Smart Glasses Adoption Will Be Driven by Consumer, Enterprise, Healthcare Sectors

Annual global shipments for smart glasses will hit 10 million by 2018, compared to the predicted 87,000 in 2013, according to a new report from Juniper Research. The report, Smart Glasses: Market Prospects 2013-2018, also argues that as the retail price for smart glasses drops over time, consumer adoption will increase. The adoption of smart glasses will be driven by consumer demand and then trailed closely by the enterprise and healthcare sectors.

In the healthcare sector, smart glasses will play a role in aiding video documentation and communication. Juniper's report, however, sees the remarkable potential of smart glasses in diagnostic reference, monitoring, and surgical assistance. The long-term growth of smart glasses adoption in the healthcare sector is possible, but timescales may be subjected to delays resulting from field trial requirements and regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, smart glasses will have a myriad of uses in the enterprise sector, including engineering and logistics applications. In fact, app developers are already looking in to creating smart glasses apps for custom use cases in the enterprise.

The consumer sector presents the most robust opportunity for growth in smart glasses adoption. However, the adoption rate is very much dependent on the market availability of apps and hardware.

The latest report from Juniper also says that wearable gadgets like smart glasses have to be more than just complementary devices. Otherwise, the demand for them will not reach critical mass. "These devices would need to incorporate intuitive and user-friendly functionalities and capture the imagination of the general public making the technology seamless within their daily routine," said Nitin Bhas, the report's author.

Juniper's report also finds that the market for app-enabled mobile smart wearable devices will reach $19 billion by 2018. The most developed regions in North America, Far East and China, and Western Europe will comprise majority of the market for smart wearable devices.