Number of connected devices forecast to reach 1.34 B in 2016

MANILA, Philippines - The number of connected devices worldwide is projected to balloon from 256.8 million units last year to 1.34 billion units in 2016.

The forecast is by NPD In-Stat which based its five-year 52.6 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) forecast on the rapid global trend toward connected devices especially for household consumer electronics (CE).

Connected devices such as digital TVs, video game consoles and Blu-ray disc players and recorders have the ability to connect directly to the Internet or to a home network and can deliver IP-based video content.

“CE is no longer about ‘dumb’ devices that exist at the edge of the network to provide specific functions, but rather about ‘intelligent’ devices at the edge of the network that can connect consumers to new stores of content and engage them in new digital experiences,” said Norm Bogen, vice president for research.

“This simple fact is having a profound impact on the development of the digital media and entertainment industry, which clings to the old practices of using networks to control the user viewing experience,” Bogen added.

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for 37.1 percent of the total worldwide shipment of CE smart devices over the forecast period, while Eastern Europe is seen growing its installed base of connected media devices to 79.2 million in four years time.

Among the connected smart devices, video game consoles will lead the market with an installed base of 36.7 million units in 2016, NPD In-Stat said.

The bullish forecasts for connected devices get more basis from another NPD In-Stat research, this time on Wi-Fi home video devices. The research firm sees the number of new Wi-Fi connected digital TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other versions of set-top boxes approaching 600 million units in 2015.

“Wi-Fi has moved from a nice-to-have feature to a must-have feature as it provides the connectivity necessary to support IP-based video content,” said Frank Dickson, another vice president for research at NPD In-Stat.

“It is important to note though that Wi-Fi is growing from being simply about getting content from a network to devices, to sharing content between devices, as Wi-Fi evolves from being a network-centric connectivity standard to one that enables peer-to-peer connectivity. New innovations such as Wi-Fi Display and Wi-Fi Direct will fundamentally change the way that content is moved and shared in the home,” Dickson added.

Based on NPD In-Stat findings, by next year over 28 million WLAN-enabled Blu-ray players are expected to ship worldwide while digital TVs will reach a 40 percent WLAN-attach rate by 2015.

Other findings include a 98 percent attach rate for 802.11n in mobile hot spots in 2014, and 23 percent attach rate for 802.11ac in mini-notebooks in 2015.