IDC: Apple and Xiaomi lead the way as wearable shipments reach 32M units

Strong growth in the

smartphone market

is now a thing of the past – shipments grew just 1.8% during Q3 2018 – but, according to the latest figures published by

IDC

, the wearables segment is still performing quite well.

For the three months ending September 30, global wearable shipments reached an impressive 32 million units. This figure represents an increase of 21.7% versus the 26.3 million units sold during Q3 2017 and is largely down to Xiaomi and Apple, two companies which compete in totally different segments of the market.

Throughout the third quarter of 2018,

Xiaomi

continued to dominate the fitness band area thanks to the success of its Mi Band 3. Despite its continued expansion into international markets such as Europe and Africa, though, shipments in China still accounted for 61% of the 6.9 million units that were sold. 

Apple

, on the other hand, was once again the number one smartwatch manufacturer with 4.2 million units sold, up 54% from the 2.7 million units it shipped a year prior. Of this total, 80% were attributed to 2017’s Series 3 models, while the newer Series 4 grabbed 20% of sales during its two weeks of availability.

Elsewhere in the smartwatch segment, Fitbit solidified its second place position with strong sales of the Versa. Huawei then followed in third thanks to some subtle updates to the Huawei Watch series, just enough to maintain its lead over

Samsung

. Speaking of which, the report claims that it's still relying heavily on the older

Gear S3

for sales.

Looking to the future, the

Apple Watch

Series 4 is expected to drive significant sales growth in the smartwatch segment thanks to its larger display and health-focused features. Similarly, Fitbit's focus on health is set to continue paying off with strong sales.

Q3 2018 wearable shipments

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