Despite surpassing the global sales numbers of every other smartwatch manufacturer with ease once again, Apple is unlikely to be very proud by the latest quarterly performance of its market-leading family of intelligent timepieces.
While both research firms believe Apple Watches have been less successful during this year's second calendar quarter compared to Q2 2023, the IDC's 800K sales decline is far greater than the 400K drop tracked by Canalys. If the newest numbers are to be trusted, the Cupertino-based tech giant merely holds a 13.1 percent share of the global "wrist-worn device" market, ranking in third place behind Huawei and Xiaomi.
That's a big advantage for Huawei over Apple and a big year-on-year progress for the market leader.
That's not the same as the smartwatch market, mind you, also including low-cost activity trackers, which are obviously not Apple's specialty. The Huawei Fit 3 is one of the main reasons why the China-based mammoth has been able to consolidate its industry domination and extend its lead over Xiaomi and Apple, although the brand is also very popular in the fully featured smartwatch segment.
All in all, Huawei has impressively managed to jump from 6.3 million to 8.9 million "wrist-worn device" sales between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024, at least according to the IDC's estimates. No less than 6 million of these shipments come from China alone, with global silver medalist Xiaomi also benefitting greatly from its relatively strong performance in the world's most populous nation.
Interestingly, Xiaomi's sales are actually down in China and up worldwide, which suggests even stronger performance for both the company's smartwatches and fitness bands on the old continent.
Apple and especially Samsung are not very big in China.
Samsung, meanwhile, continues to have almost no presence in the Chinese wearable (and smartphone) market, which is not stopping the Korea-based giant from ranking fourth overall for global wrist-worn device sales, right behind Apple, ahead of BBK, and on a very positive trend compared to Q2 2023.
That's apparently mainly thanks to the budget-friendly Galaxy Fit 3 tracker rather than any of the company's premium Galaxy Watches, but looking ahead to the industry's future, the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 3 are expected to keep their manufacturer comfortably above its arch-rival.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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