Data released by Canalys shows that the global wearable market recorded a 5.6% year-on-year growth in Q2 2021 with an estimated 40.9 million wearables shipped during the period.

The report also shows that Chinese tech giant Xiaomi leapfrogged Apple to emerge as the top-selling wearable brand in Q2 2021. Xiaomi’s feat was made possible by the exploit of the Mi Smart Band 6 which performed well despite not launching in India during the period. Xiaomi just launched the Mi Band 6 in India and we expect it to continue to drive sales for the Chinese manufacturer.

Surprisingly, embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei held on to the third spot of which we know the sale is being driven by the Chinese market, one of the world’s largest. Huawei is closely followed by Fitbit with Samsung completing the top 5 spots.

Xiaomi’s feat comes at a time the smart band market has been declining, a trend which started in Q4 2020 and extended to the first quarter of this year. Smartwatches are, however, replacing the basic bands and Apple is in the lead in that segment. The Cupertino-based company controls about 31.1% share of the market in Q2 2021.

Huawei occupies the second spot with an estimated 9% share of the market. Others include Garmin with a 7.6% market share, Samsung with a 7% share, and Xiaomi with an estimated market share of 5.7%.

The report noted that smartwatches now account for 62% of global wearable band shipments. We expect this trend to continue as manufacturers are increasingly developing models crammed with loads of vital features. Apple is also expected to hold on to its lead of the market in Q3 and Q4 as it slashes the prices of its current models preparatory to the Watch Series 7 launch. The Watch Series 7 is also expected to drive sales in the fourth quarter when it is released.

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(source)

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