Analysts at research firm IDC said Monday that they project the wearables market to ship 124.9 million devices by the end of the year, up 8.2% from a year earlier. That expected growth rate is below last year's 10.3% rate, but the analysts forecast that the market will post double digit growth again from 2019 to 2022 as smartwatches gain momentum. "While Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.92% will undoubtedly lead in this category, what bears watching is how [Alphabet Inc.'s goolg ] Google and its partners move forward," IDC senior analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in a release. The analysts said that other players will also be worth watching, including Fitbit Inc. FIT, -0.10% and Garmin Inc. GRMN, -0.55% . "Fitbit's Versa has had a warm reception in the market, and Garmin's devices have had a steady presence for many quarters," IDC's Ramon Llamas said. "Expect both companies to dive deeper into health and fitness while exploring new areas as well." The analysts project that Apple will ship 20.2 million devices this year. They estimate that there will be 5.4 million devices shipped that run the WearOS operating system, formerly known as Android Wear, 8.0 million devices shipped that run the Android operating system, and 9.8 million that run other operating systems. Apple shares are up 32% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.15% , of which Apple is a component, has gained 16%.