Wearables Sales Up 67% as Market Matures into New Categories

According to IDC, total worldwide wearables market shipments of wearables were reached 19.7 million units in Q1 2016, up 67.2% from the 11.8 million units sold in the first three months of 2015. IDC expects continued growth in the sales of both basic wearables (those that do not run any third-party apps) and smart watches, which it identifies as two clearly defined categories, with unique feature sets combined with substantial differences in price and performance setting them apart and leaving plenty of room for both to grow over the next few years.