Research Articles

Investment and development in haptics is accelerating, and the supply chain providing the actuators, drivers and software behind these key components is evolving at a faster pace every year. IDTechEx's latest report on haptics, "Haptics 2021-2031: Technologies, Market & Players", predicts that the industry will be worth nearly $5bn in 2025.

IDTechEx have released their latest report on haptics, projecting that the industry will grow from $3.6bn in 2020 to nearly $5bn per year by 2025.

At IDTechEx, we cover emerging technologies and industry trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct or indirect impact on all of them. In this article we will describe some of the key roles that these technologies have played in 2020.

The first electric hearing aid was created in 1898, and was arguably among the earliest examples of wearable tech. So it's fitting that, more than a century later, on- and in-ear technology is once again leading the way - this time as hearables, a sector now poised for substantial growth.

The wearable sensor industry will be worth $2.5 billion in 2020, having tripled in size since 2014. This comes despite the significant economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a reduction in the total revenue this year.

Last week, Apple announced the latest features that will be added to the Apple Watch in watchOS 7. Amongst the range of updates were a series of new health app features, including new "mobility metrics" such as low-range cardio fitness, walking speed, stair-descent speed, stair-ascent speed, six-minute walk distance, double support time, step length, and asymmetry.

A recent article by IDTechEx Principal Analyst, James Hayward, written on the need to update e-textiles' traditional mantra which implies that "technology + comfort = success".

2019 saw the largest single year growth rate for wearable technology product revenue since 2015

IDTechEx have released a new report covering the market, technology and players in hearables. It finds that the hearables market was worth $24.5bn in 2019 and will continue to grow at a forecasted 14% YoY from 2020-2025.

The ear has long been touted as an excellent place for technology to exist on the body. Over 5 years of gradually gaining momentum, the topic of "hearables" is finally being recognized more widely for the excellent opportunity which it presents.

Wearable technology devices seek to provide value in the augmentation of the wearer by design and function. From this perspective, electronic skin patches are a particularly interesting device type, anchoring the device to the skin in order for it to achieve a specific function.

This is the second of a two part series exploring wearable medical devices. In part 1, IDTechEx discussed trends indicating that "the future of wearable is medical". In part 2, we explore the question in reverse, asking to what extent "the future of wearables is medical."