Fitbit is the leading brand for 68 percent of wrist-worn wearable owners ages 55-64 and 60 percent of owners 65 and older, said Parks Associates Wednesday. The brand shared the lead with Apple among consumers 18-24, Parks said. Though Fitbit leads the fitness tracker category and its entry in the smartwatch market has been successful, Apple generates substantially more revenue per device, said analyst Kristen Hanich. Companies in the wearables space are working to differentiate through new styles and capabilities and to create new revenue through companion services, such as Fitbit’s subscription-based fitness coaching service, that are designed to increase brand stickiness and add value, she said. Apple and Samsung owners use their smartwatches for a broader range of uses than Fitbit watch owners, Parks said: 43 percent of Fitbit smartwatch owners regularly receive texts and email notifications on their device vs. 75 percent of Apple owners, 79 percent for Samsung. Apple and Samsung smartwatch owners are also more likely to engage in a broader range of news and entertainment activities, including weather and music applications, it said. If Google’s plan to buy Fitbit (see 1911010051) passes regulatory hurdles (see 1911130062), the acquisition “would significantly shake up the wearables space,” said Hanich.
Bosch Sensortec will launch smartglasses technology at CES based on its optical Light Drive system that's said to provide an “all-day” solution, it said Wednesday. The Light Drive module comprises micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors, optical elements, sensors and on-board processing, said the company. It provides a clean visual experience with bright images that are always in focus, even in direct sunlight, and lack of an externally visible display or camera is said to eliminate the “digital fatigue” that has alienated smart glasses users to date, said the company. The system displays the “just-in-time” hands-free information in a minimalist format, making it suitable for navigation, calls and notifications such as alarms, calendar reminders and messaging platforms that have been limited to date to devices with physical displays such as smartphones and smartwatches, said the company. Smartglasses can minimize what Bosch called socially unacceptable behavior such as frequent phone checking and can help improve driver safety by providing hands-free, transparent heads-up navigation directions, it said. The technology provides instant access to data, social media and intuitive control of audio playback, said the company. A 30 percent size reduction from previous systems makes it easier for manufacturers to reduce the width of the frame to create a stylish design, eliminating the “chunky” design of first-generation smartglasses, it said.
The global wearable tech market will grow to exceed $108 billion retail value by 2023, from $50 billion in 2019, reported Futuresource Consulting Friday. It’s projecting wearables will constitute 10 percent of all consumer electronics retail value in five years. “Smartwatches will remain the dominant wearables category throughout the forecast period, with the broad and varied functionality offered by these devices key to consumer appeal,” said Futuresource. “The most successful products are those that don’t rely on a single defining use case. Multi-functionality is becoming the major driver of product success, with vendors now differentiating products on user experience and utility.”
Fitbit’s Q3 Health Solutions revenue climbed 31 percent to $73 million, but overall revenue dropped 12 percent to $347 million, it reported Wednesday. The company didn’t hold a call with investors, citing the agreement to be acquired by Google (see 1911010051). Net loss for the wearables maker widened to $51.9 million from $2.1 million in the year-ago quarter. It sold 3.5 million devices in the September quarter, with revenue declines driven by a 12 percent drop in pricing and flat year-on-year device sales growth; average device selling price was $96. Smartwatch revenue was 58 percent of revenue. Fitbit didn't release new trackers in Q3, contributing to a category decline. Trackers were 39 percent of revenue; accessories and non-device revenues were 3 percent. CEO James Park cited progress shifting the business toward the smartwatch category from trackers and a “deepening” relationship with consumers with the launch of its Premium service. Park repeated the company's commitment that “privacy and security will not change” after the Google acquisition, expected to close next year pending regulatory and Fitbit shareholder approvals.
CTA standards for health wearables are a “great first step,” but were not independent, Scott McLean, senior manager-biomechanics at engineering consultant Exponent told a Sports & Fitness Industry Association webinar Tuesday. CTA approved voluntary wearables standards for heart-rate monitoring last year. Wearable tech companies “themselves generated those standards,” said the ex-Fitbit researcher. “What’s necessary here is a much stronger, more independent oversight on those standards.” The “biggest challenge” in wearables is what counts for sufficient accuracy in the devices, he said. “That is a really big issue with developing standards, but it’s something that really does need to be addressed.” CTA devised a “reasonable standard for a consumer grade of accuracy,” he said. “But as consumers use these products in new ways, then the question becomes, does that standard really hold true now for these new applications?” As wearable devices “proliferate more," he said, data reliability "can be challenged." There are "limited standards to hold these products against," he said. "Those that do exist tend to have been developed with very limited independent oversight.” CTA didn’t comment Tuesday.
China’s Xiaomi brand took top global Q2 share in the “wrist-worn” wearables category by way of its 42.2 percent year-on-year growth in shipments, said IDC Thursday. Xiaomi increased share by 1.7 points from a year earlier to 17.3 percent, overtaking Apple’s 14.8 percent, it said. Total shipments in the category, which includes smartwatches and fitness trackers, increased 28.8 percent to 34.2 million units, said IDC. Huawei, Fitbit and Samsung rounded out the top five companies, which collectively captured 65.7 percent share, an 11.7-point increase, it said. Samsung more than doubled its share to 9.4 percent, via its 195.1 percent increase in shipments to 3.2 million units, said IDC. “Health is now at the forefront for these devices since companies have started providing actionable insights and prescriptive measures for end users," it said. “Mobile payment is also starting to become a mainstay.”
The sluggish smart augmented reality glasses market is “picking up pace” in industrial and enterprise segments, but mass consumer adoption is “elusive, if not years away," reported Tractica Monday. It cited “growing pains,” as the technology has fallen short of end-user expectations, but projects the market will grow from 101,000 units in 2018 to 19.7 million units annually by 2025. The form factor could replace tablets and other handheld devices on the manufacturing floor, said analyst Sherril Hanson. Compelling mixed reality glass technology, compact form factors, wider field of view and immersive capabilities will help smart glasses break through across multiple segments, including consumer, said Hanson.
Fitbit is working with the Singapore government’s Health Promotion Board on a project called Live Healthy SG, it said Wednesday. It’s Fitbit’s first major integration of a digital health platform and wearables into a national public health program, said the company. Participants will use Fitbit devices and its new Premium service to get behavior insights and analytics designed to help them lead healthier lives, Fitbit said. Participants who enroll in and commit to one year of Fitbit Premium service ($40) will receive a free Fitbit Inspire HR tracker, it said.
Only a quarter removed from teasing investors about the development of a new Solos augmented-reality headset for “general” consumers (see 1905070010), microdisplay maker Kopin is pulling the plug on that and its Whisper audio-solutions businesses, said CEO John Fan on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. It’s “engaging” in negotiations to “spin” both segments to a group of Kopin employees and outside investors, said Fan. “If the transaction is completed, we expect to receive equity and royalties in the new company in exchange for the transfer of intellectual property, inventory and equipment,” he said. Kopin also expects to maintain the rights to “utilize and sublicense” the current Whisper technology, plus “any future enhancements,” he said. Kopin expects to close the transaction by the end of Q3, at which time it will “eliminate all spending on Solos and Whisper technology development,” he said. Kopin struggled for years to find sufficient Solos distribution through fitness retailers and even tried selling Solos products from its own dedicated online store. Fan acknowledged failure on the Q1 call in May, saying Kopin would write down the remaining unsold Solos inventory, but let slip plans for the new Solos AR headset targeted to a broader consumer audience than the limited cyclist demographic from before, using a mainstream go-to-market strategy. The product and the strategy never materialized. Kopin says Whisper “voice extraction” technology, introduced at CES two years ago (see 1612160058), “dramatically” improves “far-field voice quality” in smartphones and wearables, boosting voice control in noisy outdoor environments where it doesn’t function as effectively as in quiet homes. Kopin shares closed 1.9 percent lower Friday at $1.06.
Wearable devices, on track for global shipments of 222.9 million units this year, are expected to reach 302.3 million units in 2023, growing at a 7.9 percent compound annual growth rate, reported IDC Wednesday. Smartwatches and ear-worn devices will be more than 70 percent of all wearables shipments during the period. The category is diversifying by connectivity and distribution, said analyst Jitesh Ubrani: Enterprises and healthcare will look to free the watch from the phone, while telcos push subsidies or financing options for watches with cellular service, with half of watches expected to be connected to a cellular network in the next four years. Apple is expected to continue to lead in watches, with 25.9 percent share in 2023 vs 41.2 percent today, while the category overall is seen growing from 91.8 million units in 2019 to 131.6 million. Behind Apple will be various brands running different operating systems, including Android, WearOS and Tizen, IDC said. Parental tracking of kids' location and watches’ role in the smart home ecosystem are use cases expected to expand, it said. Use cases for wearables overall will expand over the period, as smartwatches extend further into healthcare and fitness connecting with multiple applications and systems, and ear-worn devices venture into nascent areas such as language translation, smart assistant deployment and coaching, said analyst Ramon Llamas. Ear-worn devices, currently at 32.3 percent of the wearables market share, will grow from 72 million units this year to 105.3 million in 2023, said IDC. Many will be used as the front end to smart assistants or to track health-related metrics; IDC also expects brands to push added benefits such as features designed to offset hearing loss or ways users can fine-tune their listening experience. Wristbands, at 24.3 percent of 2019 shipments, will have flat shipment growth through the reporting period, to 55 million shipments, said IDC. Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei have been leading the wearables market, and more than half of all wristbands are expected to be shipped in China. Mature markets such as North America and Western Europe are expected to have declining shipments during the period as users transition to smartwatches. Other wearables will grow from 5 million to 10.4 million shipments during the span, it said.