Shipments for wearable devices will increase to 125 million units in 2017 according to a report from Strategy Analytics.
Shipments will driven by sales in smart-watches, smart-glasses, and fitness bands as well as new and innovative apps.
Strategy Analytics Tablets & Wearables director Matt Wilkins said Texas Instruments, Google, and Samsung should be seen as the pioneering vendors for launching products at an early stage in the markets’ life-cycle, while second wave of entrants will include Apple and Microsoft.
"Key uses for head-mounted devices do and will include augmented reality, navigation, as well as in-view notifications," Wilkins added.
Strategy Analytics Apps & Media research executive director David MacQueen said: "This is a nine-fold increase from the 3 percent of developers which experimented with apps for wearable devices this year.
"Consumers today remain to be convinced as to why they should buy such devices, but with so many apps likely to become available for this new category of devices, it’s a strong indicator that wearables are going to go beyond the current industry hype.
"We’re sure to see the sort of innovation which has driven the smartphone apps market forward and this will help drive consumer uptake of the devices themselves."
