IDC says that the Apple Watch remained on top of the smartwatch market during the third quarter

The Apple Watch remained the most shipped intelligent timepiece during the third quarter, according to the latest data from IDC. Facing an overall 48.4% decline in the number of total smartwatch units shipped in the period to 2.7 million, Apple's smartwatch accounted for 1.1 million smartwatches delivered from July through the end of September. That gave the Apple Watch a leading share of the market during the three month period even though shipments declined by 71.6% year-over-year. The Apple Watch owns 41.3% of the smartwatch market, down from the 70% it controlled in the third quarter of 2015.

Blame for the decline can be placed on the timing of the Apple Watch Series 2 launch, which took place close to the end of the quarter. The new model offers improved water resistance (to as deep as 49 feet), a 50% faster processor, a bright display reaching 1,000 nits, and more.

Capturing second place with 600,000 units shipped was Garmin, followed by Samsung. The latter had 400,000 units of its smartwatch models in transit during the third quarter. Garmin saw its shipments rise a stunning 324%, but that was off of a low base. Lenovo and Pebble were fourth and fifth respectively, each delivering approximately 100,000 smartwatches. Lenovo's 3.4% market share edged out Pebble's 3.2%, and both had large  declines compared to last year.

Breaking down pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 2, the majority of those who reserved one of the new timepieces already owns an original Apple Watch. Millennials accounted for 39% of Apple Watch Series 2 pre-orders, replacing Gen-Xers as the largest demographic ordering the device. While women represented 26% of pre-orders for the new Apple Watch lineup, the larger 42mm models racked up 67% of Series 2 pre-orders.

via AppleInsider