According to Apple Inc’s third quarter results, the company is now leading the wearable band market. With 3.9 million shipments, Apple boasts the strongest quarter this year. Analysts think the reboot is mainly due to its revolutionary Apple Watch Series 3.
Xiaomi and Fitbit are closely trailing behind with 3.6 million and 3.5 million shipments respectively. The two companies have also seen a surge in sales and a stronger quarter for wearable bands. However, even though the sales of smartwatches saw a surge that didn’t help offset the users’ diminishing interest in basic bands. The overall market slipped 2 percent to 17.3 million sold units.
Analysts noted that the number of Apple Watch Series 3 sold worldwide has dispelled doubts that the gadget is not appealing enough to potential buyers. Yet, the new Apple Watch could have fared much better in Q3, experts claim, as Apple wasn’t able to meet the high demand in all markets.
Wearables Critical for Premium Phone Sales
The problem was mainly on the service providers’ side since they had underestimated the success of the new wearable. For instance, in China, which is a huge market, many customers were driven away by the chaos in the supply chain. Service providers are advised to update their remote service systems to prevent such fiascos in the next quarter.
Around 800,000 Apple Watches sold in the last quarter were phone-enabled. Just like Apple, Samsung and Huawei have placed a bet on cellular-enabled wearables to push up smartphone sales volumes in Q3.
Users are more and more interested in health apps, while producers are focusing on design and other key features. Analysts agree that a successful smartwatch is critical for the brand’s image and smartphone sales when it comes to premium products.
Samsung and Apple are apparently aware of that and are working on improving brand loyalty by creating an ecosystem that includes smartwatches and audio devices.
Image Source: Wikimedia
