IDC expects Apple Watch to dominate wearables market through 2019

Apple's dominance of the growing wearables market will continue for the foreseeable future, market research firm IDC projected on Thursday, forecasting that the Apple Watch will control the lion's share of the smartwatch market through the year 2019.

Sales of the Apple Watch are forecast to increase from an estimated 13 million units in 2015 to 45.2 million units in 2019, IDC said. That would actually translate into a loss in smartwatch marketshare as the market grows, but only from 61.3 to 51.1 percent. Industry-wide, smartwatch shipments are predicted to grow from 21.3 million to 88.3 million.

Apple's next closest competitor, Android Wear, is anticipated to grow shipments from 3.2 million to 34.3 million, ultimately putting it at a 38.8 percent share. The platform will allegedly eat into Apple's total market share, though together Google and Apple may feed off of smaller platforms like Pebble and Samsung's Tizen.

Smartwatches will likely grow in appeal as they add technologies like cellular connections, health sensors, and more third-party apps, IDC commented. At the moment most watches, including the Apple Watch, are tethered to specific phone platforms and hence serve as expensive accessories rather than as standalone options.

The total wearables market is estimated to hit 214.6 million units by 2019. Beyond watches, it can include things like fitness trackers, glasses, and even "smart" clothing.

Apple has yet to publish any official Apple Watch shipment data. While the company has hinted at some success, even revenue from the device is buried within an "Other Categories" line in the company's quarterly financial results.

11 Comments

MacPro 19838 comments · 18 Years

About 8 years ago

I'd not be surprised at all if this is true and well beyond 2019. It always takes a few years for a new Apple product line to be truly successful (by Apple standards), even the iPhone. Once it is people forget and only remember 'it' as an overnight hit for some reason.

jungmark 6927 comments · 13 Years

Why bother, idc. Have you ever been right with your projections? While I have no doubt the watch would be successful, you can't predict future technology.

singularity 1323 comments · 11 Years

sog35 said:

Apple will sell way more than 45 million Apple Watches in 2019.
What a ridiculous prediction.

We will hit close to 35-40 million Watches NEXT YEAR.
By 2019 they will sell over 100 million Watches.

Once the Watch gets a cell radio/GPS/better Siri/thinner in a few years it will be a must have.

I'd suggest not to hit that many watches you might do some damage to your fist.

mac_128 3452 comments · 12 Years

Wow ... what an out-on-the-limb prediction ... A new product from Apple that's already blown away the competition in comparable sales, will continue to blow away the competition for the foreseeable future ... what guts to make such a prediction. /s

atlapple 496 comments · 11 Years

sog35 said:

Apple will sell way more than 45 million Apple Watches in 2019.
What a ridiculous prediction.

We will hit close to 35-40 million Watches NEXT YEAR.
By 2019 they will sell over 100 million Watches.

Once the Watch gets a cell radio/GPS/better Siri/thinner in a few years it will be a must have.

That isn't going to happen. Retailers are already discounting Apple Watches by as much as 25%. Best Buy and other online retailers have been offering 100.00 off the watch for three weeks now. Last time I checked retailers don't offer discounts on products they sell as fast as they get in stock. Same goes for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4, as much as 125.00 off and its been that way for nearly the entire holiday shopping season.

I hope the Apple Watch evolves, my fear is it's going to evolve at the same snails pace as Apple TV. I can't remember a time when current iOS devices were discounted as much as 25% for weeks a a time.