Wearable equipment hot and cold.

The industry expects 2015 to be a blowout for wearable equipment. However, with the January 19 Google Glasses "lockout" to the industry poured a basin of cold water.

Can Apple watch the market's enthusiasm for wearable markets now that it is listed?

Tens of billions of dollar market "cake"

Apple Watch is the "revolutionary" new product that CEO Cook has repeatedly emphasized. The journalist noted that Apple's determination to push Apple's watch was shown when it watch the world's trademark, including watches, watches, and other areas of patent protection.

The industry expects that, with Apple Watch on the market, a flurry of wearable equipment may be blown up.

IHS, a market research agency, predicts that global wearable equipment sales will grow from $9.7 billion trillion in 2012 to $33.6 billion trillion in 2018, with an annual compound growth rate of 22.9%. In terms of shipments, wearable equipment is expected to increase from last year's 90 million units to 140 million this year, the annual growth rate is expected to reach 62%; among them, smart watches will become the forerunner of wearable products, shipments of annual growth will reach 235%, the proportion will gradually rise.

Gartner, the Market Research institute, predicts that 2016 will reach 40% of wearable devices.

A long-term tracking electronics industry brokerage analyst pointed out that wearable equipment will become one of the bright spots in the future, through all kinds of wearable equipment, can form all interconnected, seamless vision, the market potential is huge.

Reporters noted that major IT giants have launched related products, such as Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watches, Epson Smart watch PS-500 and so on. Domestic manufacturers are also actively layout this emerging market, if Shell Electronics smart watch Geak Watch, Baidu joint Tcl released Boom band Hand ring, Huawei TalkBand B1 and so on.

Google glasses accidentally "lockout"

Just as companies and institutions are bullish on the prospect of wearable markets, a news release from Google has poured cold water on the market. January 19, Google announced the end of Google Glasses "explorer" project, but also closed the "Explorer" Software development project, the whole into another department.

The reporter learned that Google glasses was published by Google in April 2012, a smart wearing glasses, its debut ignited a single spark of wearable equipment, after the development of wearable equipment is prairie. Google glasses led by other companies to respond to the trend and continuous improvement, such as Sony launched smart glasses products Smart eyeglass prototype machine.

No one expected, now Google has played a "retreat." Some industry insiders told reporters that the sale of Google Glasses is the first cost is too high, the price of 1500 of dollars make it difficult to get a wide range of promotion, Google glasses also lack can show its technical potential killer application, in addition, Google glasses also because of privacy, security issues caused by the controversy.

Smart wear industry expert Chen Gen said, the real restrictions on the development of Google glasses is not the hardware itself, but the "soft" level, that large data platform can not support its realization of value. Announcing the end of the first generation of Google glasses, Google will spend more time on the mobile Internet system platform and database construction.

The market homogeneity of wearable markets is serious

Google glasses suddenly "fall", behind the highlight is the product user experience, poor usability and so on.

An industry person bluntly, the current smart wear market homogeneity of serious, many products that painless point and not just need, practicality difficult to make buyers excited, became "chicken ribs." For example, healthy hand ring, a lot of types, the core function is to step, monitor sleep and so on, many products are very similar.

Reporter noted that the market has a number of smart wearable equipment products, including Google-represented smart glasses, Samsung Galaxy Gear for the smart watch, Jawbone representative of the smart hand ring.

Take smart watches For example, currently on the market can be roughly divided into two kinds of products: without the call function, relying on the realization of multi-functional mobile phone, mobile phones can be synchronized operation of the phone, text messages, mail, etc. with the call function, support the insertion of SIM card, essentially a watch-style smartphone.

Why are wearable devices on the market most similar? Industry insiders point out that the mobile internet boom brought about by the explosive growth of smartphones has driven companies to develop smart wearable devices along similar technical lines.

Above the industry to give a wearable equipment parts of the price list, the reporter found that wearable equipment, parts and components are inexpensive, including Bluetooth chip 8.4, two-axis gyroscope accelerometer 8.75 yuan, height, temperature, Air pressure sensor 6.8 yuan, triaxial acceleration sensor 2.2 yuan, laminated chip antenna 0.5 yuan, flat vibration motor 3.2 yuan ... The most expensive product catalog is the original phase heart rate sensor, the price is 19 yuan.

An industry senior Project engineer told reporters, can wear market space is huge, but the industry threshold is not high, coupled with low-cost, slightly technical enterprises can buy parts to do, so caused the product homogeneity serious, market competition is intense.

The person pointed out that the market has so far not been able to dress as expected to become like smartphones such as the billion-dollar market. In addition, people are far less reliant on smart-wearing products than mobile phones.

Endeavour, a mobile market research firm, recently studied the U.S. wearable market and found that consumer dependence on wearable devices is not strong. Of those who have wearable equipment over the age of 18, although 1/10 have activity tracking equipment, more than half of them are no longer in use, and 1/3 are given up after 6 months. Consumers buy and try wearable devices, but they rarely form dependencies.

(Original title: Enterprise Scramble for tens of billions of dollars wearable market products with serious homogeneity)