Global wearable device sales to rise 26% in 2019, says Gartner

Global shipments of wearable devices are forecast to increase by 25.8% year over year to $225 million (GBP 176.3 million) in 2019, according to the latest figures from Gartner. The research firm also predicted that that the end-user spending on wearable devices will reach to $42 billion (GBP 32.9 million) in 2019. It has been estimated that 74 million smartwatches will be shipped in 2019 which will make them the top segment of all wearable device form factors, but as per Gartner, by 2022, ear-worn devices shipments will take over as the top wearables segment with 158 million units shipped compared with 115 million smartwatch shipments in 2022. Devices like Samsung’s IconX, Plantronics’ BackBeat FIT and Apple AirPods will account for more than 30% of all shipped wearables. Alan Antin, senior director at Gartner said: “At the moment, the smartwatch market is bolstered by the relatively stable and higher average selling price (ASP) of the Apple Watch. But the overall ASP of smartwatches is expected to slowly decline from $221.99 (GBP 173.95) in 2018 to $210 (GBP 164.5) in 2022, due to lower-priced competitors and as higher volumes lead to reductions in manufacturing and component costs, while strong brands like Apple and traditional watch brands try to keep pricing stable.”