IDC’s 3Q15 wearables figures are out, and Fitbit is the big winner while Samsung the big loser.
The market research firm says Fitbit sold 4.7 million devices in the third quarter, twice as many as it sold in the same period last year. It accounts for 22.2 percent of the global market. Apple, IDC said, sold 3.9 million Apple Watches, for 18.6 percent of the market. It was followed closely by the Chinese Xiaomi, which sold 3.7 million devices, all in China, for 17.4 percent of the market.
Garmin held on in 4th place, with 0.9 million sold (4.1 percent) to its base of “citizen athletes”; IDC noted the company’s wide range of products.
The new entrant is a company called BBK, through its subsidiary XTC, which sold 700,000 units of a product called Y01, a children’s phone watch, in China. That was 100,000 more than Samsung’s trackers, which fell out of the Top Five and into the dreaded Other category.
“Other” accounted for 7.3 million units sold last quarter, or 34 percent of the market. Last year’s third quarter, “Other” accounted for 54.6 percent of the market, which itself grew nearly 200 percent over the past year.
Analysts noted the continuing stratification of the tracker market. More sophisticated trackers sold for an average of about $400, with more basic models selling for an average of $94. IDC says that leaves plenty of room for new players — the company named Fossil (which just bought Misfit) in particular — and niche players like Pebble.
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