研究公司國際數據公司（International Data Corp.，IDC）的一份新報告稱，智能可穿戴設備，如手表和健身追蹤器的普及，將成為未來幾年科技行業的亮點之一。

IDC周一發布的一份報告稱，可穿戴設備發貨量在2018年躍升近9%，至1.253億部，其中包括Fitbit的追蹤設備、三星（Samsung）的泰澤（Tizen）智能手表和蘋果（Apple）的AirPods。該公司稱，到2022年，這一市場的出貨量將達到1.899億部，平均每年增長11%。不過，與IDC今年6月的報告相比，這一預測略顯保守。6月的報告預測，到2021年年底，可穿戴設備發貨量將達到1.988億部。

兩個主要的趨勢推動了這一增長。人們對功能日益強大的智能手表的興趣日益增長，正推動這一領域的發展；消費者對這個發展中市場的興趣逐漸擴大，也有助于推動低價設備的銷售。

資深分析師吉特什·烏布拉尼在報告中寫道：“智能可穿戴設備的興起不僅會出現在成熟市場，還會出現在亞太地區和其他新興市場。日本將扮演同樣重要的角色，因為日本消費了所有可穿戴智能設備的三分之一以上。”

可穿戴設備的持續擴張正值科技硬件行業的關鍵時刻，智能手機和個人電腦的銷售增長均已放緩至很低的水平。隨著全球市場達到飽和點，預計2018年智能手機銷量將有史以來首次出現下滑。與此同時，IDC的最新預測顯示，在2022年之前，個人電腦銷量預計將以每年2%的速度萎縮，這一數字在過去幾年里一直是持平或下降。過去四年，平板電腦的銷量一直在下降，而且沒有任何改善的跡象。

IDC指出，從公司的角度來看，蘋果公司仍然應該是可穿戴設備的頭號軟件生態系統，到2022年，其市場份額將達到近36%。許多中國制造商使用的由谷歌（Google）提供的免費軟件安卓（Android）將以22%的市場份額位居第二。而谷歌專有的WearOS軟件將以20%的市場份額排名第三。IDC表示，三星、Fitbit和Garmin仍將是規模較小的主要廠商。（財富中文網）

譯者：冉文忠

The proliferation of smart, wearable devices like watches and fitness trackers will be one of the tech industry’s bright spots over the next few years, according to a new report from research firm International Data Corp.

Wearables shipments, which include everything from Fitbit’s trackers to Samsung’s Tizen smartwatches and Apple’s AirPods, jumped almost 9% in 2018 to 125.3 million devices, IDC said in a report released on Monday. The market will grow an average of 11% annually to reach 189.9 million devices shipped in 2022, the firm said. Still, the projection is modestly more conservative than IDC’s report back in June that forecast wearable shipments would hit 199.8 million by the end of 2021.

Two major trends are driving the growth. Growing interest in increasingly more capable smartwatches is bolstering that segment and expanded interest from consumers in developing markets is helping fuel sales of lower priced devices.

“The rise of smart wearables will not just be in mature markets, but also from emerging markets in Asia/Pacific and elsewhere,” senior analyst Jitesh Ubrani wrote in the report. “Japan will play an equally important role as they consume more than one third of all smart wearables.”

The continued expansion of wearables comes at a critical time for the tech hardware industry, as sales growth of both smartphones and personal computers have slowed to a crawl. Smartphone sales are expected to decline for the first time ever in 2018 as the global market reaches a saturation point. Meanwhile PC sales, flat or declining for several years, are projected to shrink by 2% a year through 2022, according to the most recent IDC forecast. And tablet sales have declined for the past four years, with no improvement in sight.

Viewed on a company basis, Apple should remain the top software ecosystem for wearables, with a market share of almost 36% in 2022, IDC noted. Android, the freely available software from Google used by many Chinese manufacturers, will be second with about 22% share. And Google’s more proprietary WearOS software will rank third with 20% share. Samsung, Fitbit, and Garmin will also remain prominent smaller players, IDC said.