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Apple Watch as 'Hero Device' Will Drive Wearables Segment, Tractica Says

Smart watches will lead growth in the global wearables segment, which is forecast to jump from 17 million units shipped in 2013 to 187 million units in 2020, a Tractica report said. “Wearable computing is moving past the early adopter…

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stage and the industry is beginning to see the first glimpses of how it will have a profound influence on the future of human interaction with technology.” The researcher defined wearables as a mix of different devices that track health, record events or provide notifications. Analyst Aditya Kaul referred to the upcoming Apple Watch as a “hero device” and predicted Apple will “provide the momentum and scale to drive significant awareness and growth in the sector” as it did with smartphones and tablets. Tractica predicts smart watches will experience growth through 2020, with a “strong surge” in demand this year followed by a “healthy growth rate” through the forecast period. Shipments of fitness trackers will continue to grow, it said, but at a slower pace as their functionality is increasingly supplanted by smart watches.