Despite Tethered Approach, Apple Watch Expected to Fuel Spike in Wireless Charging for Wearables
The arrival of the Apple Watch this year will drive a 3,000 percent spike in shipments of wireless power receivers and transmitters for wearables, IHS Technology said. In a news release Thursday, IHS said it expects 2015 global revenue from shipments of wireless charging products for wearables to grow to more than $480 million, up from $15 million in 2014. By 2019, wireless charging devices for wearables will top $1 billion in revenue, it said.
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“Growth this year will be remarkable for wireless charging in wearable electronic devices, even if in reality the overall penetration of wireless charging into wearables is relatively low,” said Vicky Yussuff, analyst for wireless charging at IHS Technology, citing the “billions” of wearables shipping each year. “Interest in the use of wireless charging remains high” from wearables technology providers and device OEMs, she said, saying wireless charging for the category will "escalate rapidly over the next five years.”
IHS acknowledged that Apple’s proprietary MagSafe inductive charging does “not really promote the benefits that wireless charging technology has to offer,” but the Watch is still expected to drive “some awareness” of wireless charging. Of the total number of wireless-charging-enabled receivers forecast to be shipped in wearable electronics in 2015, Apple Watch is projected to take a “dominant share, accounting for more than 70 percent of total revenue in wireless-charging-enabled wearable devices,” Yussuff said.
IHS noted that wireless charging now typically consists of a pad or mat on which consumers can place an enabled device for charging, without having to connect the device and the pad or mat physically. The enabled device, such as a smart watch, can be picked up for use and replaced for charging in a manner referred to as “drop and charge.” But advancements in wireless charging are moving forward, and “even more versatile solutions are emerging offering greater spatial freedom,” it said, including wireless charging through surfaces, support for wireless charging of multiple devices from the same wireless charger and even wireless charging over distances, it said.
Apple’s technology for the Apple Watch, which uses inductive charging, isn't a “drop and charge” mechanism, nor does it offer any range of freedom of movement to the user, Yussuff said. For the first generation of its smart watch, Apple has borrowed the MagSafe charging from the MacBook Pro, in which the watch will be physically tethered to the charger at all times while charging, and held in place by a magnet. But IHS projects that by the end of 2017, shipments of wearable-technology wireless charging receivers that allow charging over distances will overtake inductive or tightly coupled technology.
At CES, Fossil Group, which plans a Q3 launch of wearables, told us wireless charging is critical to the growth of the wearables category (see 1501080038). The typical Fossil customer needs to be able to “change her watch with her outfit every single day,” CEO Greg McKelvey said, adding that a typical Fossil customer has five to seven watches. That customer “can’t charge seven things” with a nest of micro USB cables on a nightstand, he said. The wireless charging consideration is “absolutely core to what we’re doing,” McKelvey said. Preston Moxcey, general manager-wearable technology for Fossil Group, added that wearable technology “won’t work” if there’s not a painless, clutter-free way to charge the devices.