Wearable technology is gaining traction and now has several applications that is growing as the field itself expands. The wearables marketplace features everything from high-tech fashion and smart jewelry to wearables that tracks a user's mood and activity.
The second annual Wearable Tech Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show or CES 2018 on Thursday, January 11, will focus on how wearables are moving away from "geeky" and toward "fashion-forward," and will also take a look at the top five wearable trends of 2018.
In addition, the summit will also focus on wearables that keep a user safer and healthier. Further, there will be a discussion on wearables for safety and security in the workplace.
Wearable technology already appears prominently in consumer electronics, thanks to the popularization of the smartwatch and activity tracker.
More consumers then ever before are likely to be interested in acquiring a fitness tracker or smartwatch, according to Deloitte's 2017 Global Mobile Consumer Survey.
More than 23 percent of Americans owned a fitness band device or had regular access to one in 2017. This is double the ownership figure in 2015.
Meanwhile, smart watch penetration increased only marginally to 13 percent in 2017, but this could indicate that consumers are waiting for more powerful, next generation smartwatches.
About 10 percent of Americans owned or had access to a virtual reality headset in 2017, while eBook ownership was slightly ahead of fitness trackers at 24 percent.
However, the smartwatch category is expected to outpace fitness trackers as 32 percent expressed interest in getting a smartwatch, compared to 30 percent interested in purchasing a fitness tracker.
Meanwhile, a report from eMarketer said that the wearables market penetration in China has almost doubled in the past two years and is now bigger than in the U.S. The wearables market in China has experienced triple-digit growth in the past few years.
According to the report, 21 percent of adult Internet users in China, or some 144 million people, will wear a fitness tracker or smartwatch by the end of 2017. This compares to an estimated 20.4 percent of adults in the U.S. who wear such devices.
by RTT Staff Writer
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