Wearable market up 200% sequentially to 3.8 mln units in Q1 

The worldwide wearables market recorded its eighth consecutive quarter of steady growth in the first quarter of 2015, according to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC). Vendors shipped a total of 11.4 million wearables in Q1, a 200.0 percent increase from the 3.8 million wearables shipped in Q1 2014. Fitbit was market leader with 3.9 million units shipped and a 34.2 percent market share, followed by Xiaomi with 2.8 million and 24.6 percent, Garmin with 0.7 million and 6.1 percent, Samsung with 0.6 million and 5.3 percent, Jawbone with 0.5 million and 4.4 percent, and others with 2.9 million and 25.4 percent.

Fitbit's first quarter shipments were driven by the release of three new devices (the Charge, Charge HR, and the Surge) along with continued demand for its older Flex wristband and One and Zip clip-on models. Separately, these address multiple segments of the market, from casual exerciser to committed athlete, and collectively leverage Fitbit's behavior change engine to encourage activity. Xiaomi started off the year by blasting through the 1 million unit mark with its Mi Band for the first time. Garmin's wearable device portfolio spans multiple areas of health and fitness, including activity tracking, running, hiking, golfing, triathlons, and multi-sport. The majority of Garmin's devices are GPS-enabled to track location and distance, and some leverage the company's ConnectIQ third-party applications to record activity, show notifications, and news. Samsung's fourth place finish came from worldwide demand for its Gear smartwatches. Jawbone beat Pebble and Sony for fifth place, a result driven by the release of its Up Move and continued demand for its nearly year-old UP24.