detector, an enterprise-grade solution designed to identify and manage AI-generated content across multiple media types. The collaboration targets organizations in government, finance, media, law, and education sectors that need to validate content authenticity at scale.