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Smart Watch Shipments Up 54% in 2018
March 04, 2019 In 2018, Strategy Analytics reported that smart watch shipments were 45m, up 54% Y/Y as Apple was the leader with a 50% share and 22.5m units; followed by Fitbit, Samsung and Garmin. Most smart watches use OLED panels. The volume is miniscule compared to the 1.4b smartphones, but what happens if the Nubia smart watch/phone gains traction and becomes the wearable device of choice in the future. Today’s contemporary smart watches, include can almost any App that works on a smartphone (assuming the design is appropriate), it supports LTE, voice input, GPS, makes calls, notifications, texting response and even has distance to the hole and green configurations for golf advocates. What it doesn’t have is cameras, email and most games, but what if the screen got bigger and the voice input more prolific, and included 2 cameras as a recent patent showed, then the non-supported functions could be available in a much less intrusive way than the smartphone. The smart watch is also close to the body at all times and has health and fitness Apps not available on smartphones. For example, ECG, EKG, blood pressure, heart rate and now sleep monitoring (see below). 5G will be a stretch as it currently has high power consumption and space requirements. |
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But currently full function smart watches are good for 1 days wearing and must be charged every day; not very amenable to sleep monitoring unless the unavailable wireless charging capability becomes a reality. So without wireless charging, how could the smart watch become ubiquitous – by switching from an OLED display to a micro LED display. Micro LEDs outperform OLEDs in 3 ways that would make them a viable candidate.
Smartwatches have lower resolution needs so that the significant cost premium of Micro LEDS might be mitigated. Next week, we will provide an analysis of the differences in costs between OLED and Micro LED displays as used in smartphones and TVs.
Table 1: Q418 Smart Watch Shipments, Share and Growth
- The most important is lifetime, which is at ~2X OLEDs
- Next is small size, which would permit more functions to be implemented on the display substrate
- Third is the higher luminance, needed in bright sunlight
Smartwatches have lower resolution needs so that the significant cost premium of Micro LEDS might be mitigated. Next week, we will provide an analysis of the differences in costs between OLED and Micro LED displays as used in smartphones and TVs.
Table 1: Q418 Smart Watch Shipments, Share and Growth
Source: Strategy Analytics
Table 2: 2018 Smart Watch Shipments, Share and Growth
Source: Strategy Analytics
Apple is testing a sleep monitor for a future version of its smartwatch, a feature that would bolster the company in the health- and fitness-tracking market. The company has been using the sleep-tracking feature for several months with testers at secret sites around its Cupertino, California, headquarters, according to people familiar with the work. If the functionality is successful in the testing stages, the company plans to add it to the Apple Watch by 2020, according to one of the people. The company has released new versions of the Apple Watch each fall since 2016. Sleep tracking on the Apple Watch would reduce a competitive advantage that longtime fitness-wearable developer Fitbit Inc. has had on the market. Besides Fitbit, Withings, formally known as Nokia Health, also makes sleep-tracking gadgets. A new Apple Watch wouldn’t be the iPhone maker’s first foray into sleep-tracking hardware. In May 2017, Apple acquired Finnish startup Beddit, which makes a sleep-tracking sensor strip. Apple sells the product on its website under the Beddit brand and launched an updated version at the end of last year.
Apple hasn’t disclosed how many Apple Watches have been sold, but Strategy Analytics estimated the company accounts for 45 percent of the market. The analyst firm said Apple lost some share last year to Fitbit. Global smartwatch shipments are estimated to increase 40 percent in 2019 to 74.1 million units, Gartner Inc. said in a November report. Before Apple launches new health- and fitness-related features for the Watch, it puts the functionality through rigorous testing at labs around its campus. The company also conducts in-house testing for new sensors on exercise equipment such as treadmills and bikes and has analyzed the Watch’s swim-tracking feature with testers at on-site swimming pools. The company also has testing chambers to mimic outside weather conditions and monitor users’ breathing and perspiration. One practical necessity for sleep tracking in a smartwatch is a battery that can last multiple days. Each Apple Watch model to date is advertised as being able to last a day with the need to charge it each night. In comparison, Fitbit’s watches with sleep tracking are marketed as being able to last as long as a week on one charge. Some options may include Apple increasing the Watch’s battery life or creating a way to run sleep-tracking overnight as part of a low-power mode. It could also just require a battery charge in the morning. Apple’s Health application on iPhones has included a tab for sleep analysis data since its introduction in 2014. Currently, hour’s slept data is provided by the alarm clock function in the iPhone’s Clock app. The app also can pull in data from third-party sleep monitors.
Fitbit’s sleep-tracking feature uses a heart-rate monitor and other sensors to determine when a user falls asleep, how long they are sleeping, and the quality of their sleep. It can differentiate between light, deep and REM sleep, according to the company’s website.
Apple hasn’t disclosed how many Apple Watches have been sold, but Strategy Analytics estimated the company accounts for 45 percent of the market. The analyst firm said Apple lost some share last year to Fitbit. Global smartwatch shipments are estimated to increase 40 percent in 2019 to 74.1 million units, Gartner Inc. said in a November report. Before Apple launches new health- and fitness-related features for the Watch, it puts the functionality through rigorous testing at labs around its campus. The company also conducts in-house testing for new sensors on exercise equipment such as treadmills and bikes and has analyzed the Watch’s swim-tracking feature with testers at on-site swimming pools. The company also has testing chambers to mimic outside weather conditions and monitor users’ breathing and perspiration. One practical necessity for sleep tracking in a smartwatch is a battery that can last multiple days. Each Apple Watch model to date is advertised as being able to last a day with the need to charge it each night. In comparison, Fitbit’s watches with sleep tracking are marketed as being able to last as long as a week on one charge. Some options may include Apple increasing the Watch’s battery life or creating a way to run sleep-tracking overnight as part of a low-power mode. It could also just require a battery charge in the morning. Apple’s Health application on iPhones has included a tab for sleep analysis data since its introduction in 2014. Currently, hour’s slept data is provided by the alarm clock function in the iPhone’s Clock app. The app also can pull in data from third-party sleep monitors.
Fitbit’s sleep-tracking feature uses a heart-rate monitor and other sensors to determine when a user falls asleep, how long they are sleeping, and the quality of their sleep. It can differentiate between light, deep and REM sleep, according to the company’s website.
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Barry Young
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