Fitbit Finished 2015 as World's ‘Undisputed’ Wearables Leader, IDC Says
Global wearable device suppliers shipped a total of 78.1 million units in 2015, a strong 172 percent increase over 2014, IDC said in a Tuesday report. “Triple-digit growth highlights growing interest in the wearables market from both end-users and vendors,"…
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IDC said. "It shows that wearables are not just for the technophiles and early adopters” but also have mass-market potential, it said. “Since wearables have yet to fully penetrate the mass market, there is still plenty of room for growth in multiple vectors,” including new vendors, form factors, applications and use cases, it said. “This will help propel the market further.” Fitbit, which Monday reported a 92 percent increase in its holiday-quarter sales (see 1602230049), ended 2015 “the same way it began the year: as the undisputed worldwide leader of wearable devices,” IDC said. Fitbit’s shipments climbed 93.2 percent in 2015 to 21 million units, enough to solidify its market leadership position with a 26.9 percent share, IDC said. Apple, which began shipping the Apple Watch last April, shipped 11.6 million such devices for the year, placing it as the world’s No. 3 wearables supplier with a 14.9 percent share, it said. China's Xiaomi shipped 12 million units in 2015, making it the world's No. 2 supplier with a 15.4 percent share.