Smartwatch business is booming, and Samsung is gaining on Apple

While Fossil and Garmin falter

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Smartwatches might still not be as essential as smartphones, but the market is growing, and it’s not just theApple Watchthat’s benefiting.

According toCounterpoint’s Q1 2019 global smartwatch shipment data, overall smartwatch shipments have grown 48% year-on-year.Apple, as you might expect, continues to be number one, with a 35.8% market share.

But that’s only up a tiny bit from its 35.5% share this time last year, while some other companies – most notablySamsung– have seen a much bigger growth in share.

Samsung’s smartwatch market share currently stands at 11.1%, up from just 7.2% the previous year, and elevating it from third to second place. With impressive wearables like theSamsung Galaxy Watch ActiveandSamsung Galaxy Watch– the latter of which sits at first place on ourbest smartwatch ranking– it’s no wonder Samsung is doing well.

Fitbitand Huawei have also seen substantial gains this year, though they still lag well behind Apple and evenSamsung watchesoverall, with 5.5% and 2.8% market shares respectively.

Most other brands meanwhile – includingGarminand Fossil – have seen a drop in their market share, but with overall smartwatch shipments up by so much that doesn’t necessarily mean that their sales have dropped.

The upshot of all this being that the smartwatch market looks to be in a fairly healthy place overall, and while one in three people still want anApple Watch, this could soon turn into a much more even race.

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ViaFast Company

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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