While the global smartphone market remains stagnant as groundbreaking foldable designs need more time to "stabilize" and 5G deployment is still too slow to make a difference, smartwatch sales continue to grow at an impressive pace around the world, pushing the entire wearable device industry forward.
It should come as no surprise that Apple is projected to stay in the lead of the smartwatch market until at least 2023, well ahead of a pack of rivals with no standout performer in sight. The International Data Corporation (IDC) expects the Cupertino-based tech giant to rack up a 25.9 percent slice of a 131.6 million unit pie in four years, with the former number actually representing a major decline from the company's latest estimated 35.8 percent share.
But that's mainly because significantly more smartwatches are forecasted to be shipped worldwide in the next few years than right now. Specifically, that 131.6 million score would surge from 91.8 million units in 2019, marking a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 percent. And believe it or not, a different category of the wearable industry is expected to thrive at an even faster pace.
We're talking about earwear, aka ear-worn devices, aka AirPods and other headphones endowed with smart features. A whopping 105 million of these bad boys could be sold worldwide in 2023, up from "only" 72 million units this year, making up 34.8 percent of the overall wearable market, up from 32.3.
What's perhaps more interesting to keep an eye on is how smartwatches and ear-worn devices will expand and evolve their feature sets and capabilities. According to the IDC, more than half of the former group will support standalone cellular connectivity in 2023 to break free from smartphones, while the latter category should focus more on allowing consumers to "cope with hearing loss" and other similarly life-improving use cases in addition to just tracking health info and interacting with a voice assistant.
Finally, it sounds like wristband sales have largely plateaued, with this year's 54.2 million units merely expected to rise to 55 million in 2023. Shipments will especially decline in North America and Western Europe, where the vast majority of activity tracker owners are likely to upgrade to smartwatches.
Create a free account and join our vibrant community
Register to enjoy the full PhoneArena experience. Here’s what you get with your PhoneArena account:
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: