The results are out. And yet again, Fitbit, Apple and Xiaomi have been crowned as the top three vendors in the wearable segment by a report compiled by IDC for the Q3 2015.
There is no astonishment over the market leader Fitbit retaining the top spot followed by Apple. But the entry of Xiaomi in the third spot comes as a surprise — even though it has been in the reckoning since the last quarter.
The Chinese home-grown gadget manufacturer owes its success to the Chinese market where 97% of its wearables, such as the Mi Band are shipped. Given the large user base in China and Xiaomi catering mainly to this user base, it is no surprise that it holds a significant piece of the market share due to its home advantage.
The market is led by Fitbit, which holds 22 percent of market share. Founded by James Park and Eric Friedman, Fitbit has managed to ship a staggering 4.7 million units in the third quarter. The company recently announced its arrival into the Indian market, where it received a welcome response.
If Xiaomi owes its success to the home advantage, Fitbit’s firm stance at the top lies in its marketing and customer satisfaction. Most of the devices manufactured by Fitbit are used by corporates who don’t mind seeing their employees walking around wearing Fitbit’s on their wrist.
Coming to Apple, there is no doubt that it still remains the consumer favourite. The launch of WatchOS 2 not only helped cement its position for the quarter but also made sure the traditional watch market succumbs beneath the rise of smartwatches. Apple has shipped close to 3.9 million smartwatches for the third quarter.
What surprises the market experts is the phenomenal rise of Xiaomi in the smartwatch segment. The company, which has cemented its brand value in the smartphone segment, is slowly spreading its growth in the wearables segment. Xiaomi has managed to sell the entire units of Mi Bands in China. Following closely behind Apple, Xiaomi has shipped 3.7 million units for Q3. This has helped Xiaomi take a market share of 17 percent.
To take the rise of Xiaomi in the wearables segment into perspective, for 2015 the company’s market share has risen by an astounding 815 percent margin in one year.
Rounding off the list are Garmin at fourth place, and XTC at fifth. XTC is a Chinese manufacturer that has managed to beat the likes of Samsung by selling 100,000 devices more than the South Korean giant. Samsung is pinning its hopes on its next device, the Gear S2 to enter into the top five and oust XTC that has made its debut in the list.
