TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • DSP Leaders
  • Great Telco Debate
    • |
    • Follow
    • |
    • Subscribe
  • |
  • More
  • Webcasts
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Great Telco Debate
  • |
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • |
    • Subscribe
    • |
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Devices

TelecomTV TRACKER

Sourced by TelecomTV's TRACKER platform
from IHS Technology Press Releases

Devices

Early adopters lead in ownership of VR headsets, smartwatches and smart speakers

Via IHS Technology Press Releases

Aug 27, 2019

Early adopters in various economies are dominating demand for leading-edge electronics devices, with these elite consumers owning 61 percent of all virtual reality (VR) headsets, 49 percent of all smartwatches and 43 percent of all smart speakers, according to a multinational survey conducted by IHS Markit.

The early adopters represent a select group of high-income individuals who purchase cutting-edge electronic products in greater volumes than other categories of people, which consist of mainstream buyers, accumulators and validators. The concentration of devices ownership in the early adopter group indicates that the market for VR headsets, smartwatches and smart speakers remains limited to a small number of users.

“When it comes to acquiring the latest technology, early adopters dramatically outperform all other types of consumers, including mainstream buyers, accumulators and validators,” said James Allison, principal analyst, consumer devices, at IHS Markit. “Out of the 12 device types inquired about in the IHS Markit survey, early adopters reported they have access to 8.6 devices per household. This compares with just 3.6 for mainstream households.”

Going beyond the early adopters

The survey results show the challenge that makers of cutting-edge devices like VR headsets, smartwatches and smart speakers face when trying to expand the appeal of their products beyond these rarified buyers and into the realm of mainstream consumers.

Despite the huge amount of attention lavished upon VR headsets, smart watches and smart speakers, the highest-volume-growth phases for these products still lie in the future. For example, global smart watch production is expected to more than triple in the coming years, rising to 92.8 million units in 2023, up from 30.7 million in 2019, according to IHS Markit. Meanwhile, production of smart speakers and digital assistants will soar to 248.6 million units in 2023, up from 104.4 million this year.

“During the next few years, the successful sellers of VR headsets, smart watches and smart speakers will be those that can demonstrate the value of their products to everyday people,” Allison said. “A combination of declining prices and increasingly compelling capabilities will be critical to attracting a larger audience. Brands need to closely watch early adopters’ usage of these devices to understand how they will be utilized by more mainstream consumers in the future.”

Early adopters first

Early adopters accounted for just 8 percent of the population in the countries surveyed, which consist of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Australia. In five out of the eight countries, early adopters ranked as the smallest group. The other groups consist of mainstream consumers, accumulators and validators.

Early-adopter consumers have higher incomes than the other groups surveyed, with 47 percent earning annual salaries greater than £45,000 in the United Kingdom, and 58 percent pulling down incomes between $60,000 and $149,000 in the United States.

With the high availability of devices in their households, early adopters often engage with new device types immediately after they launch

Smartwatch ownership is largely concentrated among early adopter households, with 80 percent of them having access to a smartwatch. Penetration is less than 15 percent across all other groups with mainstream households least likely to own one, at just 5 percent penetration.

Meanwhile, nearly half of early adopter households have access to a VR headset, compared to less than 6 percent for other groups.

IHS Markit Consumer Profiling Report

The IHS Markit Consumer Profiling Report was developed based on consumer surveys conducted in November 2018 and April 2019 to understand the adoption of various connected devices and their usage as media consumption devices. Machine learning was applied to separate the responses into groups as different from one another as possible. This methodology revealed trends that cut across countries, allowing device makers and media companies to tailor their strategies to different types of consumers.

Related Topics
  • 6G R&I,
  • Device Software & Apps,
  • Devices,
  • Digital Platforms & Services,
  • Global,
  • IHS Markit,
  • IoT Devices,
  • Tracker,
  • VR & AR

More Like This

Coronavirus

O2 helps NHS hit vaccinations milestone with connected solutions

Feb 19, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

Google Glass returns to help with the lockdown

Oct 15, 2020

Digital Platforms & Services

UK adults purchased up to 21 million new digital devices during lockdown

Aug 25, 2020

Coronavirus

Lenovo is booming: Strong growth overcomes challenging global environment

Aug 13, 2020

Coronavirus

Remote working leads to record buying of notebooks by enterprises in 2Q20, reports IDC India

Aug 13, 2020

This content extract was originally sourced from an external website (IHS Technology Press Releases) and is the copyright of the external website owner. TelecomTV is not responsible for the content of external websites. Legal Notices

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

18:24

How Zoom evolved in the pandemic era

26:24

Red Hat and HPE discuss how to support open multi-vendor 5G network slices

14:28

How RADCOM is helping Rakuten Mobile run its innovative 5G network

8:33

Monetizing innovative telco edge services

  • TelecomTV
  • Decisive Media

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media

Menu
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
 
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About Us
Our Brands
  • TelecomTV Tracker
  • TelecomTV Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • The Great Telco Debate
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070

Request a Media Pack

Follow
  • © Decisive Media Limited 2021. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Legal Notices