The research house Futuresource has released its latest numbers on the wearables market, and they’re starting to get interesting. The top-line result is that global shipments totaled 12.7 million units in 3Q14, up 40 percent from the same period in 2013.
But what caught our eye was the analysis that the market is breaking down into clear segments with different leaders and different dynamics: Fitbit in activity trackers, Samsung in smartwatches, and Garmin in fitness. Growth in the fitness category would be “considerably less aggressive” than in activity trackers and watches. Apple’s entry into the watch category, of course, portends significant change in that segment next year.
For the rest of 2014, Futuresource expects 39 percent of all 2014 wearables sales to come in the 4th quarter, with a 44 percent overall growth rate in 2015, led by smartwatches. Futuresource expects 75 million units to ship in 2015.