The new year is right around the corner — just days away, in fact — so now is as great a time as any to take a moment to lay out some predictions. What kind of predictions will we be making you ask? Due to the nature of the site we’ll be taking a look at some smartwatches and wearables due to hit the market in the coming year. For instance, some questions we’ll ask include: which devices do we feel will be successful, which features will become more prominent, and where do we think the market will be towards the end of the year?

There’s no point in wasting time, so let’s get right to it!

2015 Feature Predictions for Smartwatches and Wearables

Before we jump into some of the more lofty predictions when it comes to the rise and fall of various smartwatch models, we’d like to take a moment to explore some of the more obscure features. That is, the following list of features are what we expect to be commonplace by sometime next year.

Wearable Payments and Identification: Over the last few years, smartphones have finally been accepted into the wider world of mobile payments and identification/credentials. Hotels now allow customers to use select phones as a room key. Certain airports allow passengers to use their phone as a passport or ticket of sorts. The list goes on. It won’t be long before we start seeing some of these features include wearable devices and smartwatches. Thanks to NFC functionality wearables will be used for contactless credit and debit cards, storing personal identification and information and more.

They’re Going to Look Sexier: Over the latter half of the year we saw more attractive devices launching like the Moto 360, LG G Watch R and Asus ZenWatch. When compared to some of the bulky, off-putting devices that launched at the beginning of the year there’s no question about the jump in aesthetic improvement. We expect more to come over the course of next year, especially with Apple’s first smartwatch hitting the market earlier in the year.

More Accurate Health and Fitness Support: As time goes on, technology gets better and better. It stands to reason then, that over the course of next year some of the health and fitness tech used in modern wearables will become more efficient and reliable. That means devices will launch with much better pulse monitors, integrate GPS tracking, more accurate pedometer readings and more.

Battery Life Will Get Better: This feature is kind of a no-brainer, and let’s hope it remains true throughout the course of 2015. It’s no secret that wearables, smartwatches and smart devices in general need to see improved battery life. It’s not a stretch to believe it will get better over the coming year either.

More Business Oriented Apps and Devices: Smartwatches and wearables are great for casual use sure, but they would also be great for many business-folk, as well. Expect to see a lot more business-centric devices and apps hitting the market over the year. We should see devices become more practical in various situations as a result.

Multiple OS Support: At this stage it’s just a rumor, but Microsoft is purportedly working on a smartwatch that’s going to be compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone. That means we should see some competition hitting the market that’s compatible with devices across the board too. This can only be good news for everyone, as closed devices in terms of compatibility can be a bit of a damper on convenience and usability.

2015 Device Predictions for Smartwatches and Wearables

We already covered this a bit in a previous article, which outlined the most anticipated smartwatches coming in 2015. If you’d like, you can take a look at that piece and explore some of the devices that are sure to hit the market over the coming year.

As for our predictions, we’re going to make a few lofty ones that may — or may not — come true.

The Apple Watch Will Garner a Mixed Reception

Apple’s already trying to wow us all with a whole slew of features that aren’t really all that unique to the world of wearables and smartwatches. The biggest thing they’re bringing to the table is the digital crown which negates the need to use a miniscule touchscreen in order to interact with and navigate the device. In addition, it’s likely that Apple will really nail the app support when it comes to their smartwatch, something many manufacturers have yet to do – although Google has been fairly successful on that front lately with Android Wear.

That said, we believe that the Apple Watch is going to gather a bit of mixed reception from critics. Keep in mind, we’re not saying that the device is going to flop entirely, or that it’s going to suck. Instead, we’re merely saying that once it launches and the initial hubbub has passed, many are going to look at it as an average device instead of something that revolutionizes the industry.

Companies Like Motorola, LG, Samsung and Asus Will Dominate

As the title suggests, we believe that some of the bigger alternative names in the wearable market will dominate by providing suitable competition for Apple, if not downright crushing them. This is not necessarily going to be attributed to any one particular device, although a flagship smartwatch or wearable is certainly not out of the question. The reason we are making this prediction is because of what some of these brands have been able to accomplish over the past year. Even Samsung’s devices powered by their proprietary Tizen OS offer quite a bit of functionality making them suitable competition and options for those not interested in the Apple Watch.

It will be interesting to see how Apple approaches the incredibly fragmented wearable market, and whether or not they can convince more casual consumers to pickup a smartwatch.

Battery Life Will Matter More

Similar to how it played out in the smartphone market, people will start relying on their smartwatches and wearables more over the coming year, only to discover the limitations when it comes to battery life. That means they may even turn to a few alternatives that offer increased battery life such as the Pebble, or similar e-ink devices. Sony is said to be launching the FES watch sometime next year which will feature an e-ink style display.

We expect battery life to become much more central to the discussion of smartwatches, with many consumers looking for extended support.

2015 Market Predictions for Smartwatches and Wearables

Now all that stuff is out of the way, it’s time to explore our predictions for the market over the coming year. Where do we think smartwatches and wearables will be by the end of 2015? Will they be more successful and prominent, or less so? Are they going to eventually fade away as something more practical comes along?

To be perfectly honest, if we jumped back to the beginning of 2014 we never would have guessed the market would be exactly where it is now. Rumors were flying about devices from Microsoft, Apple, Motorola and many other manufacturers yet very few had shown anything tangible at the time. Looking back now, we can truly see how many amazing devices launched this year and how far the technology has come. We believe that 2015 is going to be the year of the smartwatch. With Apple’s first device set to hit the market, and several other successors to existing devices launching it will surely be a time of great innovation. Let’s just hope that the industry improves in general and doesn’t take a step backwards.

By the end of 2015, we believe that smartwatches and wearables will be much more prominent. You’ll see more people wearing and using them on a daily basis, and they will offer a lot more in the way of features and functionality. Hopefully, we’ll even see a better balance between cost and efficiency.

What are you expecting to happen over the coming year?