Surprise! Samsung files for more wearables patents than anyone

Good news for the few of you who haven’t switched to Apple yet. Lux Research announced on Tuesday that Samsung is the leader in large technology companies filing for wearable technology patents.

According to the research group, 41,301 patents for wearable technology were issued between 2010 and May 2015. Of the top 15 tech companies, Samsung filed for four percent of those patents. 77 percent of filed patents were from groups unaffiliated with the top 15 tech companies.

Samsung was one of the first tech giants to get into the wearable market when it released the Galaxy Gear smartwatch back in 2013.  Since then, the company has released an entire line of Galaxy Gear products ranging from smartwatches to virtual reality.

The research group also noted that the growing sector of printed, flexible, and organic electronics has been a hot area. 140,926 PFOE patents have been filed with Samsung leading the pack again at 10 percent total patents filed.

“Flexible electronic components create the possibility of conformable, adaptable and immersive wearable devices that can seamlessly fit into everyday life,” said Tony Sun, a writer and research analyst at Lux Research.

“However, the lack of overlapping patents between PFOE and wearables indicates a need and opportunity to develop and apply these technologies specifically for wearable electronic devices,” he added.

The company’s research and design team is currently cooking up a whole batch of PFOE products that could be out as early as 2016. A Samsung smartwatch with gesture control and a smartphone you can strap to your arm are just a few of the PFOE products in the works.

The study conducted by Lux Research exposed a surprising separation between PFOE products and wearables. Only 651 patents were filed that have overlap between the two kinds of technology.

While the future for PFOE and wearable tech looks promising, it may be a little while before we start to see a surge in overlapping tech.