Xiaomi lead the way with 6.9 million units shipped in the third quarter
Global shipments of wearable devices has grown 21.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) for the third quarter of 2018.
The report by IDC revealed that 32 million units were shipped in the quarter, with strong growth in Asian/Pacific markets (excluding Japan) accounting for nearly half of total shipments after 21.4 per cent YoY growth.
Xiaomi shipped the most wearables for Q3 with 6.9 million units as it grew 90.9 per cent YoY to claim over a fifth of total market share.
Apple came second with 4.2 million shipments and 54 per cent YoY growth, with Fitbit third with 3.5 million shipments, a figure that is down 3.1 per cent from Q3 2017.
Despite a growing Asian market, the second largest market, the United States, saw a decline of 0.4 per cent YoY.
IDC research director for wearables Ramon Llamas said that the market benefits from geographical differences.
“China – the largest market for wearables and more than double the size of the U.S. market – has grown thanks to strong device development and experimentation, low-cost products, and strong demand for basic devices to draw in new users.
“Meanwhile, the U.S. market – while slowing down – presents an opportunity for vendors to offer more featured and higher-priced devices to current users and possibly to recapture old ones.”
Huawei with 1.9 million shipments and Samsung with 1.8 million completed the top five. The Korean manufacturer grew the most YoY with 91 per cent growth.