Welcome to The Wearable Weekly, your trusted guide to all things wearable tech. If you only have time to read one thing about wearables this week, this is it.
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Wearable Weekly using the form below to make sure it hits your email inbox every week!
Statistics and Forecasts
Apple Watch sales up over 50% since last year (TechCrunch)
Worldwide AR/VR market will grow from $11B today to $215B by 2021, predicts IDC (9to5 Mac)
Xiaomi is world’s top wearable maker for first time as Fitbit sales slide (TechCrunch)
Fitbit shares rocket 15% as analysts bet on smartwatch launch (MarketWatch)
Apple Watch Has Now Surpassed Estimated 30 Million Shipments Since Launching in 2015 (MacRumors)
Zebra 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study finds 50% of participating manufacturers expect to adopt wearable technology by 202 (Manufacturing.net)
DHL use of Vuzix smartglasses resulted in 15% productivity improvements on average (PRNewswire)
A smart torque wrench and Google Glass improve GE Aviation mechanics’ efficiency by 8-12% (TechRepublic)
Device Announcements
HP debuts Z VR backpack aimed at the enterprise (Engadget)
Neurable unveils world’s first brain-controlled VR experience (IEEE Spectrum)
Merge Cube augmented reality toy debuts at Walmart (VentureBeat)
Microsoft starts selling developer ‘mixed reality’ headsets online (TechCrunch)
Google’s second AR phone, the Asus ZenFone AR, is finally official (Ars Techinca)
Funding & M&A
Greycroft’s Jon Goldman raises $15.6 million fund for VR, AR, esports, and games (VentureBeat)
Boeing’s HorizonX investes in C360 Technologies (GeekWire)
Neurable Receives Investment from Zell Lurie Founders Fund (FINSMES)
Major milestones
Sansar beta opens (Engadget)
Mio Global appoints new CEO (BetaKit)
The Void is bringing a location-based Star Wars VR experience to Disney resorts (TechCrunch)
High Fidelity announces integration of HTC Vive Trackers for full-body motion capture (PRNewswire)
Rumours
Rumors continue to grow on “Samsung Pop” wearable device (Wareable)
Apple is suddenly looking to hire a bunch of map tech experts (CNBC)
Apple Experimenting With Several Augmented Reality Glasses Prototypes (MacRumors)
The next Apple Watch will reportedly have LTE (The Verge)
Subscribe to The Wearable Weekly
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Wearable Weekly using the form below to make sure it hits your email inbox every week!