Smartwatch Market Sees Exponential Growth, Doubles in Size

Recent sales figures show that Samsung, already the world leader in smartphone sales, has charged out to a commanding lead in the rapidly growing smartwatch market. Samsung shipped half a million smartwatches during the first quarter of 2014, earning the company an astounding 71 percent market share.

In total, smartwatch manufacturers shipped 700,000 units during 2014’s Q1, marking a reported 250 percent increase over the industry’s performance of a year ago. Despite that aggressive growth, many industry observers believe that the smartwatch market has plenty of room to build up even more momentum. This speculation is largely fueled by the continued development of the Android Wear product line, which will bring Google’s signature operating system to a long list of wearable devices.

Analysts also note that the major players in the smartwatch industry have massive advertising budgets, and they expect the big tech companies to compete hard for market share. The wearables market is expected to be one of the tech industry’s biggest growth sectors in the years ahead.

One thing to note, though, is that the reported sales figures reflect the number of units shipped by manufacturers, not the number of smartwatches actually purchased by end consumers. Regardless, smartwatch manufacturers are very encouraged by emerging market trends, as are mobile app development professionals the globe over.

As wearable devices becoming increasingly ubiquitous, so too will the apps and programs that will enhance their functionality and versatility. iPhone application developers in San Francisco and throughout the country are encouraged to anticipate future opportunities in the wearables market. Industry insiders are practically unanimous in their belief that wearables are set to explode in the near future, and now is the time to start thinking about how new apps can enhance end user experiences.