10 Most Popular Wearable Brands for the 2017 Third Quarter

The wearables market is changing dramatically, according to the third-quarter report on the space from researcher Canalys. The company found that while wearable shipments were down year over year, customers are increasingly turning away from basic fitness tracking bands and toward higher-end smartwatches that come with health tracking and cellular connectivity. The data suggests Apple and its Apple Watch are benefiting from this transition and smaller wearable markers that haven’t developed higher-end devices are watching their market share wane. Canalys also found that China presents huge market opportunities for wearable makers. This slide show will cover more of the details from the Canalys third-quarter wearables market analysis.

Apple led the worldwide wearables market in the third quarter, thanks to its Apple Watch. The company held 23 percent of the market with on 3.9 million units shipped, according to Canalys. Apple benefited from strong demand for its LTE-enabled Apple Watch.

China-based Xiaomi was able to nab the second spot in the worldwide wearable market, according to data from Canalys. Xiaomi shipped 3.6 million units in the third quarter, helping the company secure 21 percent of the market. Xiaomi, like some of the others, benefited from a growing demand in China for smartwatches.

Fitbit captured the third spot in the worldwide wearables market and at 3.5 million units shipped, was able to capture 20 percent market share. According to Canalys, Fitbit capitalized on broader worldwide interest in smartwatches.

Another company to benefit from a rising demand for wearables in China, Huawei took the fourth spot in worldwide market, Canalys reported. But at just 6 percent market share, the company was far behind the market leaders. Huawei shipped a little over 1 million units during the third quarter.

The Korean tech giant Samsung rounded out the top five in the Canalys wearables market study. However, the company could only secure 5 percent market share during the period, suggesting it sold about 865,000 units.

Overall, the wearables market had a middling third quarter. Historically, the third quarter has been down year over year as customers prepare for a shopping spree in the fourth quarter. That was again the case this year, with 17.3 million units shipped worldwide, a 2 percent year-over-year decline. However, those at the top of the market with sophisticated wearables performed well. Basic bands with simpler features were the market laggards.

Canalys dug into the Apple Watch’s performance to see just how well it performed in the third quarter. The company found that Apple sold 800,000 LTE-enabled Watch units during the period, which was impressive, considering it was only available for a few weeks in the third quarter. Apple sold one Apple Watch for every iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 it shipped during the period. The average Apple Watch selling price was $419.

Huawei’s most prominent wearable sold during the period was the company’s Watch 2 smartwatch, according to Canalys. Huawei sold one smartwatch for every 14 P and Mate series smartphones it sold in the third quarter. Huawei’s average wearable selling price was $287.

Canalys also examined Samsung’s smartwatch performance during the third quarter. The company found that Samsung shipped 500,000 Gear S3 units, making up the lion’s share of its total shipments. Samsung sold one smartwatch for every 23 of its Galaxy smartphones.

Looking ahead, Canalys expects the fourth quarter to be a better one than the third quarter. The company believes that consumers will respond favorably to more-capable smartwatches like the Apple Watch LTE, and should be attracted to the new health-tracking features coming to wearable devices. Canalys stopped short, however, of saying how many wearable units it predicts will ship in the fourth quarter.