The latest global smartwatch market report is out, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Apple continues to keep its rivals at bay, accounting for roughly a third of the world's total sales between January and March 2021.
The company's 33.5 percent share of Q1 smartwatch shipments is incredibly similar to its towering 31.7 percent figure registered in the same aforementioned period in the global tablet landscape, the key difference being the level of fragmentation of the two thriving industries.
While Samsung is starting to pose a real threat to the heavyweight champion of the tablet arena, the same tech giant is barely ranked third in the smartwatch market, with a shrinking 8 percent slice of the pie. That's down from 8.5 percent back in Q1 2020, despite the launch of the very well-reviewed Galaxy Watch 3 during the second half of the year, and in second place, Huawei didn't find much year-on-year success either.
The faltering Chinese smartphone manufacturer had some trouble selling its low-cost intelligent timepieces as well, dropping from 10.1 to 8.4 percent market share between the first three months of 2020 and the same timeframe this year. In fourth and fifth, BBK and Fitbit couldn't boost their numbers either, which leaves Apple as the only top vendor capable of doing just that.
Specifically, the Apple Watch Series 6 in particular helped the iPhone-compatible wearable device family gain more than three percentage points in sales share while recording an incredible 50 percent year-on-year surge in actual demand.
Looking at the Q1 2021 numbers from that perspective, Samsung can also be happy to see its overall smartwatch shipments rise 27 percent compared to 2020's opening quarter. The industry as a whole grew no less than 35 percent, but looking ahead, all eyes are now on Google.
In case you're wondering, the three platforms accounted for a combined 15.6 percent of global smartwatch sales in the January - March 2021 period, which could be a decent starting point for a consolidation effort targeted at providing stiff competition for Apple's overwhelmingly dominating watchOS... someday.
For the time being, the identity of the best smartwatch available today is no secret, although for what it's worth, we can recommend a bunch of solid alternatives as well.
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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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