It seems Apple is holding the world’s wrists in one hand.
Sarah Tew / CNET
The global smartwatch market continues to grow and Apple continues to dominate it. The company shipped 7.6 million Apple Watches in the first quarter to achieve a 55% market share. This corresponds to a slight increase compared to the same period in the previous year. This comes from data released on Wednesday by the market analyst Strategy Analytics.
In total, the manufacturers delivered 14 million smartwatches in the quarter, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. Deliveries increased despite the quarter the corona virus – and may even have benefited slightly from the pandemic.
“Despite the significant headwind from the COVID 19 fear, global demand for smartwatches continued to grow,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement. “Smartwatches sell well through online retail channels, while many consumers have used smartwatches to monitor their health and fitness during the virus lock.”
According to Mawston, Apple has increased its market share to its highest level in two years. “Apple Watch owns half of the global smartwatch market and remains the clear industry leader.”
Part of Apple’s growth appears to be at the expense of Samsung, the world’s second largest smartwatch maker, which has shipped 1.9 million units, but its market share fell from 14.9% to 13.9% in the quarter. No. 3 Garmin increased its market share, which rose from 7 million units delivered from 7% to 8%.
According to Strategy Analytics, smartwatch deliveries are expected to slow sharply in the second quarter due to the outbreak, but will recover in the second half of the year.