The latest research made by IDC reveals an interesting fact about the market of wearable smart devices. In counterpart to the rest of world, the Chinese wearable market saw a decline in shipments during the first three months of the year. While global wearable shipments grew during the January-March, the Chinese market is going in the other direction with 11% fewer shipments compared to the same period last year. According to the report, combined shipments totaled 17.6 million in the first quarter of 2020 and Huawei was the big beneficiary as it managed to overcome Xiaomi in the country. The Chinese Behemoth surpassed its fellow with 4.28 million shipments.
In the first place, we have Huawei with its 4.28 million shipments giving the company a 23.4% slice of the market. In a close second we Xiaomi with 23.5% of the market and 4.14 million shipments. In third place, we have Apple with 2,84 million shipments and 16.2% of the market. The fourth-place has been taken by the local brand LifeSense 780 thousand shipments and 4.5% of the market. Finally, we have BBK Electronics with 4.3% of the market and 765 thousand of units shipped in Q1 2020. Interestingly enough, LifeSense experience huge yearly growth with a 72.9% increase compared to Q1 2019. BBK Electronics, in counterpart, plummeted 47.1%.
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Huawei also dominates the market of smartwatches
When we take only the market of smartwatches in consideration, Huawei was yet again the market leader. The giant had 1.04 million shipments and a 111.9% yearly growth. Huawei smartwatches represented 47.8% of the market in Q1 2020. That pretty much establishes the company’s domain in the Chinese smartwatch segment. In the second place, we have Apple which shipped 319 thousand Apple Watch units stealing a 14.6% market share. Xiaomi came in third with 5.9% of the market while Garmin had a 5% slice of the market for smartwatches. In fifth place, Huami shipped just over 98 thousand smartwatches resulting in a 4.5% slice of the market.
The Global market of wearables
In the Global scene, Apple still dominates the market with 5.2 million of shipments. However, this number represents 13% fewer shipments if we compare it with last year’s result. Huawei comes in second with 2.1 million units shipped with 113% of growth YoY. Samsung comes in third place with 1.8 million units shipped compared to its 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. Garmin and Fitbit rank fourth and fifth, respectively. Garmin grew 24% Year on Year, Fitbit fell 21% YoY.
During the first quarter, North America accounted for less than one-third of smartwatch shipments. However, the demand for Apple Watch models has grown consistently in overseas markets. The sales numbers decreased in the United States and Europe.