Global wearable sales are on the rise as new devices focus on more sophisticated healthcare use cases, such as FDA-approved heart rate monitoring.
Global shipments of wearable devices reached 32 million units in the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of nearly 22 percent, according to a new report from industry tracker IDC. New demand in Asia, more sophisticated features on basic wearables, and a push into healthcare for smartwatches are driving the increase in shipments, said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC.
Both Apple and Fitbit have delved deeper into healthcare over the past few months.