Gu Xiaobin, CEO and founder of GEAK, is eyeing new opportunities in the wearable tech market. Photo: Courtesy of GEAK

The humble wristwatch used to be able to tell you the time and not much else, but Chinese wearable tech giant GEAK is changing the way we live with its innovative smartwatches that allow users to surf the Web, make phone calls and send text messages.

On June 20, the company lifted the veil on its highly anticipated GEAK 2 Smartwatch by releasing a short video showcasing features of the Android device slated for launch at home and abroad in September.

The release of the GEAK 2 Smartwatch is set to come a year after the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch. It asserts the Shanghai-based company's presence as a competitive force in the Chinese and global tech markets.

Recent statistics from On World, a US-based technology research firm, suggest that over the next five years some 700 million wearable tech devices will flood the global market at a value of $47.4 billion. Annual revenue for wearable tech makers worldwide is forecast to reach $47 billion by 2018 driven primarily by sales of smartwatches, the company predicted.

A recent report titled Wearable Device Market Growth 2014-20 by global market research and consulting firm DisplaySearch found that sales of wearable devices are expected to reach 48 million units in 2014, nearly doubling to 91 million in 2015. The report added that China would dominate the global wearable tech market both in terms of sales and manufacturing.

GEAK eyed opportunities in the wearable tech market long before it launched its GEAK 1 Smartwatch in summer of 2013. Gu Xiaobin, CEO and founder of GEAK, told the Global Times that the company strives to be a leader in research and development of smartwatches, adding that planning for the GEAK 2 Smartwatch began half a year before the release of the first model.

Based on the company's research, strong domestic sales are predicted for the rest of 2014 to the tune of up to 14 million smartwatches. GEAK's share in the Chinese smartwatch market is predicted to be between 8 percent and 10 percent.

The GEAK 2 Smartwatch was designed based on online market research with the input of tens of thousands of Net users. The new smartwatch will be tested and fine tuned from July to September ahead of its official launch. Its price hasn't been disclosed.

Gu noted wearable tech devices must combine peak performance with low-energy consumption. "This is why the GEAK 2 Smartwatch incorporates a kind of chip produced using minimal energy consumption, just like the Google Glass," said Gu. "The new chip not only reduces costs, but also supports other functions, such as automatically displaying the time when a user raises their wrist."

Like other wearable tech makers, GEAK has high hopes for the future of the industry. "Unlike cellphones that must be kept in users' pockets, smartwatches are more portable and easier to access," said Gu.

GEAK is currently working on wearable tech devices to be used in sports. Its smartwatches cater to this need through features that monitor a user's sleeping pattern, pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, mood and number of steps walked.

But it is still too early to say whether wearable tech devices will replace smartphones. Some popular functions, such as watching videos, still depend on screens larger that the GEAK 1 Smartwatch's 2.5-centimeter, 240x240-pixel screen.