Research firm Canalys has shared its estimates for worldwide smartwatch shipments for the second quarter of 2018 showing that Apple sold 3.5 million smartwatches of the collective total of 10 million in this period.
Analysts point to the tremendous success of the LTE edition of the Apple Watch Series 3 in Asian markets - where it was the best-selling smartwatch of Q2 - as one of the major factors in these results. Apple shipped 250 thousand smartwatches to Asia (excluding China), 60% of which were the LTE model of the Apple Watch.
Despite maintaining good results, Apple lost a significant portion of the market share over the previous quarter, dropping from 43% to 34%, as smartwatch shipments jumped on the whole thanks to the strong performance of brands like Garmin and Fitbit.
You may recall that Fitbit launched two new wearables this year: the Versa and the more affordable Ace, which is geared primarily towards children. This diversification of products from smartwatch makers helps companies reach a wider variety of target audiences, which in turn results in less market share for Apple.
With rumors suggesting that Samsung will release a new smartwatch next month and Google reportedly joining the fray with its own Pixel smartwatch, the analytics firm warns that Apple may need to find ways to refresh its presence in core markets such as the United States. The company has been said to be making significant changes to its smartwatches this year, so it will be interesting to see if that will be enough to retain its market share.
Via: Digital Trends