The Wearables Revolution: The biggest market in the history of the planet
A few years ago, back in 2009, I started writing articles about what I was calling the App Revolution. I made predictions about the potential size, scope and growth of apps, smartphones and tablets and how they would change our lives forever.
Most of my predictions like “ the ultimate size of a market that will entail billions of people using trillions of apps” from back then seemed outrageous at the time.
Now they seem prescient:
When you find the single largest target market in the history of the planet, it’s time to get excited — perhaps even consumed by apps. I’ve certainly been obsessed with all things apps since I started looking at the growth ahead and the ultimate size of a market that will entail billions of people using trillions of apps. Seriously, those are real numbers, and as I wrote in Invest in the app revolution any way you can, I’m not only obsessed with finding the best publicly-traded plays on the app revolution, but I’m even launching app companies like Scutify.
I explained to people that apps were going to become the “largest target market in the history of the planet.” Even though we all use apps and even though the App Revolution did indeed change everything and become the largest target market in the history of the world, I’ve just come to the realization that the App Revolution is actually just getting started. The Wearables Revolution, which only works because we’ve become such an app-centric economy, is going to make an even bigger than the Smartphone and Tablet Revolutions did with apps.
That is, wearables are to the smartphone and tablet what the smartphone and tablet were to PCs. Wearable technology that keeps people and companies connected to the Internet through simple to use apps is the single most evolutionarily revolutionary technology to hit since the smartphone was first rolled out.
I’ve been testing out Google Glass for the last few weeks and I have seen the future. The future is one where you will talk and/or tap on your Smartglasses and Smartwatches and Smartrings and other smart jewelry (ie, wearables) to interact with the data, information, and personal content with more ease than ever before.
The reason apps for wearables is so important is because of the very simple interfaces required by the wearable form factor. When you want to control and manipulate your data, information and content deeply, you’ll go to your PC. In the same way that it’s much easier to sign up for and type and view on your Facebook profile page or your Google Analytics on your PC than it is on your smartphone, the same is true for wearables. Wearables won’t “replace” your smartphone entirely in the same way that your smartphone didn’t “replace” your PC entirely.
You can still record a video with a camera accessory to your desktop computer and upload it to YouTube or Facebook. And for another decade at least, you’ll always have the option of pulling out your smartphone or tablet to record a video and upload it to YouTube or Facebook. But do you have any idea how much easier it is to simply tap your Google Glass and say “Ok glass, record a video” and then to say “Ok glass, share this with YouTube (or Facebook)”? It is so much easier.
With holographic projectors and wearable eyepieces and other display form factors coming out as the wearable technology polishes itself up for primetime, the possibilities and potential for wearable technology is unrivaled.
I’ve been researching the best stock plays on wearables and am developing a Wearables Index comprised of 20 stocks. I’m finalizing my analysis on the very best two or three plays on wearables to complement our existing long positions that are in the Wearables Index, including Invensense, Ambarella, Intel, and Sandisk, which are also in the Wearables Index.
The Wearables Revolution is going to make a lot of people a lot of fortunes over the next five to ten years made as people start buying 3, 5 or even 10 wearable computers for every one smartphone they have.
