Smartwatches are set to play a major part in the expansion of wearable tech (Lenovo) The wearable tech industry will treble inside the next five years – with a whopping 245 million devices expected to ship in 2019. That’s according to CCS Insight's Wearables Forecast, Worldwide, 2015-2019, which states that the shipments for 2015 will be around 84 million units. That’s a growth in monetary value of 64 per cent; from $15 billion in 2015 to $25 billion in 2019. The analyst states fitness and activity trackers will account for more than half of the 2019 market in terms of units shipped, but smartwatches will make up more than 50 per cent of the revenue. Smartwatches are obviously more expensive than fitness bands – especially given the decreasing prices of the latter thanks to budget-friendly brands like Xiaomi. The Chinese company has $15 tracker currently on sale – the Mi Band. The report claims that China overtook the US to become the biggest market for fitness trackers in 2015. The ratio of smartphone shipments, compared to smartwatch ones, currently sits at around 500 to 1, according to a report by IHS Technology, published earlier this year. That report claimed that, within five years, that ratio is set to drop to around 20 to 1; with an estimated 101 million smartwatch shipments taking place by 2020. CCS also highlighted that the last 12 months have seen awareness in smartwatches with 90 per cent of people having heard of the new product category, up from 80 per cent in 2014. "The buzz created by the Apple Watch has raised awareness levels to a point where traditional watchmakers can no longer ignore the threat,” explained George Jijiashvili, wearables analyst at CCS Insight. “With the wearables market set to be worth $25 billion by 2019 and a decline in traditional watch sales, it is little surprise that watchmakers such as Alpina, Frederique Constant, Fossil, Guess and TAG Heuer have started adding smartwatches to their portfolios." Fossil is the latest traditional fashion brand to jump aboard with Google’s smartwatch platform - the Android Wear-running Fossil Q Founder will go on sale in time for the Holidays, priced at $275. TAG’s Android Wear device will be officially unveiled on November 9. The CCS survey also revealed a “clear warning sign for traditional watch manufacturers” with a fifth of people intending to buy a smartwatch to replace their existing timepiece.
CCS also forecasts that the wearable tech industry will treble within the next five years . 245 m devices are expected to ship in 2019 , representing a monetary growth of 64 % from $ 15bn in 2015 to $ 25bn in 2018 . Fitness and activity devices will account for more than half the 2019 market in terms of units shipped , with smartwatches expected to make up more than 50 % of the revenue . China overtook the US to become the biggest market for fitness trackers in 2015 . The launch of the Apple Watch has increased awareness of smartwatches and with a fifth of people reportedly planning to replace their existing watch with a new , traditional watchmakers are adding smartwatches to their portfolios .