Ownership of smartwatches and TV streaming sticks remained below 8% this year, though 12.8% of respondents had a smart wristband. As in H1 2019, barely 10% owned a game console. And just 2.9% said they owned a smart home device, such as a home energy consumption monitor that could be managed via a mobile app. That share too was unchanged since 2019.

Some 12.2% of internet users owned a smartwatch in H1 2020, compared with one in 10 last year. Penetration of smart home products, such as energy consumption monitors, reached 10.9%, higher than smart wristbands at 10.0%.

Smartwatch ownership climbed to 14.4% overall—though penetration among respondents ages 16 to 24 was double that of those 55 to 64. Overall usage of voice command tools such as Siri, Cortana, and smart speakers rose to 30.7% in H1 2020. Here too, young people were most likely to take up the option. Even smartphone ownership was somewhat more widespread in H1 2020 than the year prior, at 95.9%.

Just 7.8% owned a smartwatch. Similarly, penetration of smart wristbands was greater than in 2019 but still very low at 4.1%.

While Facebook, Microsoft, and Samsung are also reportedly racing to release their own mixed-reality devices, an entry by Apple could mark an inflection point for the XR industry given Apple’s proven track record of pushing technologies—like smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches—toward mass consumer adoption.

Between H1 2019 and H1 2020, the shares of internet users owning smartwatches and smart wristbands reached just 10.9% and 8.1%, respectively—though smartwatch penetration reached double digits among some demographic groups. Just 9.6% of respondents owned a smart home device in H1 2020, compared with 7.5% in H1 2019.

By comparison, smartwatches posted only modest takeup, owned by 14.9% of the online population in 2020. Penetration was appreciably higher among males (18.5%), respondents 35 to 44 (19.6%), and those in affluent households (20.9%). Fewer than 10% of those polled owned a smart wristband.

On the other hand, takeup of both smartwatches and smart wristbands stalled below 13%. Just 11.6% of respondents owned a TV streaming stick or similar device this year. The share owning a smart home product rose from 3.6% to 4.3%. Growing interest in smart TVs reflects a modest rise in digital video consumption.

Smartwatches were already gaining fans in Malaysia last year; 12.6% of internet users owned one in H1 2019. That share rose to 15.7%. Here too, better-off, urban internet users and those in the 25-to-34 age bracket registered more substantial figures, at 21.1%, 18.1%, and 19.0%, respectively. Just 12.0% of respondents owned a smart wristband.

Adoption of smartwatches was lukewarm in Mexico, but internet users were still more likely to own one than in most other countries in Latin America. Ownership in Mexico reached 13.5% this year, while penetration rates in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia were 7.8%, 11.3%, and 12.0%, respectively, in H1 2020.

This year, smartwatches, smart wristbands, and smart home products registered penetration rates of 13.1%, 10.5%, and 9.2%, respectively. As in 2019, affluents were more likely to own any of these items. Younger internet users are driving a broader transformation of viewing and listening habits.

What success looks like for digital health apps: Digital health apps that integrate with things like electronic health records, digital pharmacy services, or wearables data may see the most success.