Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are expected to grow by 29 per cent in 2016 over 2015. Unlike the smart phone, which consolidated multiple technologies into one device, the wearables market is a collection of disparate devices. Watches and bands will be popular, but additional form factors like clothing and eyewear are delivering new capabilities and experiences.

Traditional fashion and fitness brands are quickly partnering up with tech companies to deliver smarter clothing. Companies like Lenovo and Samsung are beginning to dabble in this space, revealing prototypes of shoes or belts. The category stands to capture 7.3 per cent of the market by 2020 as consumers and athletes integrate fashion-tech into their daily lives.

Two other factors driving the wearables market forward are cellular connectivity and applications. Cellular connectivity essentially frees the wearable from being tethered to a smart phone. Cellular connectivity on a wearable can transmit and receive data, including time, location, and other data about a user and his or her surroundings.

Applications increase the value and utility of a wearable, and users want to see more than just their health and fitness results. News, weather, sports, social media applications will all have a place on a wearable. And, when combined with cellular connectivity, users will not have to take out their smart phones to get the latest information. All they will need to do is glance at their wearable.