Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are on track to grow 15.1% in 2018, totalling 132.9 million units over the course of the year. The overall market is also expected to deliver a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% over the next five years, culminating in 219.4 million units shipped in 2022, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. With cellular connectivity on the rise and shifting consumer preferences, IDC believes smartwatches will account for almost two out of every five wearable devices shipped in 2022.

“At present, fitness uses lead by a mile but mobile payments and messaging are starting to catch on,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “The addition of cellular connectivity is also starting to resonate with early adopters and looking ahead the emergence of new use cases like music streaming or additional health sensors will make cellular connectivity pivotal to the success of the smartwatch”