Apple regains wearable market leadership in Q3 2017, says Canalys

According to research firm Canalys, Apple has regained the top spot in the wearable market in the third quarter of 2017, overtaking Xiaomi and Fitbit. Apple with 23 per cent market share is followed by Xiaomi, Fitbit, Huawei and Samsung with 21 per cent, 20 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent market share, respectively.

Of the 17.6 million wearables shipped globally in Q3 2017, 3.9million were Apple Watches whereas Xioami shipped 3.6millin units and FitBit shipped 3.5million wearables. The launch of Apple Watch Series 3 in September this year contributed towards the huge demand of Apple wearables.

"Strong demand for the LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 has dispelled service providers' doubts about the cellular smartwatch not appealing to customers," said Canalys Analyst Jason Low. According to Canalys estimates, 800,000 Apple Watch units shipped in Q3 were cellular-enabled.

"While health features continue to be the core focus, vendors are striving to increase the value of smartwatches by prioritizing design and highlighting key features," said Canalys Research Analyst Mo Jia. He further added, "Apple and Samsung are increasing user stickiness and brand loyalty by adopting an ecosystem strategy, which includes wearables and audio accessories. Smartphone vendors must reevaluate their respective smartwatch strategies to derive more value beyond smartphone growth."

Canalys also explains the equation further by stating one Samsung smartwatch is shipped for every 23 flagship Galaxy smartphones whereas one Apple smartwatch is shipped for every seven iPhone 7/8 units.

Vendors are also expecting a stronger Q4 this year, with new smartwatches highlighting improved health-tracking features and longer battery life, on top of better and slimmer designs.  "Google must show stronger commitment to help Android Wear vendors, which are now mostly watchmakers and fashion brands, to further improve the user experience and app ecosystem. Otherwise, the market will see further consolidation, as vendors such as Apple, Samsung and Fitbit dominate with their watch software platforms," added Low.