Wearables - Fitness and Style Now, Mainstream Smart watches Later

Summary Wearables are a bridge between mobile computers and emerging embedded IoT solutions, and are at a tipping point largely due to relentless technical innovation in smartphones and its impact on the supply chain. Smart watches and fitness devices are among the highest profile wearables, with an immediate impact on traditional watch vendors and technology OEMs alike. Smart watch use cases have been limited, and even the most successful vendor, Apple, only appealed to early adopters with its first watch. Better on-device software and IoT use cases will drive the category mainstream in the future, but manufacturers need a watch software platform with strong developer support to build out these use cases. Key Findings - Smart watches are emerging in the market at the same time as computing becomes ubiquitous. This presents vendors with a path forward - a smart watch is an ideal control point for IoT. - Technology vendors have two choices: build their own platforms and try to attract developers, or license Android Wear. Apple, Google, Pebble and Samsung are the only platforms with sizable developer followings. - For smart watches, vendors will have to bet on Google, as it is the only licensable platform with developer support. - If Apple can deliver on the promise of watches 3, it should be able to harness its developer community to create use cases that drive sales. To sell the next generation of Watches, battery life must improve to allow always-on watch faces. Synopsis 'Wearables - Fitness and Style Now, Mainstream Smart watches Later' examines wearables in context and focus on some of the key challenges and opportunities surrounding smart watches for traditional watch vendors and technology OEMs. We bring in evidence from case studies including smart watch investments by Samsung and Apple, fitness bands from Fit bit, and carrier retail support in the U.S. and Europe. The Report is structured as follows: - Section 1: Wearables in Context - Section 2: Smart watch Market Positioning - Section 3: Vendor case studies including Apple, Samsung and Fit bit - Section 4: Operator case studies, including Vodafone Germany, ATandT and Verizon - Section 5: Key findings and recommendations. Reasons To Buy - 'Wearables - Fitness and Style Now, Mainstream Smart watches Later' provides a comprehensive analysis of wearables market trends and key challenges and opportunities surrounding smart watches, supporting market players from traditional watch vendors to technology OEMs and wireless operators make informed strategic decisions. - The report's forward-looking analysis of smart watches can help vendors/OEMs/telcos assess key business opportunities and the potential of smart watches. - The report offers recommendations for different types of players in this segment and are based on real strategies employed by vendors and service providers to address the wearables market opportunity.