Wearable technology is becoming more sophisticated as players shift beyond simple fitness bands to new gadgetry from the likes of Fitbit and Xiaomi and driven by devices from Apple and Samsung Google.
Telsyte MD Foad Fadaghi notes that Australians bought more than two million wearable gadgets last year, and 37 percent of those were smartwatches.
One of the biggest drawcards of using a smartwatch in Australia, Fadaghi says, is its limited ability to be used like a credit card at the checkout. So far the ANZ is the only one of the big four banks to take up Apple Pay.
Globally, Fitbit suffered a serious drop in popularity this year, according to Singapore-based market researcher Canalys, plummeting 30 percent and selling just 2.9 million devices.
By comparison, Apple claimed top spot in the market with 3.8 million Apple Watch sales, up 25 percent on the same time last year.
