Apple, Amazon Vie for Piece of Growing Wearable Tech Market

The fitness wearables market is poised for huge growth over the next seven years — and companies and investors are taking notice.

Separate reports from Grand View Research and Fortune Business Insights placed the fitness wearable market at $34.6 billion and $36.3 billion, respectively. 

Fortune predicted compound annual growth of 15.4% through 2028, up to $114.4 billion. Grand View estimated an even higher growth rate of 18.9%. Startups and major tech companies are enhancing their hardware and software to claim a slice of that market. 

Apple Faces Wearables Competition

• Apple rolled out its Watch Series 7 in September. The wearable is required hardware for the company’s $9.99-per-month subscription workout program, Apple Fitness+.
• Amazon rolled out a new line of Halo fitness wearables that same month. Its subscription program costs $3.99 per month after a six-month trial period.
• Meta is focusing on metaverse and VR tech for its fitness push. In October, it acquired VR fitness game developer Within.

Heart rate monitoring and movement tracking are nearly ubiquitous among smart watches, and many now track blood oxygen levels, sleep quality, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and a wide array of analytics derived from those biometrics.

Startups have not been deterred by the tech giants entering the space. WHOOP, which upgraded its hardware and software in September, raised $200 million in August at a $3.6 billion valuation. Oura raised $100 million in May at a valuation of around $800 million.