The Q4 2015 sales of smartwatches have outpaced the sale of Swiss watches for the first time, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics.
The company says that over the course of the holiday shopping season, a total of 8.1 million smartwatches have shipped, compared to 7.9 million Swiss watches. These increased sales are in stark contrast to the 1.9 million smartwatches shipped during the same time period last year.
The study says that Apple and Samsung shipped the most smartwatches in the quarter, accounting for 63 percent of the market, or roughly 5.1 million units.
The major difference between Q4 2015 and Q4 2014 is the availability of wearable devices. The Apple Watch was released in April 2015, with only devices like the Pebble and other Android manufacturers being the sole manufacturers in 2014. This resulted in a 316 percent increase in sales in Q5 2015 when compared to Q4 2014.
A separate Strategy Analytics report released last year indicated Apple’s Apple Watch accounted for approximately 75 percent of the smartwatch market in Q2 2015. While it’s still unclear, it’s possible Apple’s minor decline in market share over two quarters is the result of the Apple Watch promoting the overall smartwatch concept, resulting in users purchasing smartwatches from other manufacturers.
[source]Strategy Analytics[/source]
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