The worldwide wearables market grew 197.6% in Q3 2015, according to the latest report from IDC. The total shipment volume for the quarter came to 21.0 million units up from the 7.1 million units shipped in Q3 2014.
In this quarter as well, Fitbit has surpassed Apple Watch to become and taken the number one spot with 22.2% of market share with shipment hitting 4.7 million. Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Surge models helped Fitbit to maintain its leadership. Next up, Apple posted a slight increase from the previous quarter as a result of additional markets and channels coming on line for the Apple Watch, as well as the release of watchOS 2, which brought native, third-party applications to the smartwatch. The company shipped 3.9 million units and has a market share of 18.6%. Xiaomi came in third with shipment hitting 3.7 million while the market share is 17.4%. 97% of its Mi Band were shipped into China while volumes outside of China remain limited, although progress has been made in Western markets. Activity trackers average $94 while smart watches average just over $400.
“The early stages of the wearables market have led to tight competition among the leading vendors, and Chinese vendors have seized upon market momentum to grab market share. China has quickly emerged as the fastest-growing wearables market, attracting companies eager to compete on price and feature sets. In addition, multiple vendors have experimented with a broad range of products and applications. The challenge, however, is whether these vendors can expand their presence, as few have extended beyond the country’s borders and into other markets.”
said Ramon Llamas , Research Manager for IDC’s Wearables team.