74m units to ship in 2019.

Worldwide shipments of wearable devices, including smartwatches, head-mounted displays, smart clothing, ear-worn devices, wristbands and sports watches, will reach 225 million units in 2019, according to the latest data from Gartner. Of this, 74 million smartwatches will be shipped.

Spending on wearable devices is forecast to reach US$42 billion with $16.2 billion spent on smartwatches.

Gartner senior director, Alan Antin said, β€œThe smartwatch market is bolstered by the relatively stable and higher average selling price (ASP) of the Apple Watch. But the overall ASP of smartwatches is expected to slowly decline from US$221.99 in 2018 to $210 in 2022, due to lower-priced competitors and as higher volumes lead to reductions in manufacturing and components costs, while strong brands like Apple and traditional watch brands try to keep pricing stable.”

Gartner predicts that by 2022, ear-worn devices, such as Apple AirPods and Samsung IconX, shipments will take over as the top wearables segment with 158 million units shipped compared with 115 million smartwatch shipments.

Gartner expects ear-worn wearables to move beyond fitness and health coaching and entertaining to accommodate virtual personal assistants and be used for takes such as queries and hands-free directions. Advanced ear-worn devices may even reduce smartphone use as they will take over many tasks that users solve with the help of their smartphones.