Abstract:Wearable smart devices are the best carriers for the continuous integration and innovation of Internet of Things technology, mobile Internet, cloud storage technology and big data technology, and have high-quality characteristics such as wearability, mobility, sustainability, interactivity and simple operation. With the development of social economy and the improvement of residents' disposable income, residents' purchasing power has gradually increased, and in the case of the gradual narrowing of the innovation space of smartphones and tablets and the close saturation of market increments, wearable smart devices have become the main force in the development of consumer electronics in the smart terminal industry, and the overall shipments are on the rise. In the first three quarters of 2023, the mainland wearable smart device market shipped 99.21 million units, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%.
1. Definitions and Classification
A wearable smart device is a portable smart device that can be worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. It is an intelligent device based on the natural ability or environmental ability of the human body, through built-in sensors, wireless communication, integrated chips, multimedia technology, etc., to realize user information interaction, human health monitoring, health relaxation and life entertainment. From the perspective of the nature of the product, wearable smart devices are mainly divided into consumer-grade wearable smart devices and medical-grade wearable smart devices. Consumer-grade smart wearable devices are mainly aimed at the general population, and realize users' self-health management and health improvement through exercise monitoring, muscle relaxation, rehabilitation physiotherapy, etc. Medical-grade smart wearable devices mainly serve patients with various diseases, providing monitoring and prevention for patients with specific diseases and treatment guidance for patients with chronic diseases.
Second, industry policies
1. Competent authorities and regulatory system
Wearable smart devices belong to industries with a high degree of marketization, government departments and industry associations implement industry macro management of the industry, and the business management and production and operation of enterprises are basically operated in a market-oriented manner. The competent authorities for wearable smart devices are the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the industry self-regulatory organizations mainly include the China Wearable Computing Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance and the Shenzhen Smart Wearable Industry Association. The National Development and Reform Commission is mainly responsible for formulating and organizing the implementation of national economic and social development strategies, medium- and long-term plans and annual plans, and coordinating economic and social development. The Department of Innovation and High-tech Development of the National Development and Reform Commission is responsible for organizing the formulation of plans and policies for the development of innovation, entrepreneurship and high-tech industries, promoting the implementation of innovation-driven development strategies, and promoting the development of strategic emerging industries and the digital economy as a whole. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is mainly responsible for researching and proposing industrial development strategies, formulating industrial plans and industrial policies and organizing their implementation, and promoting the development of major technical equipment and independent innovation. The Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology undertakes the management of the electronic information product manufacturing industry and promotes the promotion and application of electronic information technology.
2. Industry-related policies
With the continuous development and innovative integration of mobile communications, imaging technology, artificial intelligence and other technologies, wearable smart devices have developed rapidly and have become one of the fastest-growing high-tech markets in the world. In view of a series of health problems such as cervical spine, waist and eye fatigue and muscle soreness caused by the accelerated pace of modern life, the deepening trend of population aging, and the increasing work intensity of professionals, wearable smart devices can provide users with monitoring and auxiliary services in diversified scenarios such as people's work, study, life and travel. In recent years, relevant government departments have successively issued a number of industrial policies such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Strategy of Expanding Domestic Demand", "Notice on Measures to Restore and Expand Consumption", and "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy to Enhance the Well-being of the Elderly", proposing to conform to the trend of consumption upgrading, cultivate new consumption, improve smart and healthy elderly care products, and promote the integrated application of a new generation of information technology and smart devices such as mobile terminals, wearable devices, and service robots in elderly care scenarios, so as to promote the vigorous development of wearable smart devices.
3. Industry barriers
1. Technical barriers
Wearable smart devices have the characteristics of rapid technological upgrading and continuous product iteration, and need to rely on continuous technological upgrades or product innovation to attract consumers and promote product sales. On the one hand, enterprises in the industry need to explore new technical paths and application solutions on the basis of existing product lines, and launch differentiated new product series, and on the other hand, they need to continuously upgrade and iterate the existing technical solutions of existing products, equipped with new functional modules, and improve the user experience of products, so as to put forward higher requirements for the company's technology research and development level and intellectual property reserves.
2. Brand barriers
At present, there are a large number of participants in the domestic wearable smart device market, and the product performance is uneven, so brand awareness has become an important reference for consumers when choosing products. The establishment of brand image is the result of an enterprise's investment in product quality, product design, brand positioning and marketing network and many other aspects. The long-term and complex brand positioning and brand management determine that it is difficult for new entrants to establish a solid brand image in a short period of time, thus forming a high brand barrier.
3. Sales channel barriers
Most of the consumer groups of wearable smart devices are individual or family users, so the establishment of a multi-level sales network for the whole country is the key for enterprises to achieve sales conversion. At present, the domestic sales channels are mainly offline channels such as stores and counters, as well as online e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin. The establishment of a sales network not only requires a certain amount of time accumulation and resource investment, but also relies on rich channel operation experience and partner support, so it has become one of the important thresholds for new entrants.
Fourth, the industrial chain
1. Analysis of the industry chain
The upstream of the wearable smart device industry chain is basic software and hardware such as chips, sensors, operating systems, lithium batteries, and fasteners. Chip technology is the core of the development of wearable smart devices, and the technical maturity of chips will affect the performance of smart wearable devices. At present, the chips used in wearable smart devices are mainly divided into application processors (APs) and monolithic microcomputers (MCUs). At the same time, wearable smart devices need to monitor the human body through sensors. With the development of sensor technology, the functions of smart wearable devices are gradually improving. In the medical and health field, due to the size, accuracy, and price, sensors cannot be used in medical wearable devices on a large scale. With the continuous innovation of industrial production technology in mainland China, the supply capacity of core hardware markets such as chips, sensors, and lithium batteries continues to increase, promoting the rapid development of wearable smart devices.
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