Smartwatch market grows, Apple maintains a massive lead
As the smartphone market is cooling off, the smartwatch market is growing at an accelerating pace. 12 million units were shipped during Q2 this year, a growth of 44% compared to the same period last year.
The Apple Watch maintains its massive lead – Cupertino shipped an impressive 5.7 million units, meaning it controls nearly half of the market.
Samsung is in pursuit with 2 million shipments in Q2. That’s more than double the number from the same period last year. It still has a way to go, but Strategy Analytics believes the Galaxy Watch Active2 and other new models will help it expand its market presence.
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) | Q2 "18 | Q2 "19 |
| Apple | 3.8 | 5.7 |
| Samsung | 0.9 | 2 |
| Fitbit | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Others | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Total | 8.6 | 12.3 |
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Marketshare (% of Total) | Q2 "18 | Q2 "19 |
| Apple | 44.40% | 46.40% |
| Samsung | 10.50% | 15.90% |
| Fitbit | 15.20% | 9.80% |
| Others | 29.80% | 27.90% |
| Total | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Total Growth YoY (%) | 55.40% | 43.60% |
| Source: Strategy Analytics | ||
Fitbit dropped down to third as its shipments shrunk despite the growing market. It’s losing to Apple in the premium segment and the Fitbit Versa Lite is faltering in the entry level (the original Versa was something of a hit for Versa in Q1). There’s more bad news – Samsung, Garmin and Fossil are trying to steal Fitbit’s market share in the health and fitness segment.
