Observers of the tech world spend a great deal of time gazing into their metaphorical crystal balls to try to predict what is just around the corner. At a moment in tech’s development when we seem to have reached a plateau in terms of what we can expect from devices like smartphones, tablets and PCs, the focus seems to be firmly shifting in the direction of wearables.
It’s certainly not a new sector, but it’s one that is becoming increasingly important over time. This is particularly true because the big technology companies are starting to find that saturation point is very close for many of their existing banker products.
Back in 2019, Gartner Inc. released a report predicting that the overall market for wearables would increase by 27% from $41billion to $52 billion by the end of 2020 driven, largely, by smartwatches and clothing.
In the case of the former, they also predicted that the real cost of wrist-worn devices could fall by as much as 4.5% by the end of 2021 making them accessible to more people than ever before and accounting for over $27 million worth of sales worldwide.
Another product sector that is destined to grow over the coming year is that of ear-worn devices with projected sales of almost £10 million in 2021. This has been fuelled by smartphone manufacturers who have increasingly been dispensing with the headphone jack point on their devices for reasons of compactness and convenience.
It has been quite a while since Apple has been able to make the sort of game-changing announcement that the world has come to expect from them so one is undoubtedly overdue. The main rumors that have been circulating have been that they are set to announce their first-ever AR headset sometime in early to mid-2021 with a probable roll-out in the Fall or perhaps in 2022.
Given the disastrous history of the ill-fated Google Glass, no doubt Apple are making sure that everything’s 100% right before they push the “launch” button. When they do, and as long as they’ve got the product right, it promises to be big news.
Its applications are likely to be of almost endless appeal from gamers to online casino fans who visit sites like this one to find the best deals and the biggest bonuses. That’s because both the gaming and the online casino industry are always quick to leap on the latest technology as soon as it becomes available.
One of the more out-there rumors about the Apple AR headset is that there will be a special edition based on the shape of Steve Jobs’ iconic wire-framed specs. But we’ll believe that when we see it.
Another key growth area is due to be clothing that can help to monitor both fitness and certain health conditions via so-called bio-sensors. As it develops, this will undoubtedly become more and more sophisticated with even wider applications.
So it does look like we’re on the crest of the next wearable wave – and it’s certainly time to get on board.
