Wearable, smart technology is quickly becoming one of the most essential and fastest-advancing sectors of the wider technology industry, now even outpacing the development of smartphones, according to MarkesAndMarkets. 

From the basic fitness trackers and highly-advanced sports and smartwatches, to virtual and augmented reality headsets, wearables are everywhere, note the research group. Wearables have become increasingly popular over the past few years, but the basic idea is nothing new. 

For example, if you’ve ever worn a wristwatch, you’ve already used a simple kind of wearable. Today’s wearables can actually connect with your existing devices, like computers and smartphones, which means they can do a lot of interesting things. Industry projections uniformly see continued growth in the sector for the next several years. 

Research by MarketsAndMarkets found that the overall wearable technology market was valued at US$15.74 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $51.60 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate of 15.51%. 

Grand View Research says the global wearable technology market size was valued at $32.63 billion in 2019 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate ]of 15.9% from 2020 to 2027. Grand View adds that the growing popularity of the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices and rising technically sound population is expected to drive the demand. 

Its report says: “Moreover, increasing social awareness and various benefits of wearable electronics is anticipated to drive demand over the forecast period. Increasing disposable income and smartphone penetration is expected to boost industry growth in the forthcoming years. A high degree of research and development by the market players is expected to enhance technology over the next seven years.”