According to the latest data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, the global wearables market grew 5.5% during the second quarter of 2018 as shipment volume reached 27.9 million units, with Apple Watch continuing to maintain its position atop the wearables market, following by Xiaomi and Fitbit.
“Two key forces were at work during the quarter: stronger demand for smart wearables and slower declines in the basic wearables market,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables team. Llamas added that the users have come to want more from their wearable devices, and smartwatches have met that demand.
According to IDC, the market also experienced significant gains in dollar value, growing 8.3% year-over-year to $4.8 billion in 2Q18 fueled by the continued popularity of smartwatches with their high price tags.
Below is a brief overview of the top 5 wearables companies in 2Q18:
Apple maintained its position atop the wearables market with market-beating growth and continued demand for its LTE-enabled Watch. This makes it a welcome addition to many telco channels worldwide. Now that the company has unveiled watchOS 5, it has also begun to chart out potential replacement cycles as the latest version of Apple’s smartwatch platform will be compatible only with Series 1 and later.
Xiaomi held the second position and has successfully diversified its product portfolio to include shoes, kid’s watches, and multiple variants of the Mi Band, each priced at the low end of the market. The company also grew its brand awareness across Europe and the Middle East.
Fitbit‘s decline continued as the company largely relied on sales of basic wristbands in the past and was not able to maintain pace during the second quarter. However, with the launch of the Versa, the fitness giant has successfully expanded its user base.
Huawei, like Xiaomi, has been heavily focused on the Chinese market though this is slowly changing as the company starts to experience growth outside its home turf. The dual brand strategy has also been paying off as Honor accounts for a little over half of all the wearables shipped by Huawei.
Garmin extended its lead over Samsung to maintain its position as the number five vendor worldwide and saw its shipment volume of smartwatches extend their lead over its basic wearables.
More statistics are available on IDC’s website here.
