The Apple Watch Isn’t The World’s Best-Selling Wearable…Yet
IDC report puts Fitbit ahead of Apple for now as total wearable sales skyrocketed in 2015
The Apple Watch has helped the wearable technology sector record a staggering 223.2 percent growth in just 12 months, according to figures from IDC.
However, despite being one of the most keenly-awaited devices ever, the Apple Watch still shipped fewer units than Fitbit, which claimed the title of the world’s leading wearable producer.
Overall, Apple shipped a total of 3.6 million Apple Watches in the second quarter of the year for 19.9 percent total market share, just behind the 4.4 million devices shipped by Fitbit (24.3 percent).
Attention
“Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole,” noted Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC’s wearables team. “Its participation benefits multiple players and platforms within the wearables ecosystem, and ultimately drives total volumes higher.
“Apple also forces other vendors – especially those that have been part of this market for multiple quarters – to re-evaluate their products and experiences. Fairly or not, Apple will become the stick against which other wearables are measured, and competing vendors need to stay current or ahead of Apple. Now that Apple is officially a part of the wearables market, everyone will be watching to see what other wearable devices it decides to launch, such as smart glasses or hearables.”
The quarter saw a total of 18.1 million units shipped, up 223.2 percent from the 5.6 million units shipped in the same period last year.
Behind Apple and Fitbit, Xiaomi (17.1 percent), Garmin (3.9 percent) and Samsung (3.3 percent) rounded out the top five manufacturers in terms of units sold.
Xiaomi’s rapid growth -it had no wearable devices on sale at this point last year – was attributed to its highly successful Mi Band product, which has gained huge traction in its home market of China.
IDC said earlier this year that it expects that the rise in wearable sales is only set to continue over the next few years, estimating that 126.1 million units will be sold in 2019.
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