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Apple continues to see a comfortable lead in the wearable market, as the company lays claim to a 28.8% market share for Q1 2021. The battle continues to rage on behind Apple, however, as Samsung has overtaken Xiaomi after seeing a 35.7% YoY growth in the market. Xiaomi lost about 1.8% market share over the course of the last year, as Samsung has ramped up production of its wearables.
For reference, the data provided by the IDC research firm categorizes “wearables” as smartwatches, fitness bands, and wireless earbuds. In just the last few months, we have seen the likes of the Galaxy Buds Live and the Galaxy Buds Pro, which likely helps to explain Samsung’s growth. Given that we are still awaiting the arrival of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4, Samsung could grow its 2nd place lead even wider.
Xiaomi on the other hand has released new Mi Bands, but we haven’t seen anything in the headphone department. This could be playing a key role in why Xiaomi’s market share over the last year has dropped by so much. It’s really interesting to see how competitive the market is after you look past Apple. It’s almost like watching Lewis Hamilton dominate F1 for the past decade, with a staunch battle raging behind him and the Mercedes team.
Perhaps what’s even crazier is the fact that Apple managed to see an almost 20% growth, despite already holding a comfortable lead. This was likely helped by the decision to continue selling the Apple Watch Series 3, along with introducing the Watch SE. With the Galaxy Watch 4 slated to launch in the next month or two, equipped with the new and improved (hopefully) version of Wear OS, Samsung has an opportunity to grow in the category even further. We’re also expecting to see some new Galaxy Buds launched, even if it’s just to add another color option to the mix.
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