Samsung Galaxy Gear Launch: $47 Billion Smartwatch Opportunity?
Samsung appears set to launch the Galaxy Gear smartwatch on Wednesday, Sept. 4. How big is the smartwatch market opportunity? Hmmm… As Galaxy Gear, the so-called Apple iWatch and Google/WIMM Labs target the market here are some estimated potential revenues from The VAR Guy.
First, the big picture:
- Samsung has more or less confermed its smartwatch will be unveiled Sept. 4. Early reports suggest it will have very limited capabilities and may initially appeal to health enthusiasts who want to run exercise apps tied to their smartphones.
- Apple is reportedly developing an iWatch. An iPhone 5S with iOS 7 launch is expected Sept. 10 but it’s unclear if Apple will also discuss its alleged smartwatch plans at that time.
- Google has acquired WIMM Labs — an early pioneer in the smartwatch market. Couple that with the Google Glass initiative, and the search giant seems very serious about the wearable computing trend.
Smartwatch Market Forecast?
But back to the question at hand: How big is the smartwatch market and revenue opportunity? Back in 2011, Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicted the traditional watch market will reach $46.65 billion in global sales by 2017. The VAR Guy doesn’t know if GIA has revised those estimates up or down since that original report.
Either way, the traditional wrist watch market is massive. It’s doubtful smartwatches will completely replace traditional wrist watches — so maybe the $47 billion estimate by 2017 is way too high for the digital crowd to pursue. But even if only 5 perce to 10 percent of the watch market shifts to smartwatches, that’s roughly a $2.35 to $4.7 billion opportunity by 2017…
Admittedly, The VAR Guy’s math could be painfully flawed. GIA’s overall watch market forecast could have been off the mark. Amid all those wild variables our resident blogger comes back to this simple thought: Apple, Google and Samsung are jumping in because the watch market is massive…