Visitors look at the smart bands and wearable devices displayed at an information technology expo in Shenzhen. (Photo : www.usa.chinadaily.com.cn)
A rising number of Chinese consumers are fascinated with smart watches, bands and the latest wearable devices, prompting major international players to make their presence felt in the market, the China Daily reported.
According to the report, leading the pack is Apple Watch, which was launched in April and whose limited-edition model of 18-karat gold has a price range of $349 to $17,000.
Lenovo Group Ltd. also unveiled its Moto 360, which is cheaper at $249. As the first smartwatch available in China, it runs on Google's Android Wear operating system.
Last in the list is Jawbone Inc., a world leader in consumer technology and wearable devices based in the United States, which launched a smart wristband in China as early as 2013.
Last year, Garmin Corp., a Taiwan-based electronic products company, also released a smart wristband along with Fitbit Inc.
By late July, Xiaomi Corp announced it had sold more than 6 million smart wristbands which first appeared in Chinese stores last year.
To integrate its "health and fitness application" into its wearable devices, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. also jumped on the bandwagon after it signed a deal with Jawbone.
Tencent Holdings Ltd. also has reportedly developed a single, centralized operating system for smart bands and watches. As WeChat plans to connect everything, consumers can already use a basic wearable tracker device in first-tier cities like Beijing, or Shuashua Bands as payment swipe card for public transport.
The total shipment of wearable devices, including smart watches and bands, will reach 40 million by the end of this year, an expected jump of 128 percent compared to 2014, according to data released by consultancy firm iResearch. The number is expected to increase by 85 percent to 75 million by the end of next year.
iResearch said that the Chinese wearables market is predicted to hit 11.49 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) by the end of this year, and will grow another 47 percent to 16.94 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) by 2016.
The demand for wearable child tracking devices is also growing strong in the country as shown by figures released by Global Systems for Mobile Communications Alliance, an industry body. Telecom operator China Mobile estimated that there are up to 50 child tracker bands on the market.
A survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association in the U.S., as well as Nielsen, reported that 67 percent of Chinese consumers used wearable smart watches or bands to monitor their fitness.
The report said that the sales of fitness smart bands were driven by low prices.
South Korean company Kairos Watch released its own timepiece which retails from $499 to $1,199. The watch looked like a Swiss-made watch that can display text messages, notify the wearer of incoming calls, and connect with smartphones and tablets.
LG Corp. announced plans early this month to upgrade its Urbane 2 smart watch with an all-metal design. It will have 4G LTE connectivity and high-quality voice controls. The South Korea-based electronics giant has yet to reveal a price range for the Urbane 2 or a launch date.
Other leading Chinese companies have also entered the market. Last month, Huawei started selling its high-end Huawei Watch in Germany. That watch has all the "smart functions" such as texting and email. Its price ranges from 399 euros ($453) to 699 euros.
"A large number of Chinese companies rush to do the same thing once a product is popular," Yu Chengdong, head of the consumer division at Huawei, said. "But most of them will be struggling in three to five years' time. At Huawei, we stick to the rule of making only top-class products."
The report said that only leading companies such as Xiaomi, which has a large consumer base and a huge shipment of products, can work and benefit on the "small-profit-quick-return" rule.
