Remote work and health tracking drive wearable devices
Rise in remote work and health monitoring during the pandemic is increasing the interest in wearable devices, marketing and research company Gartner says. Worldwide end-user spending on wearable devices will total USD 81.5 billion in 2021, an 18.1% increase from USD 69 billion in 2020.
“The introduction of health measures to self-track COVID-19 symptoms, along with increasing interest from consumers in their personal health and wellness during global lockdowns, presented a significant opportunity for the wearables market,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner. “Ear-worn devices and smartwatches are seeing particularly robust growth as consumers rely on these devices for remote work, fitness activities, health tracking and more.”
Spending on ear-worn devices rose 124% in 2020, mostly because remote workers upgrade their headphones, totaling USD 32.7 billion and is forecast to reach USD 39.2 billion in 2021.
Smartwatch end-user spending increased 17.6% to reach USD 21.8 billion in 2020. Smartwatch growth, which was driven in part by new users entering the market, will continue through 2021 as new processor technologies and improvements to solid-state batteries increase battery life and shorten charging times, Gartner predicts.
Smart patches have been added as a new category in the latest Gartner forecast for wearable electronic devices as they are projected to see significant growth in 2021. Smart patches are non-invasive health-monitoring sensors which stick to the skin surface and are used to measure temperature, heart rate, blood sugar and other vital statistics more effectively than other wearable technologies. They can also remotely administer medication, such as insulin for diabetic patients.
“Smart patches have been around for some time, but adoption has been slow due to strict regulatory compliance and resistance from both users and medical staff to adopt automated drug administration,” said Mr. Atwal.
“Given the sensor improvement trend seen over the last several years, sensors built into wearable devices will be increasingly capable of more accurate readings, driving market growth over the next 3-5 years. Continued advances in miniaturization and integration will enable further use cases and benefit adoption of smart garments, printed wearables, ingestibles and smart patches. These discrete and nearly invisible wearables will be particularly relevant and accepted by traditionally reluctant end-users, such as elderly patients who require medical applications but don’t want to call attention to the device or their ailment,” said Mr. Atwal.
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