The analytical company International Data Corporation (IDC) made a forecast for the development of the market of portable electronics. Experts believe that worn on the wrist gadgets will continue to stimulate the growth of the entire industry, but the most dynamic will show only growing in popularity segments of smart clothes and wearable on the ears of devices.

According to IDC's expectations, in 2017 manufacturers will release a total of 121.7 million computerized devices intended for wearing on the body. This is 16.6% more than a year ago. In the next five years, the market will grow by an average of 17.2% per year and reach 229.5 million units by 2021.

"We expect the greatest innovation and development in the wearable electronics market to be connected to the wrist," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas,. - For users, this is the ideal place to collect data, view it and interact with them and applications, and to perform tasks such as responding to notifications or interacting with other people or devices. Wearing devices on the wrist will remain in the market leaders due to the variety of styles, design, segments and functionality ".

Researchers predict a fast-growing demand for "smart" clothing and eared computerized gadgets. The latest, according to IDC forecasts, will be released in the amount of 1.8 million units in 2017, and by 2021 their deliveries will be measured at 10.5 million units with an average annual growth rate of 54.4%. This indicator is the highest among the segments of the market of portable electronics.

While ear gadgets are used mainly for listening to music, they also find application in sports, language translation and sound modulation.

Deliveries of smart clothes will increase by an average of 42.8% per year and will grow from 2.

8 million units in 2017 to 11.6 million units in 2021. Although such products will occupy an insignificant part of the wearable electronics market, their popularity is growing by professional and semi-professional athletes who use clothes with sensors to monitor physical performance and fatigue in order to improve results in competitions. Consumer interest in such clothing is likely to remain low, since many of its features are available in other devices, the study says.