The worldwide market for wearable devices grew 31.4% during the Q4 2018, reaching a new high of 59.3 million units according to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. The growth was driven by new wearables launching during the months leading up to the holiday season as well as new smartphone launches as many were bundled with wearables from leading brands. Shipments for the entire year of 2018 grew by 27.5% with 172.2 million wearables shipped. The growth of this can be attributed to the growing number of ear-worn devices as they captured almost a quarter of the market during the year. Smartwatches grew 55.2% compared to Q4 2017 and accounted for 34.3% of the overall market during the quarter. Meanwhile, wrist bands accounted for 30% of the market as recent launches from Xiaomi, Huawei, and Fitbit continued to drive the category forward. Ear-worn devices grew 66.4% and captured 21.9% of the market. Apple maintained the number 1 position with 16.2 million devices shipped in Q4 2018, 10.4 million of which were Apple Watches. The Series 4 has been off to a very strong start and IDC is expecting this to continue as more healthcare organizations and consumers adopt the latest device. The remainder of ...
Thursday, 7 March 2019
Worldwide wearable shipments reach 59.3 million, up 31.4% YoY in Q4 2018; Apple and Xiaomi continue to lead: IDC
The worldwide market for wearable devices grew 31.4% during the Q4 2018, reaching a new high of 59.3 million units according to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. The growth was driven by new wearables launching during the months leading up to the holiday season as well as new smartphone launches as many were bundled with wearables from leading brands. Shipments for the entire year of 2018 grew by 27.5% with 172.2 million wearables shipped. The growth of this can be attributed to the growing number of ear-worn devices as they captured almost a quarter of the market during the year. Smartwatches grew 55.2% compared to Q4 2017 and accounted for 34.3% of the overall market during the quarter. Meanwhile, wrist bands accounted for 30% of the market as recent launches from Xiaomi, Huawei, and Fitbit continued to drive the category forward. Ear-worn devices grew 66.4% and captured 21.9% of the market. Apple maintained the number 1 position with 16.2 million devices shipped in Q4 2018, 10.4 million of which were Apple Watches. The Series 4 has been off to a very strong start and IDC is expecting this to continue as more healthcare organizations and consumers adopt the latest device. The remainder of ...
