Watchmakers such as Hugo Boss, TAGHeuer and Guess are expected to take a seat in the smartwatch industry and enhance Google’s Android Wear operating system up to 21% in the market in 2017.
CCS’ report for the smartwatch industry reckons 2017 is a ‘critical year’ for the market as big brand names reveal their own smartwatch models.
Watchmakers are predicted to step into the market revealing their own models such as Fossil’s Q Smartwatch that offers notifications and automatic activity tracking to the user. Other watchmakers attempting to take a spot in the industry include TAGHeuer, Hugo Boss and Guess, all of which operate on Android Wear.
Reflecting this surge of new devices, CCS Insight predict that Google’s Android Wear operating system will take 21% of the advanced full-touch smartwatch market in 2017, up from 14% in 2016.
Despite the upcoming vendors, however, CCS Insight still expetcs Apple to continue to dominate the market and by the end of the year is expected to take over 50% of the $7.9bn smartwatch market, exceeding expectations.
CCS Insight’s wearables analyst, George Jijiashvili comments, “The Apple Watch Series 2 is clearly a big hit with consumers. The addition of enhanced fitness tracking capabilities and waterproofing has given it a huge boost. Apple stands head and shoulders above its smartwatch rivals and the much-anticipated introduction of a cellular-enabled version would only propel it to greater heights”.
Further to this, Apple is expected to reveal a new model of Apple Watch featuring a cellular enabled feature to further its market position.
Another area predicted to increase the smartwatch industry is sport watches, which are becoming increasingly popular among the sector. Within CCS’ report 6m units of sports watches are expected to be sold by the end of 2017, rising to 7m in 2020.
Fitness trackers contribute a significant amount to the smartwatch sector with 44million fitness trackers to be sold in 2018 rising to 54million in 2021, according to the forecast.
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Although fitness trackers are becoming increasingly popular, smart watches such as the Apple Watch are developing similar if not better features that do the same job as a fitness trackers alongside all the other features offered.
Jijiashvili said: “Sports watchmakers are under mounting pressure as other suppliers, notably Apple, add more comprehensive fitness tracking capabilities and GPS sensors to their devices. Some companies, such as Garmin, continue to thrive, but TomTom’s recent announcement that it is reviewing its future in this area reflects the pressure some manufacturers face”
