The global wearables market grew 35.1 percent year over year during Q3 with total shipments reaching 125 million units, according to data from IDC. The surge was driven by seasonality, new product launches, and the global pandemic. New products from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and others helped renew interest in popular categories such as smartwatches and hearables. Meanwhile, consumer spend on electronics also increased during recent months as spending on travel, dining out, and other leisure activities decreased. This shift in spending was another catalyst for the wearables market.
Apple clear leader with 33% of market, Xiaomi further back
Apple led the market with a 33.1 percent share and 41.4 million shipped units during the quarter. The company's shipments rose 38.6 percent, the second highest rise after Huawei's 87.2 percent jump. All the manufacturers except Fitbit recorded year-on-year increases in terms of shipped units, the data shows.
AirPods along with Apple Watches were hugely popular due to pandemic driven demand. Apple's expanding Watch lineup also ensured that devices were available at multiple price points including new mid-level products such as the Watch SE.
China's Xiaomi is far behind the US-based giant with a 17.0 percent market share. However, its low price points along with international expansion combined to move the company forward with 26.4 percent year-over-year growth in terms of shipped units to reach 17 million, of which 12.8 million were basic wristbands, the researchers said.
Huawei ranked third with a 13.7 percent share and unit shipments totaling 13.7 million. Despite facing US sanctions, the company was able to drive growth across multiple markets although its shipments were concentrated in China. Nonetheless, by not relying on Google for its watches and with many components coming from non-US vendors, the negative impact to Huawei's wearables business has been less than in other tech categories.
Samsung ranked fourth in the wearables market with a 9 percent share as its strategy to attack the earwear market with multiple brands continues to pay off. The South Korea-based company's number of shipped units grew 32.2 percent year-on-year to 11.2 million. Hearable shipments reached 8.4 million during quarter along with 2.6 million smartwatches. Bundling of wearables with smartphones continues for the South Korean electronics maker and, at least in smartwatches, the company continues to invest in the commercial segment, a strategy employed by very few smartwatch brands.
Fitbit and BoAt tied for fifth place, each holding 2.6 percent of the wearables market and seeing 3.3 million shipped units. Despite these similarities, the company had different experiences as Fitbit's number of shipped units dropped 6.2 percent and BoAt's shipments surged 316.9 percent.
Fitbit's new devices launched near the end of the quarter were relatively well received and a price drop on older models helped the company stay within the Top 5. Meanwhile, BoAt focuses solely on the Indian market (a rapidly growing market for wearables) and primarily sells hearables. Post-lockdown in India, the company benefitted from to a strong marketing campaign and tie-ins with local cricket teams. While ambitions remain strong for the company, it lacks the global presence and supply chain of its many competitors.
In the top 5 wrist worn wearable device companies, Xiaomi is first with a market share of 24.5 percent and 13.5 million units, ahead of Apple with 21.6 percent, Huawei with 19.5 percent, Fitbit with 5.9 percent, and Samsung with 5.1 percent. Other manufacturers' combined market share was 23.3 percent. As in the wearables classification, only Fitbit saw a decline in its number of shipped units, 6.4 percent. Huawei saw the highest rise in shipped units, 88.1 percent, followed by Apple with 75 percent, Xiaomi with 27.8 percent and Samsung with 1.8 percent. Wrist-worn wearables include smartwatches, basic watches, and wristbands.
