A leading wireless business analyst firm that goes by the name Juniper Research, has made some predictions for the wearable tech industry. According to their research, the wearable technology industry will be worth $19 billion by the year 2018.
Juniper research was founded in 2001 by Tony Crabtree, and has grown into the leading business analyst firm since then. Junipers field of expertise, is technology of all kinds from the apps on your devices, all the way to the networks your devices run on. So when it comes to these predictions, they definitely have the experience to back them up. Recently, they have focused on wearable technology, and produced their 126 pg report.
So that you wont have to thumb through all 126 pages, there was a summary of Junipers findings, which is much easier to translate to you here. Some interesting points they have made revolve around the evolution and drive behind wearable technology such as Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, and Google Glass. According to them, there is going to be plenty of changes moving forward with the development of these devices. The reason behind these changes, will be the applications that utilize wearable devices.
The reason wearable devices will be driven by the apps, is because the consumer will need more of a valid reason to have the device. Apps will bring the people, and the people will bring the money. So as app developers ponder the possibilities, manufactures patiently launch “prototypes”. In the press release, an example of an app-based product, that will drive people to want these devices is FiLIP. FiLIP, is an app-based smart watch, which parents can give their children and stay in touch via voice, text, and GPS with their children at all times.
All of this will present itself over the next few years, and by the end if it, wearable devices will grow from a $1.4 billion market, to a $19 billion market. The press release also touches points on the growth of the health and fitness apps that can be developed. They also mention that to be fully adopted, wearables still need to achieve that social acceptance. It took some time for us to get used to seeing people talking to themselves while driving, thanks to the wonder that was Bluetooth. Now we will have to get used to people talking to their wrists, and staring up into the sky for what seems for no apparent reason.