Apple might only have one wearable on offer, but that hasn’t stopped it from taking the smartwatch industry by storm.
According to market analysts IDC, Apple managed to ship a very impressive 3.6 million Apple Watch units last quarter.
That means that Apple took second place in wearable sales rankings in the three months leading up to July.
That’s not surprising – Fitbit has had a hold on the wearable market for quite some time, and ships a wide range of body-borne fitness trackers.
As such, Fitbit claimed an impressive 24.3% share of the market, up on Apple’s still formidable 19.9%.
Xiaomi took third spot with 17.1%, after which share rankings seriously drop off.
For instance, Garmin is fourth with 3.9%, while Samsung is fifth with a comparatively paltry 3.3%.
Apple hasn’t actually confirmed sales data on the Apple Watch in Q2, with CEO Tim Cook only saying the wearable “exceeded expectations”.
Regardless, the Apple Watch has clearly been a boon to the industry, as total shipment volume for wearables was up 223.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
“Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole,” explains Ramon Llamas, research manager of IDC’s Wearables team.
He continues: “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.”
Related: Apple Watch 2 news
We should note that all of the figures mentioned in this report are estimates, and so we can’t really know how many Apple Watch units have been sold until Apple reveals the figure itself.
Are you surprised by these alleged Apple Watch sales figures? Tell us why, or why not, in the comments.
Check out our ‘Apple Watch – Race Across London’ video below:
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
