A new study has found that the market for wearables continues to expand, but the conditions shaping the growth are changing.
Notably, according to the latest Global Wearables Market Outlook report from the UK-based Futuresource Consulting, smart glasses and smart rings are beginning to carry “real strategic weight.” Earlier this year, we wrote about the firm’s study on car audio listening.
Several of the smart glass wearables, for example, include built-in wireless audio, positioned as not just eyewear, but headphones and personal voice assistants.
Advances in on-device AI, sensor fusion and next-generation chip platforms are giving wearables more autonomy and more relevance throughout the day, according to the new study.
In all, the firm forecasts approximately 229 million shipments worldwide this year, a 5.1% increase from 2025.
Retail value is expected to increase at a 6% clip, resulting in a generation of $57 billion.
Smartwatches continue to hold the high ground, according to the report, with approximately 93 million shipped last year and further growth expected. Their position rests on a mix of health tracking, connectivity and ecosystem value, the report said, particularly in North America and Europe.
“What has changed is that the smartwatch category is no longer carrying the whole market on its own,” Futuresource said. Now, the wearables growth is being shared more widely, it said, and with that comes a more fragmented landscape.
Smart glasses shipments rose to approximately 6 million units in 2025, with Futuresource forecasting expansion through to 2030 as improvements in AI, voice control and component footprint size continue.
Meanwhile, smart rings reached about 4 million units in 2025 and are building traction through health tracking with relevance in sleep, stress and women’s health.
The report points to a wearables market increasingly shaped by “connected-device ecosystems,” where watches, glasses, rings and smartphones all work together as part of a broader digital environment.
But not every segment is keeping pace, the report said. Activity trackers continue to contract, with Futuresource forecasting an 8.9% drop in volume CAGR through to 2030.
The decline is a clear signal, according to Futuresource, that simpler hardware is losing ground when it can’t justify its place “through richer features or stronger ecosystem relevance.”
Futuresource Consulting said it has operated for approximately 35 years as a market research and consultancy firm.
