Over the past fortnight, the smart 3C wearable electronics industry has demonstrated robust vitality in technological breakthroughs, product upgrades, and market expansion. From foundational material innovations to terminal functional iterations, and from extended consumer scenarios to industrial ecosystem development, the sector is accelerating its advancement toward “technological deepening, functional specialization, and scenario diversification.” The following analysis explores key developments in this context.
Product Iteration: Premium Features Gain Authoritative Recognition, Contextual Innovations Take Root Across Multiple Fronts
Technological breakthroughs in high-end wearable devices have become the industry's focal point. Recently, a flagship smartwatch from a Chinese company was selected for an international media outlet's annual list of best inventions and received a “Special Mention.” Its core strengths lie in dual-dimensional capability upgrades for “sports + health” — covering over 100 exercise modes while enhancing positioning tracking and data measurement for specialized scenarios like cycling and skiing, enabling precise capture of key parameters such as pace and altitude. In health monitoring, the device upgrades its sensing system for high-precision tracking of metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen levels, while adding ECG analysis and accidental fall detection. Battery life also achieves breakthroughs, lasting up to 12 days under regular use and extending to 21 days at maximum endurance, effectively alleviating user concerns about battery life.
Product innovations in vertical scenarios also shine brightly. In the industrial sector, Chinese tech companies are accelerating their entry into the AI measurement glasses market. These devices focus on “AI + industrial inspection” scenarios, assisting technicians in real-time parameter recording and verifying operational accuracy. By accumulating data, they support predictive maintenance for equipment, becoming crucial tools for boosting production efficiency. In the consumer market, smartwatches for sports and outdoor activities have achieved rapid growth through specialized features. The application of technologies like multi-frequency multi-satellite positioning and lactate threshold monitoring has significantly increased their penetration in overseas markets, with some brands seeing sales of related products surge by over 170% year-on-year.
Technological Breakthrough: Research Team Overcomes Core Bottlenecks, Technology Integration Unlocks New Possibilities
Breakthroughs in foundational technologies have injected powerful momentum into industry development. On October 8, Professor Wang Hongzhi and Professor Hou Chengyi from Donghua University, in collaboration with research teams from University College London and other institutions, published a landmark achievement in Science Advances, successfully developing “Plasma-Enhanced Energy Textiles” (PEET) technology. This technology mimics the ionization principle of lightning, forming micro-plasma channels through a multi-layered fabric structure built with nanofibers. It achieves an energy conversion efficiency of up to 19%, representing a more than 100-fold improvement over traditional triboelectric and piezoelectric power generation technologies. A 4 cm × 6 cm fabric sample can power four 55-watt fluorescent tubes with low-frequency motion while maintaining excellent breathability and wash durability. This breakthrough offers a viable self-powered upgrade for smart clothing and holds promise for future applications in outdoor positioning garments, medical monitoring apparel, and other scenarios.
Another scientific breakthrough comes from Professor Qin Xiaohong's team at the School of Textiles, Donghua University. They proposed the “adhesion-channel synergy strategy” in the field of smart textiles. By constructing a three-dimensional microchannel elastic network modified with silver nanoparticles, they achieved three-dimensional dynamic confinement and multi-level synergistic deformation of liquid metal at the fiber scale. This design effectively resolves industry challenges of liquid metal leakage and interfacial debonding. The developed conductive yarn exhibits a resistance change rate of only 0.703% under 600% high strain and maintains stable performance during bending and washing. This breakthrough provides a core material solution for the deep integration of wearable devices and smart textiles.
The deep integration of AI and hardware technologies is driving the intelligent upgrade of devices. Companies with in-house large model development capabilities have already implemented related technologies in wearable devices such as smart blood pressure monitors. Their AI voice interaction features support multilingual and dialect recognition, enabling the interpretation of health data according to industry standards. This achieves a service upgrade from “data collection” to “personalized recommendations.” Simultaneously, the application of edge computing enables devices to perform complex data processing locally—such as real-time monitoring of physiological indicators with immediate alerts—while collaborating with cloud platforms to form a “edge-cloud collaboration” service model. This further enhances response speed and privacy security.
Market Landscape: Explosive Growth in Niche Categories, Diverse Competitive Characteristics Emerge
High growth in niche categories has become a prominent market feature. The smart glasses segment continues its explosive momentum, with IDC data showing China's smart glasses shipments surged 145.5% year-over-year in Q2 2025. The Shenzhen Flat Panel Display Industry Association forecasts China's AI glasses market will achieve a 56% compound annual growth rate over the next five years. Surge in demand from vertical applications like industrial, security, and healthcare serves as the core driver, while breakthroughs in underlying technologies accelerate product adoption. Storage companies' ePOP series products, leveraging high integration and low power consumption, have been deployed in multiple smart glasses and watches, with related revenue growing over 290% year-on-year.
The wrist-worn device market is undergoing a “structural upgrade,” with Canalys data showing that watches now account for over 80% of global wearable wristband devices. Although the Chinese market remains dominated by basic models, adult smartwatches are experiencing remarkable growth. The addition of specialized functions continues to elevate product value, creating a competitive edge through differentiation. The overall market follows a “top-tier leadership + long-tail innovation” pattern: Leading brands leverage technological expertise to dominate the high-end segment, while smaller manufacturers break through by focusing on vertical scenarios and precisely targeting user needs, driving simultaneous expansion in market breadth and depth.
Industry Trends: Dual-Engine Ecosystem Upgrade Driven by Technology and Scenarios
Based on developments over the past half-month, three major industry trends have become increasingly clear: First, the deepening specialization of health and fitness functions, with devices evolving from basic parameter recording to professional data analysis and personalized guidance, significantly accelerating the adoption of medical-grade monitoring capabilities; Second, accelerated self-reliance in foundational technologies—from Donghua University's novel materials and conductive fiber innovations to proprietary AI algorithms and storage solutions—where mastery of core technologies has become the primary competitive barrier. Third, diversified application scenarios—devices are expanding beyond consumer-end daily health management into industrial production support and medical remote monitoring, with scenario adaptability determining market competitiveness.
Looking ahead, the deep integration of AI large models with edge hardware and the commercialization of novel material technologies will enable smart wearables to transcend “hardware dependency.” The industry will evolve toward an ecosystem model centered on “hardware-software integration + service value-added.” Concurrently, deep cultivation of vertical scenarios and sustained technological breakthroughs will collectively propel the sector into a new phase of high-quality growth.