The wearable band market grew over 150 percent as more than seven million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2015, according to new findings from Canalys.
First place Fitbit saw major year-on-year volume growth, while greatly increased shipments of the affordable Mi Band, predominantly in China, secured Xiaomi second place.
Garmin also had a strong quarter and rolled out two new products in its vívo line with Canalys forecasting that 20 million Apple Watches will be shipped in 2015.
“Despite the Apple Watch requiring an iPhone, Apple’s impending entrance in Q2 had a negative impact on vendors such as Samsung,” says Chris Jones, VP and Principal Analyst, Canalys.
“Discounting has been used to clear inventory in the channel. The Apple Watch has set the benchmark for other smart watches and will make up the majority of shipments this year.”
Wearable band shipment data is taken from Canalys’ Wearable Technology Analysis service, which provides quarterly market tracking, including country-level estimates.
The data also claims that at present, Android Wear represented 31 percent of smart watch shipments.
