Worldwide shipments fell 7% year on year to just over 9 million in the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest report from Canalys. Meanwhile smartwatch shipments hit 6 million, up 25% YoY . The report revealed that smartwatch now accounts for around 40% of the wearable band market.
Smartwatch growth was mainly attributed to Apple which led the category in Q1 2017 with 3.8 million units shipped worldwide and growth of 77%. Meanwhile fitness band market leader Fitbit suffered a 30% decline across its wearable band portfolio, shipping 2.9 million units. The importance of smartwatches will continue to grow as stickiness improves due to better sensors and battery life.
Canalys Analyst Jason Low said,
Water resistant, Bluetooth music streaming and built-in GPS are becoming more relevant as runners and other fitness enthusiasts forgo the bulk of a smartphone. Just as we continue to see feature phone users upgrading to smartphones, basic band users find smartwatches to be a justifiable upgrade, because of their additional use cases. What sets the Apple Watch apart is a renewed focus on fitness, its co-branding with Nike helping to support this move.
Canalys Research Analyst Mo Jia said,
Despite the release of the Alta HR, pressure is mounting on Fitbit as anticipation grows for the follow-up to its Blaze smartwatch. Its new smartwatch will need a good reception if Fitbit is to turn its fortunes around and return to growth in 2017.