Analyst: 'Smart glasses' shipments to hit 10 million by 2018

Latest figures from market watcher Juniper Research claim shipments will rise from 87,000 this year to 10 million by 2018

Shipments of "smart glasses" are set to smash through the 10 million barrier by 2018, according to the latest figures from Juniper Research.

The tech number cruncher claims that as the retail price for smart glasses declines towards the end of the forecast period, adoption among consumers will significantly increase.

But Juniper Research said the devices need to become more than just complementary devices or secondary screens.

Nitin Bhas, author of the report Smart Glasses: Market Prospects 2013-2018, said: "These devices would need to incorporate intuitive and user-friendly functionalities and capture the imagination of the general public making the technology seamless within their daily routine."

Juniper's report found that adoption would be driven by consumers, but closely followed by the enterprise and healthcare sectors.

The report also predicted that the app-enabled mobile smart wearable device hardware market will be worth $19bn (£12bn) by 2018, dominated by regions in North America, the Far East and China, and Western Europe.