United Kingdom Wearable Technology Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The United Kingdom Wearable Technology Market is expected to register a CAGR of less than 17.65% over the forecast period (2022 - 2027). Factors such as miniaturization of wearable sensors and improved communication capabilities, along with the improving abilities of these devices to facilitate the integration with various devices and machines without compromising their performance, and other functionalities, are driving the growth of the studied market.

Key Highlights

• Wearable technology such as Smart Watches, Head-mounted Displays, Wristbands, Ear-wearables, and Other Device Types (Smart Clothing) are propelling the significant growth of the wearable technology market. Smartwatches, Fitness trackers are enhancing the consumer's wellness and fitness.
• According to UK Government, the number of IoT(Internet of Things) devices in the UK is projected to grow by over 150 million in 2024. The white goods market and consumer wearables account for over 40% of all IoT(Internet of Things) connections. Smartwatches, health and fitness trackers with ear-worn devices will become the most dominant category. Smartwatches are widely used as many people monitor their health and track heart rate.
• The adoption of wearable Technology is growing, especially across the healthcare sector as patients are increasingly adopting wearable technology and mobile apps to monitor their health constantly and mitigate health-related problems through early intervention and behavioral change. For instance, according to the Government of the United Kingdom, Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is using wearable technology to present a significant opportunity for the UK Armed Forces to reduce injury to in-service personnel.
• However, the absence of efficient and reliable battery system that can enable the users to use the wearable devices for an extended period without compromising the compactness of the devices is a major factor restraining the growth of the studied market.
• A notable impact of the pandemic has been observed on the UK's wearable technology market. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many disruptions in the supply chain. Additionally, due to various restrictions, the deliveries of these devices were delayed. However, the adoption of these devices is set to increase as the pandemic has raised awareness of digital technologies.

Key Market Trends

Smartwatches to Witness Significant Growth

• IoT-driven smartwatches are driving the wearables market growth that will operate as a standalone technology and interact with other IoT(Internet of Things) devices to vastly improve a consumer's quality of life. The wireless connections of these smartwatches while cycling and running enable the users to track their fitness and help them monitor the conditions they encounter while involved in the activities.
• Technological advancements like data science techniques and IoT propel the demand for this market. Smartwatches also track fitness using various applications and display the user's health-related issues on the dashboards.
• The increasing penetration of high-speed telecommunication technologies such as 5G is expected to further the growth of the smartwatches segment in the United Kingdom as they offer high-speed connectivity, which will further expand the use cases of smartwatches. For instance, in April 2021, every operator in the country boosted their spectrum holdings across the 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz spectrum bands.
• In February 2022, Virgin Media O2 announced that its 5G network had hit two-thirds of the capital, giving London the largest 5G footprint within the group.
• Considering the growing demand, several smartwatch manufacturers are launching their products in the country. For instance, in October 2021, Apple launched its latest Watch Series 7 in the United Kingdom. According to the company, the Apple Watch Series 7 features Watch OS 8, faster charging, a larger and more advanced display, and new aluminum case colors.

Application For Tracking Health Is Expected To Majorly Contribute For Market's Growth

• Smartwatches are revolutionizing the healthcare industry as they help individuals invest time toward their well-being and act like medical sensors. These devices allow data collection and play a vital role in monitoring heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and activity levels. Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, and Fossil are among the leading smartwatch brands offering smartwatches with healthcare tracking features in the country.
• Additionally, fitness trackers also contribute significantly to wearables market growth. With the help of these devices, users can monitor the calories burnt, sleep, exercises, and the step counter. Fitness Trackers also collects the user's data, which helps the doctors analyze the patient's health to offer quick medication. The demand for these devices has increased significantly since the outbreak of COVID-19 as these devices enabled the doctors to record users' body temperature and other attributes such as heart rate remotely.
• With the adoption of new technologies in these devices, glucose monitoring is made easy. The rising cardiovascular cases can also be easily tracked with the help of these devices. The e-commerce industry is witnessing significant growth in this market as people are inclined toward more usage of these devices.
• Considering the benefits smartwatches and other wearables provide, especially to old people, the demand for these devices is increasing significantly in the country along with the aging population. For instance, Fitbit UK offers a Sense smartwatch, which according to the company, enables the users to manage stress with an innovative EDA sensor.

Competitive Landscape

The market studied is highly fragmented. Some of the significant players in the market are Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Fitbit Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Xiaomi Corporation, and Garmin Ltd. The companies are increasing their market share by forming multiple partnerships and mergers, investing in projects, and launching new products in the market.

• May 2021 - Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of recently-rebranded Facebook, in a bid to develop the next generation of Metaverse solutions, kicked off the research for its Project Aria augmented reality (AR) smart glasses in London. The company will begin trialling its smart glasses by recording data from environments via the head-mounted display's (HMDs) sensors.
• April 2022 - Nreal, a Chinese augmented reality start-up, unveiled their plans to bring its smart glasses to the U.K. The company announced that it would launch its Nreal Air AR glasses in Britain later this spring through an exclusive deal with local carrier EE.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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