Stock-Market-Trends

Apple's Not Wearing Out Welcome

Dec. 17, 2015
New data on wearables' popularity and shipments both say Apple Watch hasn't fallen far from the tree. Like the iPhone before it, this smart watch looks to be one top for the rest of the decade.
New data on wearables' popularity and shipments both say Apple Watch hasn't fallen far from the tree. Like the iPhone before it, this smart watch looks to be one top for the rest of the decade.

The wearables market went supernova this year, with shipments for devices such smart watches and fitness trackers growing byroughly 200%, over 2014, IDC reports. That equates to 80 million wearables this year, and next year could hit 111 million.

"Smartwatch platforms will lead the evolution," says Ramon Llamas , Research Manager for IDC's Wearables team. "As the brains of the smartwatch, platforms manage all the tasks and processes, not the least of which are interacting with the user, running all of the applications, and connecting with the smartphone. Once that third element is replaced with cellular connectivity, the first two elements will take on greater roles to make sense of all the data and connections."

 

About the Author

John Hitch | Editor, Fleet Maintenance

John Hitch, based out of Cleveland, Ohio, is the editor of Fleet Maintenance, a B2B magazine that addresses the service needs for all commercial vehicle makes and models (Classes 1-8), ranging from shop management strategies to the latest tools to enhance uptime.

He previously wrote about equipment and fleet operations and management for FleetOwner, and prior to that, manufacturing and advanced technology for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest. He is an award-winning journalist and former sonar technician aboard a nuclear-powered submarine where he served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723).