Smart Inhalers by 2030: Market and Key Players

Technology Overview

Smart inhalers are among the most practical and impactful digital health tools in respiratory medicine today. Designed to support patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), these devices combine standard inhaler hardware with integrated digital sensors – most commonly using Bluetooth – to track medication use in real time.

A typical Bluetooth inhaler detects each actuation and sends the event to a connected smartphone app or cloud platform. This enables a range of features: dosage reminders, adherence tracking, missed dose alerts, and longitudinal treatment insights. For patients, the device becomes a daily companion. For clinicians, it creates a data stream that can be used to monitor behavior, adjust therapy, and reduce avoidable exacerbations.

The technology is especially important in addressing poor asthma adherence, which continues to be a leading cause of hospital admissions in both pediatric and adult populations. Smart inhalers help close this gap not by adding complexity, but by making routine medication use more visible, accountable, and personalized.

Advanced devices now integrate additional features such as:

Environmental trigger detection (e.g., pollen count, pollution levels)
GPS-based symptom mapping
Automatic syncing with digital health records and care platforms

Some systems are even layered into broader workflows, enabling behavioral coaching, predictive alerts, and AI-powered care adjustments. In this way, smart inhalers are not just medical devices — they are intelligent endpoints in a growing digital health network.

As part of the broader shift toward connected care, smart inhalers have become a foundational pillar of next-generation pharma innovation. We explore this ecosystem further in our How Technology Is Changing Pharma: A Complete Guide.

Leading Companies and Products

The global smart inhaler market is shaped by a mix of pharmaceutical giants, digital health startups, and device manufacturers competing to improve respiratory care through connected solutions. While the technology base – Bluetooth sensors, cloud connectivity, mobile apps – is increasingly standardized, market leaders differentiate themselves through clinical validation, user experience, and ecosystem integration.

Propeller Health

Propeller Health has partnered with major pharma companies such as AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim to bring connected inhalers to market. Its platform includes attachable sensors for standard inhalers and a companion app that provides personalized insights and adherence tracking. Propeller is also integrated with several payer systems and EHR platforms, making it attractive for population-scale deployment.

Teva Pharmaceuticals – Digihaler™ Series

Teva’s Digihaler line is among the few FDA-cleared smart inhalers with built-in sensors. Unlike external add-ons, Digihaler devices include flow sensors to capture inspiratory effort — offering both adherence and technique data. The product family covers short-acting (ProAir Digihaler), long-acting (ArmonAir), and combination therapies, all of which sync with Teva’s proprietary app.

Adherium

Adherium, an Australian company, focuses on COPD and pediatric asthma management. Its Hailie® sensors attach to a wide range of inhaler types and are used in both clinical and home settings. Adherium emphasizes real-time data sharing with care teams and has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its digital platform.

Amiko & Cognita Labs

Both companies offer modular, API-first platforms targeting digital health developers and pharma trials. Amiko’s Respiro system is CE-marked and designed for easy white-labeling. Cognita Labs, known for its CapMedic®, emphasizes respiratory coaching and real-time inhalation guidance via visual and audio cues.

Emerging Players

Startups in South Korea, India, and the EU are now entering the space with localized versions of smart inhalers, often focused on affordability, national reimbursement alignment, or AI-driven analytics. Some are also exploring direct-to-consumer models, particularly for urban asthma management.

For a detailed real-world deployment of connected inhalers in a hospital setting, see our
Case Study: How Clinic X Reduced Asthma Exacerbations by 18% with Bluetooth Inhalers — including adoption metrics, physician feedback, and adherence outcomes.

Market Forecasts for 2025–2030

The global smart inhalers market is entering a phase of rapid growth, driven by increased adoption of digital health tools, a rising global asthma burden, and stronger reimbursement support for connected therapeutics. From pilot programs to payer-backed distribution, smart inhalers are moving from niche innovation to mainstream respiratory care.

According to a 2024 report by Grand View Research:

“The global smart inhalers market is projected to reach USD 53.3 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.4% from 2024 to 2030.”

Key Growth Drivers

Chronic respiratory disease prevalence: Asthma and COPD rates continue to climb, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Digital adherence tracking mandates: Some insurers and public health systems now require objective adherence data to approve or reimburse long-term controller therapy.
Shift to outcomes-based reimbursement: Smart inhalers support real-world evidence collection that aligns with pay-for-performance models.
Integration with digital therapeutics: Smart inhalers increasingly feed into DTx platforms that include coaching, remote monitoring, and AI decision support.
Post-pandemic telehealth normalization: Patients and providers are more comfortable with remote, device-enabled care.

Regional Trends

North America remains the largest market due to established payer systems and FDA-cleared products.
Europe is expanding, with Germany and the UK leading digital health integration under national frameworks.
Asia-Pacific is emerging quickly — especially China, South Korea, and India — through private sector innovation and urban health pilots.

Market Size Estimate

Year	Estimated Market Size (USD)
2023	$15.4 billion
2025 (proj.)	~$25–28 billion
2030 (proj.)	~$53.3 billion

Together, these figures suggest not just a growing demand for smart inhalers, but their transition into core infrastructure for chronic respiratory care — on par with glucose monitors in diabetes.

Barriers to Adoption

Despite promising clinical benefits and strong market momentum, smart inhalers still face significant obstacles that limit their widespread use – particularly outside high-income settings. These barriers span economic, behavioral, regulatory, and technological dimensions.

Cost and Reimbursement Gaps

One of the most persistent challenges is device affordability and inconsistent insurance coverage. Smart inhalers are significantly more expensive than traditional ones, especially those with built-in sensors. In many markets, these costs are not reimbursed – or only partially – limiting access to digitally enabled care.

Even when coverage exists, it may be limited to pilot programs or narrow clinical indications (e.g., severe asthma, pediatric populations), which prevents full-scale deployment across national systems.

Physician Skepticism and Workflow Fatigue

Many clinicians remain hesitant to adopt smart inhalers due to:

Data overload from multiple connected devices
Lack of integration with existing EHR systems
Absence of standardized dashboards for interpretation

In some cases, doctors also question whether adherence data alone is enough to justify the added complexity, particularly when no clear action is triggered by usage patterns.

Privacy and Regulatory Complexity

Smart inhalers that transmit data – especially those connected to cloud platforms or insurers — raise concerns under HIPAA, GDPR, and other data privacy laws. Patients may be reluctant to share inhaler use data if it’s unclear how it will be stored or used.

Manufacturers must also ensure cybersecurity compliance, which adds cost and complexity during both development and post-market maintenance (including SBOM reporting as required by the FDA since 2023).

Digital Literacy and Usability

In older or lower-income populations, low digital literacy remains a barrier. Even the most advanced Bluetooth inhaler is ineffective if the patient cannot sync it, understand the app, or engage with follow-up prompts.

Design simplicity, multilingual interfaces, and passive data collection (i.e., no patient action required) are all critical to long-term success.