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Is your wrist the next great technological frontier? That's what Google, Apple, and other firms were hoping, but market inquiry firm eMarketer reports that growth in the vesture space is continuing to irksome. It expects an 11.9% increase in wearable sales in the next twelvemonth, possibly slowing to to single digits the following yr.

Interest in wearables started picking upwards steam about five years ago as rumors of an Apple smartwatch began appearing. Some firms like Pebble managed to get smart wearables out the door ahead of Apple. Google as well released the first Android Wearable devices about a year in advance of the Apple Watch. The eventual Apple Watch release was past far the biggest affair in wearables, though. Some analysts predicted the Apple Sentry would sell in large iPad-like numbers. This has not been the case.

Sales of habiliment devices have not increased as businesses had hoped. In fact, Pebble ran out of coin and closed its doors. Some pieces of the firm were acquired past Fitbit, which has had more than success than well-nigh in wearables by focusing on fettle. Now, even Fitbit is getting into the full smartwatch marketplace with the Ionic (above). That's non going to turn around the downwardly tendency, co-ordinate to eMarketer.

Co-ordinate to the new report, the loftier toll of wearables is one of the primary issues slowing adoption. Fifty-fifty more modestly prices smartwatches tin cost several hundred dollars, and Apple sells versions of its watch that cost more than $1,000. With phones getting ever more expensive (the Note 8 and iPhone X are upwardly around the $1,000), it'southward a tough to convince consumers to go an expensive accessory.

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Rather than tempt mainstream consumers, smartwatches appear confined to the early adopter oversupply. With smartphones and tablets, growth was huge for the meliorate part of a decade until tapering off equally information technology reached saturation. Wearables just skipped the loftier growth stage entirely. eMarketer predicts that any future growth in wearables will come up from new users of smartwatches as very few consumers will keep buying these devices on a regular basis similar they practice phones.

Apple and Google both seem convinced that the cardinal is adding more than features and smartphone-like capabilities. Withal, this also makes the devices more expensive. Information technology might be that no i will ever want to pay $300-500 for a smartwatch, fifty-fifty if it tin practise everything their phone tin exercise. Cheap fettle trackers may go on dominating wearables, leaving little profit or interest for upscale manufacturers.