14 DAY TRIAL // Preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker shows that smartwatch vendors shipped 3.5 million units in the second quarter of 2016, down from 5.1 million a year ago.
This means that shipments fell considerably and saw a year-on-year decline of 32%. Apple shipped the most smartwatches out of all manufacturers, namely 1.6 million units. However, the company was the only one among the top 5 to see an annual decline in shipments. The comparison is made with the initial launch quarter of the Apple Watch, which is the same product offered with price reductions during the most recent quarter.
A research analyst from the IDC has stated that Apple still maintains a significant lead in the market, and consumers have held off on smartwatch purchases since early 2016, as they have expected improved hardware and features in WatchOS. Still, Apple remains the market leader in smartwatches, followed closely by Samsung. The South Korean company is rumored to be working on the Gear S3, said to launch in early September. Samsung's market share is 16%, compared to Apple's 47% for this quarter.
Moto 360 Sport was received with mixed feelings
The report states that Motorola's smartwatches continue to be attractive on the market, due to their circular displays, but the most recent Moto 360 Sport has been received with mixed feelings, mostly because the device lacks some features found on fitness-first devices like Fitbit. Lenovo holds a 9% market share.
The fourth smartwatch manufacturer with 8% of market share is LG Electronics, and the report says that the company is the first to offer an LTE-enabled Android Wear watch. Still, the lack of full support from Google isn't that beneficial, considering that Android Wear 2.0 is set to launch later this year with support for LTE.
Garmin is the fifth smartwatch manufacturer, and the company has nearly doubled its share since last year, although it serves a niche audience, that of athletes. Garmin holds just 4% of the smartwatch market.
