Apple Resumes Spot as King of the Smartwatch

Apple has confirmed it’s back as the best-selling wearable company having sold 3.9 million smartwatches this past quarter. The multinational company surpassed both Xiaomi’s 3.6 million and Fitbit’s 3.5 million smartwatch sales.

Based on the announcement, Apple has just ended its strongest quarter in 2017, at least to date. Xiaomi and Fitbit had a better shipment in the third quarter, however, they performed worse towards the finish line. While Apple doesn’t report its sales figures for their wearable devices, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, did note that Apple Watch sales were 50 percent higher than last quarter.

The report came from the analyst firm, Canalys. The firm states that even though Apple powered through the year selling its products left and right, it was ultimately a sluggish quarter for smartwatches in general. Based on analysts report, the market shaved 2 percent, reaching a total of 17.3 million sold units

Canalys analyst, Jason Low, pointed to the Apple Watch Series 3 as being the deal breaker when it came to customer appeal.

“Strong demand for the LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 has dispelled service provider’s doubts about the cellular smartwatch not appealing to customers.”

The analyst firm claims that the Apple Watch Series 3 had potential to sell more units had the company not have been impeded by supply issues. In essence, Apple underestimated client demand when it launched the Apple Watch Series 3.

Stronger sales are expected in the fourth quarter this year as opposed to 2016. This is due to the improvements in the health tracking functions, battery life, and the overall better designs.

As for Apple’s Android rival, Google, Low thinks the company needs to extend its reach beyond fashion brands and watchmakers. If Google won’t adapt to client demand, the market “will see further consolidation”. Currently, Apple is currently at the forefront of the smartwatch market with Samsung and FitBit following close behind.

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