The new Q3 IDC Worldwide Wearables Top 5 Vendors report points to some level of stability, as all three top contenders have largely remained in place. Fitbit continues to reign supreme with 24.3%, Apple follows not far behind with 19.9%, and Xiaomi remains at No. 3 with 17.1%. Still in the early stages of development, the wearables market will likely see frequent table shakeups on a quarterly basis, with new players coming and going, and consolidation as bigger players seek opportunity. With the all-important end of year holiday season approaching, the fourth quarter will be one to watch as year end results will give a clearer picture of market trends.
“China has quickly emerged as the fastest-growing wearables market, attracting companies eager to compete on price and feature sets.” said Ramon Llamas, IDC’s wearables research manager.
Though Xiaomi saw the majority of its sales in its home market, Xiaomi saw the most impressive growth since last year with an increase of 11% – the largest on the list – with vast potential for further growth in overseas markets.
The strength of the Chinese market is such that Samsung has been been shifted out of the league by Chinese competitor BBK. BBK, the Chinese conglomerate responsible for the brands OPPO, OnePlus and Vivo, made a splash this quarter with the introduction of the Y-01, a child-oriented watch-phone, which sold 700,000 units.