The next predicted big trend in wearables will be inconspicuous headphones that will (i) enable analysis of what users hear in real time, (ii) perform searches, and (iii) almost immediately play the usable data directly into the user's ear (thanks to wireless connectivity, audio recording capabilities, and advanced processors). According to Nick Hunn, an expert at WiFore Consulting, the hearables market will be worth USD 5 billion already in 2018.
So far, the health and fitness products market mainly drives the fast-growing global market for wearable technologies. Small, portable computers (e.g., smart watches, physical performance devices, and digital camera glasses) have definitely made market inroads. The newest predicted market innovation is hearables—sophisticated headphones that implement the latest, portable-electronics technology that enhances the sense of hearing.
Various wearables now exist—from digital glasses and pin cameras to measurement bracelets—each of which offers users an augmented reality.
Consumers are accustomed to using headphones connected via Bluetooth to mobile phones. Hearables open an almost unlimited number of usage areas for sophisticated computer capacity in headphones. One soon-to-be-launched example: The Dash, a set of German smart headphones, developed for the exercise and fitness market.
The next predicted big trend in wearables will be inconspicuous headphones that will (i) enable analysis of what users hear in real time, (ii) perform searches, and (iii) almost immediately play the usable data directly into the user's ear (thanks to wireless connectivity, audio recording capabilities, and advanced processors). According to Nick Hunn, an expert at WiFore Consulting, the hearables market will be worth USD 5 billion already in 2018.
Potential uses for hearables are extensive, and in areas such as retail, they will be able to significantly improve stores' capabilities for responding to customers. Via a smart phone, a shop assistant can automatically get access to product-specific information in real time and almost as quickly provide good answers to all customers’ questions and thus enable the best-possible personalized service.
The wearables market will continue to grow rapidly as many technology barriers that previously limited development disappear (mainly battery, processor, and connectivity capability limitations). According to the Gartner Group, as early as 2020, data from consumer wearables will drive 5% of sales for 1,000 of the world's largest consumer companies.
While opportunities for consumers seem to be almost endless, a U.S. survey conducted by Endeavor Partners revealed that one-third of current users stop using their wearables after just 6 months. According to Meenu Sharma, program director at Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work and social technology expert, the wearables abandonment rate suggests that manufacturers must focus on design and user experience to make the products equally indispensable as smart phones are for consumers. To focus on software instead of hardware is exactly what Nike seems to have understood when it completely refocused its organization around Nike FuelBand.
