Fitbit surges as report shows fitness tracker market healthy
Despite the rise of smartwatches like the Apple Watch, fitness bands such as those from Fitbit (FIT) will continue to remain a big part of the wearable device market, market research firm Tractica said Monday. Fitness trackers from Fitbit, Garmin (GRMN), Jawbone and others make up the largest share of the wearables market today but will slip to second place behind smartwatches by the end of this year, Tractica said. Over the next several years, smartwatches will make up 45% of wearables, followed by 30% for fitness trackers. Wearable cameras, such as the GoPro (GPRO) Hero action camera, will come in third with 15% of shipments, followed by smart clothing and body sensors (6%), augmented reality glasses (2%) and other wearables (2%), Tractica said. “Despite the rise of smartwatches as the leading wearables category, the total market is much more diverse than smartwatches,” Tractica said in a press release…