Research

The greater consumer affinity with connected devices will be accompanied by an upsurge in the adoption of platforms such as Apple Health and Google Fit.

Researchers have found that the app had a tendency to inform users that their blood pressure was in the normal range when it was actually quite high.

Tractica predicts that annual wearable device shipments will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.9%, increasing from 85 million units in 2015.

37% of consumers aged 18-24 own a connected health device, 42% of consumers aged 24-34, and among 65 and older - 31% own such a product.

On the other hand, the number of doctors who think patients should have access to their health records has dropped from 31 in 2014 to 18 percent today.

Whereas an average paging service cost per device is $9.19 per month, the cost of secure messaging app stands at less than $5 per month.

During the entire 2015, vendors shipped a total of 78.1M units, 171.6% more than the previous year; top vendors are Fitbit, Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung and Garmin.

Last year, activity tracker shipments grew almost 80 percent over 2014, as new players entered the market and sales outside the U.S. took off.

A total of 8.1 million smartwatch units were shipped in Q4 2015, rising a healthy 316 percent from 1.9 million in Q4 2014.

The adoption of these services will increase as service providers roll out initiatives to tackle issues such as infant mortality and infectious diseases.