Apple extends global smartwatch lead with 5.7 million units shipped in Q2
Apple has strengthened its position as the number of smartwatch maker in the world. In Q2 2019, the tech giant accounted for nearly a half of all such devices shipped globally.
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The data comes from Strategy Analytics Global Smartwatch Vendor Market Share by Region report. This shows the number of smartwatches shipped worldwide increased to 12.3 million in Q2 2019 from 8.6 million in the same period last year. Quite a big increase in the space of 12 months time.
The growth was largely due to strong sales of the Apple Watch. The Cupertino outfit shipped some 5.7 million units worldwide, up on 3.8 million in Q2 2018. This represented 46.4% of the total, up around 2% on last year.
This large increase in the number of devices sold is really no surprise. Apple reported, last week, strong revenue during the past three months. In fact, at $53.8 billion it was the highest ever June quarter. The growth was primarily due to services and wearables which shot up 13% and 48% respectively.
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments and Marketshare in Q2 2019 | ||
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) | Q2 ’18 | Q2 ’19 |
| Apple | 3.8 | 5.7 |
| Samsung | 0.9 | 2.0 |
| Fitbit | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Others | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Total | 8.6 | 12.3 |
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Marketshare (% share) | Q2 ’18 | Q2 ’19 |
| Apple | 44.4 | 46.4 |
| Samsung | 10.5 | 15.9 |
| Fitbit | 15.2 | 9.8 |
| Others | 29.8 | 27.9 |
| YOY growth (%) | 55.4 | 43.6 |
| Source: Strategy Analytics | ||
Out of the top three smartwatch makers, Samsung was the other one that saw a good quarter. The company shipped some 2 million units, no doubt helped by the launch of Galaxy Watch Active in March and Galaxy Watch late last year. Samsung increased its quarterly market share from 10.5% to 15.9% year-on-year.
A few days ago the outfit announced the second iteration of its Galaxy Watch Active. The device comes with built-in ECG, a touch-sensitive bezel, size choices, an LTE variant and more. This latest launch should help it consolidate its global share.
By contrast Fitbit seems to be struggling. As reflected in its poor June fiscal quarter results, sales of the Versa Lite have been disappointing. The device was introduced earlier this year as a cheaper variant of its popular smartwatch, but it seems customers were more willing to pay for the full thing.
Fitbit shipped some 1.2 million units in Q2 2019, which was down on 1.3 million in the same three months last year. Just like its stock price following the earnings news, the company’s share of global smartwatch shipments tanked to 9.8% from 15.2%.
The San Francisco outfit may now be looking towards Versa 2 to reverse its fortunes. The first pictures of the upcoming wearable have leaked, so the launch should not be too far in the future.
It should be stressed that some of Strategy Analytics figures are estimates. For example, Apple does not disclose the figure on number of smartwatches sold. Instead it slots the figures in the Wearables, Home and Accessories category.
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