Η Strong growth in the smartphone market is now a thing of the past as shipments increased by only 1,8% in the third quarter of 2018, but, according to the latest data published by IDC , the Wearables division is still performing quite well.
For the three months to September 30, Wearables worldwide shipments reached a staggering 32 million units. This represents a 21,7% increase over the 26,3 million units sold in the third quarter of 2017, and is largely the result of very good sales from Xiaomi and Apple, two companies competing in completely different market segments.
During the third quarter of 2018, Xiaomi continued to dominate the fitness band area thanks to the huge success of the Mi Band 3. Despite its continued expansion into international markets such as Europe and Africa, sales in China still account for 61% (6.9 million units).
Apple, on the other hand, was again the number one smartwatch maker with sales of 4,2 million units, up 54% from 2,7 million units a year earlier. Of this total, 80% was attributed to the 3 Series 2017 models, while the new 4 Series gained 20% of sales during the two weeks of availability.
In the smartwatch segment, Fitbit established itself in second place with strong Versa sales. Huawei then came in third, mainly because of the updates it made to the Huawei Watch line, which was enough to maintain its lead over Samsung. Speaking of which, the report claims that all sales are still heavily based on the old Gear S3.
Looking to the future, the Apple Watch Series 4 is expected to lead to a significant increase in sales in the smartwatch segment, thanks to its new Design, and health-focused features. Similarly, Fitbit's focus on health is expected to continue to provide strong sales.
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