The latest IDC data on the wearables market suggests that Apple Watch sales are enjoying modest growth, up from an estimated 3.6M units in Q2 to 3.9M in Q3. This growth is mainly due to Apple taking the Watch into new markets, it says, though September’s introduction of modest discounts along with gold and rose gold Sport models is also likely to have helped.
However, while Apple has emerged as the undisputed market leader in smartwatches, Fitbit has retained the top slot in the overall wearables sector.
While there has been clear growth in the wearable market, there has been little sign of product cannibalization. Smart watches have drawn increased attention to the market from the likes of Apple, Motorola, Pebble, and Samsung, but this has not dampened interest in fitness trackers.
IDC reports that Apple holds an 18.6% market share in the wearables market as a whole, while Fitbit leads at 22.2% – and says that both fitness bands and smartwatches are enjoying sales growth.
There was less happy news for Samsung, however …
Chinese vendor XTC, a subsidiary of BBK, beat Samsung for the number five position by 100,000 units in its worldwide debut. Like other Chinese vendors before it, XTC maintained its focus exclusively within China, and with just one device: the Y01, a children’s phone watch.
The Apple Watch’s sales growth will almost certainly accelerate in the holiday quarter, with the device likely to be a popular gift.
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How does 32.8, 5.7, 7.0 and 54.7 equal 100?
54.6*
It still comes out to 100.1, I’m sure there were rounding some of the numbers up. Just saying—–
Oh my god they made .1 mistake. Get over it
It was probably using numbers and a rounding issue. Yeah, I know. Maybe they were using Excel. :-)
If I practice my job like that, I’d be fired.
Coming soon! Surface Watch running Windows 10. Apple is Doomed™
Scarface watch?
I think Apple needs to come out with a cheap fitness tracker. Just a simple band just that tells you steps, calories and the time and leave the bulky part of the watch behind. Apple will probably sell way more of them as long as they would be price competitive with the Fitbit.
I’d probably be interested in the product you’re describing. But I doubt it will happen – Apple doesn’t do cheap, and I’m sure it won’t want to cannibalize Apple Watch sales, even if it means conceding the lower end to Fitbit and the like.
whats the chance for a second gen watch in the first Q 16?
Zero.
I’ll go even further. In my opinion, I don’t think you’ll see a new Apple Watch anytime in 2016. I think it will be at the most a 2-year refresh cycle. It has a limited market (iPhone users) and many (most) that want a smartwatch have already purchased one. I don’t see many of them being willing to replace it every year. There’s just no reason. The form factor is nice, everything works well for all but the pickiest users who won’t be happy unless they can run MS Office on it. So if the current owners aren’t going to buy a new one, there won’t be enough of a market for a new model. I think they will have to wait at least 2 years for the current owners to feel justified in buying a new one.
It’s a shame that FitBit claims iOS compatibility but doesn’t support Apple Health App, the iOS core app regarding the sort of data that one gathers on Fitbit’s products. Most people don’t realise this when they buy a FitBit product, and judging by this thread of 112 pages on FitBit’s forums, it seems that many of their customers wind up being very unhappy with their choice. FWIW, FitBit does support Microsoft’s equivalent app.
I’m sure Apple’s getting the majority of the profit margin since they have more expensive products. Gold.
You should be thinking from the consumers point of view not from an investor or fans point of view. Greater profit margins means overpriced products. That’s the way I see things.
Why should he conform to your views? What if he is an investor and is interested in that view? Just because you see things one way doesn’t mean everyone has to see it that same way.
A product is only overpriced is people won’t want to put for it! Look at Android, Apple is making more then 90% of the profits. Samsung’s has shrunk and a number of them are in the Negatives. Better prices sure, but that can only continue for so long. Supply and Demand.
I still believe, iWatch has a better chance as a name
What are you talking about Ben? Apple Watch sales are absolutely stellar.
In the first 3 quarters of sales, Apple Watch sales are on track to be far higher than the iPod or the iPhone and equal to what the iPad managed in their first 3 quarters on the market and almost equal to current Mac sales as Horace Dediu points out.
The Apple watch COMPLETELY dominates the Smart Watch market with Apple selling more smart watches in its first day of pre-orders than the entire smartwatch market had sold in the previous 12 months (720,000 units). The initial dominance has not abated with Apple on track to sell around 14-15 million units by the end of this month.
By lumping the $400 ASP Apple Watch in with $50 pedometers, IDC is merely engaging in it’s usual shenanigans of trying to obscure Apple’s market-shattering success.
The valid comparison would be profit margin. I think whoever is paying IDC to do this report wouldn’t like that, though…
Do you have the source for your Apple Watch sales figures, baring in mind that Apple have NEVER released them.
Or are you merely quoting analysts figures – which could be less or more than they really are?
Fitbit? Blech. Fitbit is not a watch. Apple Watch is.
Xiaomi? Not for the American Market.
Just got my Apple Watch a week ago! It’s better then I thought. Sure there’s some lag when loading up Data from 3rd party Apps. That’s to be expected. In general it’s pretty snappy. I seem to still have over 50% of the battery life left each night sticking it on the charger. It’s great to see Notices on it and not having to grab my phone.