A new report from Canalys reveals that the Apple Watch achieved a major victory in 2016, accounting for half of all smartwatch shipments.
Fresh from a record-breaking quarterly report, the higher-ups at Apple now have yet another reason to celebrate; a new report from analytics firm Canalys has revealed that the Apple Watch accounted for half of all smartwatch shipments in 2016.
Canalys reports that over 11.9 million Apple Watches were shipped during last year; an interesting revelation therein is that Apple’s success can be largely attributed to the introduction of the affordable Apple Watch Series 1.
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On Apple’s success, Jason Low – an analyst at Canalys – cited that “Apart from the hardware and software improvements of the new models, Apple succeeded mainly due to its streamlined marketing and re-aligned pricing, which helped it address a wider audience. The Series 1’s lower entry price and Apple’s more focused fitness messaging made its Watch both more attainable and more relevant.”
While the Apple Watch accounted for more than half of all smartwatch sales in 2016, Apple was followed next by Fitbit, which took home 17%. The next biggest slice of the pie belongs to Samsung, which raked in 15%.
Fitbit could well be Apple’s newest – and largest – competitor, as the marque recently acquired Pebble to front its offensive into the intelligent timepiece market.
Other competitors could come in the form of new Android Wear 2.0 devices, from which LG’s Watch Style and Watch Sport are expected to take the lead. The fact that LG’s newest timepieces could be the first to accommodate Google Assistant likely won’t hurt sales, either.
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What are your thoughts? Can we expect to see Apple’s dominance in the smartwatch market continue, or is the firm’s success about to run short? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
