Federica Laricchia
Research expert covering the global consumer technology industry
Wearables - statistics & facts
Tracking health data and visualizing them in real time, listening to your favorite music in private, or immerging yourself in a new reality are just a touch on your wearable away. As the name suggests, wearables are gadgets featuring smart sensors that can be worn and are connected to the internet to transmit, log, or analyze data. Today, the wearable market includes several devices, such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, headphones, and extended reality (XR) devices, that is, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and augmented reality (AR) glasses. A promising segment of the consumer electronics industry, the wearable market is forecast to record shipments of around 560 million devices in 2024, with this value set to grow in the future.
Earwear and smartwatches drive the wearable market
Businesses, military forces, and medical professionals have been using wearable technology for decades. Still, the private consumer market has only recently started to feature items such as smart glasses, smartwatches, fitness and health trackers, smart jewelry, smart clothing, and earwear. Particularly, earwear is the most successful wearable segment, with almost 350 million units forecast to be shipped in 2024. Smartwatches, devices that combine smartphone and fitness tracker capabilities, were the second most profitable wearable sub-industry. In 2024, the smartwatch industry was expected to generate revenues of just under 50 billion U.S. dollars, with this value forecast to increase in the near future.Apple Watch and AirPods are most popular among consumers
Over the years, many manufacturers have entered the wearable market, including Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Samsung. After establishing its presence in the industry with its Apple Watch, the American tech giant has taken on the leading position, which it still held in 2023, holding a market share of over 20 percent. Other companies control lower shares of the wearable industry and its segments. For instance, in late 2023, Fitbit was the second most popular smartwatch in the United States, while Beats was the second most popular headphone brand in the country. Yet far away from its saturation point, the wearable market is set to grow in the future, with new technologies expected to be developed and more manufacturers expected to enter this fertile industry, developing products catering the needs of connected users.
