Over 600 million wearables shipped last year, representing the equivalent of smartphone-scale volume. And unlike phones, these devices are about to hit the disposition intake streams in waves. Available data suggests that the timeline is tight.
Smartwatches and fitness bands refresh every 2–4 years. In the commercial sector, specifically in healthcare, clinical-grade monitors, the ones hospitals deploy in fleets, cycle even faster, every 1–3 years. These refresh cycles are already underway and will push significant end-of-life volume into the stream within 24–36 months.
The real problem is more about compliance, less about volume
While most of the wearables in their current form are targeted to the consumer market, there is growing demand for commercial applications. And for ITAD companies, the opportunity may be less about hardware volume but more about the regulatory compliance and data security implications.
Hospitals and health systems in particular are now managing institution-sized fleets of patient-worn monitoring devices, from glucose sensors and cardiac monitors to remote patient monitoring patches. These devices collect continuous biometric data and connect directly to electronic health records. They enter and exit service on predictable refresh cycles.
While the ITAD sector has not yet paid attention to this market, future volumes will likely generate recurring disposition events that savvy ITAD operators serving healthcare clients will encounter and with increasing frequency.
A 2025 peer-reviewed study in NPJ Digital Medicine confirmed that modern wearables generate tens of thousands of individual data points per day per device. Across a hospital system retiring hundreds of devices per quarter, that is a significant data security surface that certified erasure protocols must cover.
The FTC already tightened the Health Breach Notification Rule (July 2024) to cover fitness trackers and wearable health apps outside traditional HIPAA scope. And Senator Bill Cassidy’s Health Information Privacy Reform Act, introduced November 2025 and currently in committee, would extend HIPAA-comparable privacy, security and breach notification protections to wearable-derived health data (heart rate, skin temp, sleep patterns) collected by apps and devices outside traditional HIPAA coverage.
For end-of-life industry stakeholders, engaging in this market starts with their disposition protocols for wearables needing certified data erasure and compliance reporting comparable to enterprise IT assets. The devices are smaller and harder to process, yet the regulatory bar is higher.
The camera problem
Then there’s smart glasses. Leaders in that industry have major goals in the sector. Meta has already sold over 9 million Ray-Ban smart glasses since late 2023, with production capacity scaling to 10 million units per year. Apple is reportedly targeting a 2027 launch. And Google’s back in the game with Warby Parker. All three are converging on AI-enabled eyewear with cameras and mics.
And when the devices are capable of capturing images and audio in public spaces, they are expected to face end-of-life scrutiny beyond standard data erasure. FDA guidance is tightening as state privacy laws are also expanding. Camera-equipped wearables will arrive within 18 months.
In the current market environment, ITAD companies handling IT equipment decommissioning are ill equipped to handle this new market. But for those interested, the first step is to audit their battery handling. Wearables are universally built with embedded lithium-ion batteries, while screens are bonded and cases are glued. Safe processing requires careful disassembly protocols and battery chemistry management across form factors that vary widely.
In addition, more attention on documenting chain of custody is critical. Compliance-sensitive commercial clients, such as healthcare, will demand it.
For ITADs that already have strong relations with target clients, the path ahead is easier. They’re already managing fleet retirement cycles. Early movers can establish recurring disposition partnerships before the volume spike hits.
All in all, the EOL sector should brace and prepare for density. While wearables are small, we expect volumes to be massive. The EOL industry’s intake and processing workflows need to account for throughput at scale.
