Apple Watch Captures Half of 18 Million Global Smartwatch Shipments in Q4 2018
Strategy Analytics says that Apple Watch maintained first position with 51 percent global smartwatch marketshare in the fourth quarter of 2018, while Samsung jumped to second place, overtaking Fitbit and Garmin.
According to the market reearch firm, global smartwatch shipments grew an impressive 56 percent annually to reach a record 18 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments and Marketshare in Q4 2018 |
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| Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) | Q4 '17 | 2017 | Q4 '18 | 2018 | |||||
| Apple | 7.8 | 17.7 | 9.2 | 22.5 | |||||
| Fitbit | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 5.5 | |||||
| Samsung | 0.6 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 5.3 | |||||
| Garmin | 0.7 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 3.2 | |||||
| Others | 2.0 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 8.5 | |||||
| Total | 11.6 | 29.3 | 18.2 | 45.0 | |||||
| Global Smartwatch Vendor Marketshare (% of Total) | Q4 '17 | 2017 | Q4 '18 | 2018 | |||||
| Apple | 67.2% | 60.4% | 50.7% | 50.0% | |||||
| Fitbit | 4.3% | 1.7% | 12.7% | 12.2% | |||||
| Samsung | 5.2% | 10.6% | 13.2% | 11.8% | |||||
| Garmin | 6.0% | 7.5% | 6.1% | 7.1% | |||||
| Others | 17.2% | 19.8% | 17.4% | 18.9% | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |||||
| Total Growth YoY (%) | 41% | 39% | 56% | 54% | |||||
| Source: Strategy Analytics | |||||||||
Despite its leading position, Apple’s global smartwatch marketshare slipped to 51 percent this quarter, down from 67 percent a year ago. Apple Watch is losing marketshare to Samsung and Fitbit, whose rival smartwatch portfolios and retail presence have improved significantly in the past year.
Samsung shipped 2.4 million smartwatches worldwide and captured 13 percent global smartwatch marketshare in Q4 2018, rising strongly from 5 percent marketshare a year ago. Samsung is once again the world’s second largest smartwatch brand.
Fitbit captured 13 percent global smartwatch marketshare in Q4 2018, tripling from 4 percent in Q4 2017. Fitbit is very popular in the United States market. The company's Versa smartwatches are gaining mass-appeal and its new Fitbit Care connected health platform is a useful differentiator for the brand.
Garmin held fourth position and captured 6 percent worldwide smartwatch marketshare during Q4 2018, holding steady from 6 percent a year ago. Rising competition from Fitbit, Samsung and others in the sports and music categories is making it harder for Garmin to make headway in smartwatches. Combined together, Apple, Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin are the big four players, accounting for 8 in 10 of all smartwatches shipped worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics.
