According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global wearables shipments reached 22 million units in the second quarter of 2017. Xiaomi captured 17 percent marketshare and became the world’s largest wearables vendor for the first time ever, overtaking Fitbit and Apple.
Steven Waltzer, Industry Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global wearables shipments reached 21.6 million units in Q2 2017, rising 8 percent annually from 20.0 million in Q2 2016. Strong demand for low-cost fitnessbands in China and premium smartwatches across the United States drove the uptick.”
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Xiaomi shipped 3.7 million wearables worldwide in Q2 2017, rising 23 percent annually from 3.0 million units in Q2 2016. Xiaomi captured 17 percent global marketshare and overtook Fitbit and Apple to become the world’s largest wearables vendor. Xiaomi’s Mi Band fitness trackers are wildly popular in China, due to their highly competitive pricing and rich features such as heart-rate monitors, step-counters and calendar alerts. Fitbit shipped 3.4 million wearables for 16 percent marketshare worldwide in Q2 2017, almost halving from 29 percent a year ago. Fitbit is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between the low-end fitnessbands sold by Xiaomi and the fitness-led, high-end smartwatches sold by Apple.”
Cliff Raskind, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Apple shipped 2.8 million wearables worldwide in Q2 2017, growing 56 percent annually from 1.8 million in Q2 2016. Apple has for now lost its wearables leadership to Xiaomi, due to a lack of presence in the sizeable fitnessband subcategory. However, the rumored upcoming Watch Series 3 launch with enhanced health tracking could prove to be a popular smartwatch model and enable Apple to reclaim the top wearables spot later this year.”
| Global Wearables Vendor Shipments (Milions of Units) | Q2 ’16 | Q2 ’17 |
| Xiaomi | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| Fitbit | 5.7 | 3.4 |
| Apple | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Others | 9.5 | 11.7 |
| Total | 20.0 | 21.6 |
| Global Wearables Vendor Marketshare % | Q2 ’16 | Q2 ’17 |
| Xiaomi | 15.0% | 17.1% |
| Fitbit | 28.5% | 15.7% |
| Apple | 9.0% | 13.0% |
| Others | 47.5% | 54.2% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Total Growth YoY (%) | 21.2% | 8.0% |
Source: Strategy Anaytics