The Q1 wearables market grew by 17.9% YoY, according to IDC, with 24.7 million devices shipped. Fitbit slipped down the rankings to third with Xiaomi and Apple challenging neck and neck for top spot among the vendors. Fitness bands are losing popularity with watches and other products taking over, but IDC believes that Fitbit, with its user base of 50 million, can recover if it moves into new segments. “Fitbit finds itself in the midst of a transformation as user tastes evolve from fitness bands to watches and other products,” said Ramon Llamas of IDC.
“The market is arguably still in the first phase of development, where companies are focused on seeding wearables into the market,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “It’s all about getting people accustomed to the idea of wearing a device. And the opportunity remains very enticing for traditional and fashion watch brands as the scale of the consumer electronics market far surpasses their world.
“The second phase of development will be all about putting user data to good use,” continued Ubrani. “This is when step counts translate into healthier hearts and minds. And it’s also when we will start to see devices that actually augment our abilities and make our lives easier or more productive rather than just being another screen we keep an eye on.”
Xiaomi thrives on inexpensive devices in China, which are 96% of its shipment volume, while Apple’s smartwatch is selling worldwide and the company has seen the second highest YoY growth. Samsung took the top spot for growth, almost doubling volume from a year ago, due to diversification of products. Garmin’s shift to include smartwatches has seen its volumes for basic and smart wearables nearly equalling each other.
