2015 is the year of smartwatch android the smart bra

Twelve months ago, wearable technology was the preserve of geeks in virtual reality headsets and early adopters touting clunky smartwatches. Not any more. A recent report predicted Britons would spend 104.7million on wearable technology this Christmas as consumers snap up fitness gadgets, smartwatch android intelligent watches and gaming systems. This is just the beginning. Wearables could be the defining technology of the next decade. You may still own a smartphone in 2020, but I wouldn bet on it.

By 2015, there are likely to be three key wearable trends: the huge growth of smartwatches, the arrival of technology integrated into clothing and the acceleration of the use of wearables in business. You probably know a little about smartwatches courtesy of some high profile launches. Next year, the battle for your wrist will go into overdrive with the world major consumer electronics firms launching innovative devices.

The first generation of watches connect via a Bluetooth link to a smartphone and enable the owner to monitor their fitness levels and control their mobile camera and music player as well as peek at maps and keep an eye on messages on the watch tiny screen.

However, who really wants two devices? Several major consumer electronics players already boast watches that have 3G connections built in, so their owners can make and receive calls without the watch having to be connected to a phone. It will be fascinating to see if these devices catch buyers imaginations or whether people will find them too fiddly.

For some manufacturers, though, physical devices such as watches, jewellery and headsets are already old hat.

In fact, analyst Gartner has predicted that smart clothing has the biggest potential for growth out of all the different wearables types moving from virtually zero sales in 2014 to 26 million items in 2016.

The first smart clothes evolved through medically based projects that featured sensors integrated into shirts and hats to monitor conditions such as epilepsy. Now, though, clothing brands are waking up to their potential. So expect to see smart bras (to monitor health and fitness), intelligent jackets and more, all of them with built in electrodes that can pass on data to a smartphone or other device.

Finally even if you have written wearables off as gizmos solely for tech obsessed consumers your boss may force you to think again. Next year we will start to see wearables creeping into the workplace with smartwatches replacing mobile phones in industries such as construction, and healthcare professionals using virtual reality headsets to undertake simulations of medical procedures.

And wearables will start popping up in retail, too. Pop down to your travel agent and very soon you will be able to take a virtual tour of a destination you are considering by putting on a headset. No matter where you look, wearable technology will be everywhere in 2015.