According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartwatch OS shipments grew an impressive 457 percent annually to hit a record 5 million units in the second quarter of 2015. Android Wear struggled, due to Apple watchOS competition, and it declined to 11 percent marketshare in the quarter.
Cliff Raskind, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartwatch OS shipments grew an impressive 457 percent annually from 1.0 million units in Q2 2014 to hit a record 5.3 million in Q2 2015. The smartwatch market is growing rapidly from a low base, driven by the expanding Apple watchOS ecosystem, and the market is being seeded with devices that will create fresh opportunities for software developers in the emerging wearables category.”
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “We estimate Apple watchOS shipped 4.0 million units and captured a commanding 75 percent smartwatch marketshare worldwide in Q2 2015. Apple watchOS has quickly become the world’s most popular smartwatch platform. The rapid growth of Apple watchOS is negatively impacting Android Wear. We estimate Android Wear shipped 0.6 million units for 11 percent smartwatch marketshare worldwide in Q2 2015, tumbling from 29 percent in Q2 2014.”
Rajeev Nair, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, “Apple watchOS and Android Wear accounted for almost 9 in 10 of all smartwatches shipped globally in the second quarter of 2015. Android Wear is getting solid support from multiple major hardware partners, such as Huawei, LG, Motorola, Asus and others. Available smartwatch apps from developers for Android Wear are increasing at a decent pace. However, Android Wear lacks a blockbuster smartwatch model. Without blockbuster models from top-tier Android Wear smartwatch manufacturers like Samsung, the Android Wear platform is unlikely to seriously challenge Apple watchOS this year.”
Exhibit 1: Global Smartwatch Operating System Shipments and Marketshare in Q2 2015 1
|
Global Smartwatch OS Shipments (Millions of Units) |
Q2 ’14 |
Q2 ’15 |
|
Apple watchOS |
0.0 |
4.0 |
|
Android Wear |
0.3 |
0.6 |
|
Others |
0.7 |
0.7 |
|
Total |
1.0 |
5.3 |
|
Global Smartwatch OS Marketshare % |
Q2 ’14 |
Q2 ’15 |
|
Apple watchOS |
0.0% |
75.5% |
|
Android Wear |
28.6% |
11.3% |
|
Others |
71.4% |
13.2% |
|
Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
Total Growth: Year-over-Year (%) |
~ |
457.3% |
|
Source: Strategy Analytics |
1 Numbers are rounded. The term “OS” refers to Operating System.
The full report, Global Smartwatch OS Marketshare in Q2 2015, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wearable Device Ecosystems (WDE) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ngj9ogm.
