A new analyst report shows that smartwatch adoption continues to grow in North America.
Smartwatch shipments grew to 7.7 million in Q2 2019, up from 5.6 million in Q2 2018. That's according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys, who notes that North America is the world's most valuable wearable band market, despite the fact that it's second to Greater China when it comes to unit sales.
Today's report also offers a look a the market share and shipments of specific smartwatch makers. Apple saw the greatest growth of shipments from Q2 2018 to Q2 2019, going from 2.2 million to 2.9 million. Samsung enjoyed a health growth in shipment numbers, too, gaining 0.4 million year-over-year to finish with 0.8 million smartwatch shipments in Q2 2019.
Other members of the top five in North America wearables include Fitbit which grew to 1.9 million shipments in Q2 2019, Garmin that held steady YoY at 0.5 million shipments, and Fossil which grew to 0.3 million shipments in Q2 2019. The "Other" group grew, too, to finish at 1.3 million shipments in the second quarter.
"Smartwatch vendors are increasingly getting nearer the bullseye — hitting the right price point in a way that spurs massive demand," says Canalys's Vincent Thielke. "With Samsung's new Galaxy Watch branding in place, and showing robust performance, the company has moved to cultivate a fitness-focused line-up with the Galaxy Watch Active series, with prices between US$200 and US$300."
Despite Samsung's growth, Apple remains the leader in the smartwatch market, and the Apple Watch doesn't appear to be slowing down. Apple has placed a focus on fitness tracking with the Apple Watch, and that'll continue with the update to watchOS 6 which will bring a new Activity Trends feature to better track your fitness over time. Apple is also adding health features like Cycle Tracking and Hearing Health to watchOS 6 to make it even better at tracking your health.
These improvements, coupled with the Apple Watch's performance and deep integration with the iPhone, help to make it an attractive option for iPhone owners interested in getting into the smartwatch market.
