More than 72 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2015, marking a year-on-year growth of 173.3 per cent, according to a forecast from IDC.

A compound annual growth rate of 42.6 per cent is expected for the five year period to 2019, by which point volumes will have reached 155.7 million, the company said.

According to Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for the company: “The demand for basic wearables, those that do not run third-party apps, has been absolutely astounding. Vendors like Fitbit and Xiaomi have helped propel the market with their sub-$100 bands, and IDC expects this momentum will continue throughout 2015.”

From 2016, the company expects more capable “smart wearables”, capable of running third-party apps, to take the lead. “Smart wearables like the Apple Watch and Micosoft’s Hololens are indicative of an upcoming change in computing, and the transition from basic to smart wearables opens up a slew of opportunities for vendors, app developers, and accessory makers,” Ubrani said.