What you need to know
- A new report claims Xiaomi may have overtaken Apple in wearable band shipments
- It reportedly shipped 8 million in Q2.
- That's only just more than Apple's 7.9 million, according to its figures.
A new report claims that Apple was overtaken by Xiaomi in wearable band shipments in Q2 of 2021.
According to Canalys:
Xiaomi overtook Apple to become the top-shipping wearable band vendor in Q2 2021. Xiaomi's performance was bolstered by the launch of the Mi Smart Band 6, despite India, one of Xiaomi's strongholds, not on the initial global launch list. Huawei hung on to third place, mostly relying on China to stay afloat. "Xiaomi made a wise move to hasten the release of the Mi Band 6, which is a more compelling device than its predecessor," said Canalys Research Analyst Cynthia Chen. "Xiaomi's quick pivot to basic watches also helped the company boost its wristwatch shipments by 1.3 million units this quarter."
The news comes ahead of a rumored Apple Watch Series 7 reveal later this month, where Apple is expected to debut a new design featuring slightly larger displays, better internal processor, and more.
According to Canalys figures, Apple shipped 7.9 million watches in Q2, taking a 19.3% share of the market. Xiaomi meantime shipped 8 million wearable bands, just beating Apple for a 19.6% market share. However, Apple's yearly growth was nearly 30% compared to around 2.6% for Xiaomi.
When it comes to smartwatch shipments as opposed to wearable bands, however, Apple still dominates the market with a 31.1% share, well ahead of Huawei, its next closet competitor:
Apple continues to lead the global wristwatch market, commanding a sizable lead with a 31.1% market share in Q2 2021. Recent vendor movements include Samsung joining forces with Google to develop Wear OS 3, the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Watch4 series with new biosensors and a 5nm chipset, and challengers such as Oppo, Huami (Zepp), and others developing in-house components and solutions for their watches, marking a major step forward in smartwatch development.
If rumors are true, Apple's next wearable could be its best Apple Watch ever made, however, there are reports that its more complex design might be hindering production.
