The global wearable devices market continued its upward trend in each the fourth quarter (Q4 2017) and full-year 2017, with total shipment volumes reaching latest records.
According to analyst firm IDC, total volume for the quarter reached 37.9 million units, up 7.7% from the 35.2 million units shipped in the identical quarter a yr ago.
For the total yr, total mobile device shipments were 115.4 million units, a rise of 10.3% in comparison with 104.6 million units shipped in 2016.
“The 10.3% year-on-year growth in 2017 is a marked decline compared to the 27.3% growth recorded in 2016.” said Ramon T. Llamas, research director of IDC’s Wearables team.
“The slowdown shouldn’t be as a consequence of lack of interest – quite the other. Instead, we’ve seen many vendors that relied on older models exit the market altogether.
At the identical time, other vendors – including many startups – not only replaced them, but offered devices, features and services that helped make wearables a more integral part of individuals’s lives. In the longer term, the following generation of wearable devices will make those we saw back in 2016 look quaint.”
Thanks to the rise in smartwatch shipment volumes, Apple overtook competitors Fitbit and Xiaomi to take the leadership position in each the quarter and the yr.
| Companies | Value of deliveries within the fourth quarter of 2017 (in tens of millions) | Delivery values within the fourth quarter of 2016 (in tens of millions) |
| Apple | 8.0 | 5.1 |
| Fitbit | 5.4 | 6.5 |
| Xiaomi | 4.9 | 5.2 |
| Garmin | 2.5 | 2.3 |
| Huawei | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Others | 15.6 | 15.3 |
| Total | 37.9 | 35.2 |
The fourth quarter of 2017 was the primary quarter on this respect Apple maintained its market leadership position after spending several quarters just behind Fitbit or Xiaomi.
Apple is entering the market at the proper time, with many users of entry-level wearables switching to smartwatches, and cellular connectivity (available on select Series 3 watches) is being warmly welcomed by end users, if just for the convenience of leaving their smartphone behind.
An 8.0 million unit increase in year-end sales separated Apple from the competition and emerged as the general wearables market leader this yr.
Fitbit continued its transformation in 4Q17 through wider distribution and promotion of the Ionic smartwatch and further development of applications for the Fitbit OS platform.
At the identical time, the corporate has taken quite a few steps to deepen its healthcare footprint, including partnering with Dexcom and United Healthcare and participating within the FDA’s Precertification Program and the National Institutes of Health’s Precision Medicine Research Program.
Combined with a big selection of fitness trackers, Fitbit lays the foundations for a virtuous cycle across owned devices and digital health.
Xiaomi saw a slight decline in shipments, again counting on the aging MiBand 2, which makes up the vast majority of its volume worldwide.
Despite this, in the course of the yr Xiaomi introduced one other version, the MiBand HRX; smart footwear called Mijia Smart Shoes; and a second watch for kids, Mitu Kids’ Watch 2.
Although the corporate ranks among the many leading corporations, its operations are still focused on its home region of China, with lower than 15% of its volume directed elsewhere.
Garmin recorded a slight increase in comparison with the previous yr. Like Fitbit, Garmin relies heavily on its fitness-tracking product line, and vivo-branded products helped push its core wearables lineup above the million-unit mark this quarter.
Meanwhile, its smart wearables – powered by its Vivo brand and high-end Fenix branded smartwatches – were on the point of surpassing the million-unit mark for the primary time and were growing faster than its core wearable product line.
Huawei managed to attain the most important growth in the highest five as the newest third-generation wristbands continued to realize popularity in China and helped the corporate change into the second-largest wearable device manufacturer within the country.
Source : http://newsbytes.ph/2018/03/01/global-wearables-market-grows-in-2017-as-apple-seizes-top-post/
