According to Canalys estimates, Apple took nearly 80% of total smartwatch revenue in the last quarter of 2016. Sales of Apple watches in this quarter were more than $2.6 billion and this set a new quarterly shipment record. The total shipments for smartwatches in the quarter exceeding 9 million, of which Apple shipped 6 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 12%.
Although expanding its supply chain, Apple was significantly handicapped by supply constraints in the quarter, the firm said. Despite this, it was Apple’s best ever quarter for smartwatches.
Analyst, Jason Low believes that Apple mainly succeeded due to its streamlined marketing and re-aligned pricing helped by lowering the entry price of the Series 1.
According to Canalys estimates, Apple’s market share was around 50% globally for 2016 with total shipments of 11.9 million smartwatches.
Xiaomi also enjoyed a record quarter of its own for basic band shipments, reaching 5.5 million Mi Bands. “New batches of Mi Band 2s were shipped in time for the Singles’ Day shopping festival in China,” according to Low. “Building on the success of its first-generation Mi Band, Xiaomi quickly expanded the availability of the Mi Band 2 across Asia Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. India, Poland and Russia were key markets where the device was introduced alongside the company’s Mi and Redmi smartphones through direct and third-party online channels.”
Analyst Comment
Canalys expects Android-based sales to get a boost from the release of Android Wear 2.0. (BR)
