See full gallery on TechnoBuffaloIDC published its latest report on wearables on Wednesday, which tracked shipments of wearables during the first quarter of this year. The firm found that vendors shipped 11.4 million wearables during the first quarter of this year, representing shipment growth of 200 percent over the 3.8 million wearable units shipped during the first quarter of 2014. That growth all occurred before the Apple Watch, perhaps the most popular wearable of all, hit the market.
The good news is prices have dropped as devices have become more popular. More than 40 percent of the wearables sold during the first quarter were priced under $100, IDC said, noting that the Apple Watch “will test consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for a brand or product that is the center of attention.”
As of the first quarter of this year, Fitbit is the king of the wearable market with 3.9 million units sold during the first quarter, representing a 34.2 percent market share. It’s trailed by Xiaomi with 2.8 million units shipped and a 24.6 percent market share; Garmin with 700,000 units sold and a 6.1 percent market share; Samsung with 600,000 units sold and a 5.3 percent market share; and Jawbone, with 500,000 units shipped and a 4.4 percent market share.
“What remains to be seen is how Apple’s arrival will change the landscape,” IDC wearables research manager Ramon Llamas explained. “The Apple Watch will likely become the device that other wearables will be measured against, fairly or not. This will force the competition to up their game in order to stay on the leading edge of the market.”
The next report should fill us in on how the landscape has changed since Apple entered the market. Given early predictions Apple will sell millions of units in its first quarter on the market, Apple may quickly skyrocket to the top spot.
Source: IDC