2015 has been the year of wearables HYPE. Want proof? The number of Google search links for “wearables” (25 million) exceeds the number of units sold last year (19 million, according to Juniper Research). On April 24th, the first wearables PLATFORM, Apple Watch, will redefine the role of wearables.
Consumers are loyal to platforms, not gadgets. The largest wearables category, activity trackers, has disloyal customers. More than 40 percent of activity tracker owners quit using their devices within the first six months. By next year, demand will plateau at 32 million units (https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2015/us-smartwatch-ownership-poised-to-catch-up-with-and-potentially-surpass-activity-trackers-according-to-the-npd-group) and the market will be driven by price, as evidenced by Xioami’s $13 Fitness Tracker or $7 Smart Watch.
Declining activity in wearables (credit:Endeavor Partners)
Apple Watch is the first wearables PLATFORM story in the US $4 trillion healthcare sector. Consider that more than one third of Americans are obese. This type of healthcare crisis requires holistic platforms, integrating patient data and leveraging Big Data, to encourage sustainable behavioral change. Just as Cupertino partnered with record labels for the iPod and wireless carriers for iPhone, the company has encouraged players across the industry value chain to leverage the power of 700 million iPhone owners.
Medical & Scientific Research Community: ResearchKit, released last week, is an open source framework allowing medical researchers to access large populations for participation in scientific research studies.
Developer Community: Healthkit was integrated into Apple’s latest iOS 8 operating system, allowing physicians to connect with patients and health apps to interact with one another. To date, 35 Smartwatch health applications have been slated for release.
Hospitals: Apple announced partnerships with 14 of the Top 23 US hospitals.
Consumers are loyal to integrated platforms, not gadgets. Harnessing the developer, research and hospital communities will finally create a market for wearables. Apple Watch pre-orders have already surpassed 2.5 million units. April 24th will mark the future of wearables and the End of Wearables Hype.
During a 20 year career inmedia and technology, including 7 years in Asia, Levi launched new business units(IBM), new products (Toyota) and new startups (TwoMinute Television, Snack Mobile, etc).
He teaches Entrepreneurship and Mobile Marketing as an Adjunct Professor at IDC Herzliya, serves as Mentor in Residence for The Hive accelerator and writes a bi-weekly column about digital media and technology in the Jerusalem Post called "Unleavened Media ".
Mr. Shapiro is a graduate of Tulane (BA), Cornell (Asian Studies) and MIT (MBA)
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