Just like the iPhone, the Apple Watch is estimated to have taken the lion’s share of revenue in the smartwatch market last quarter.
While Strategy Analytics estimated that 5.2 million units were shipped last quarter, research firm Canalys put the figure higher at around 6 million units. This helped Apple generate over US$2.6 billion in revenue, which constituted nearly 80-percent of the total smartwatch revenue and a year-on-year growth of 12-percent.
Canalys attributed the Apple Watch’s best quarter performance to the Series 1’s lower entry price point and an increased emphasis on fitness features. Overall, Apple is estimated to have shipped 11.9 million Apple Watches for 2016 with a market share of 50-percent. The imminent launch of Android Wear 2.0 and popularity of Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatches may erode Apple’s lead in the smartwatch market this year.
