When it comes to choosing a wearable for our wrists, we can opt for the more well-rounded smartwatch like the Apple Watch, or we could opt for more dedicated fitness bands that are more focused towards fitness than displaying notifications, such as those created by Fitbit and Garmin.That being said in terms of wearable bands, it seems that Fitbit is the current leader. This is according to analyst firm Canalys who revealed that Fitbit saw a major year-on-year growth, and that the wearable band market saw a 150% increase in sales year-on-year. Surprisingly despite not being known for its wearables, Xiaomi came in second place, most likely due to its affordable price tag.
Canalys pegged Garmin in third place and we can only imagine that the latest Garmin Forerunner 225 with a built-in heart rate monitor should help boost the company’s sales as well. This report from Canalys seems to corroborate an earlier report from Argus Insights which has estimated that Fitbit currently commands about 68% of the fitness tracker market.
In the meantime Canalys found that despite the Apple Watch requiring users to own an iPhone, thus limiting its accessibility, it actually had a negative impact on other vendors. Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones states, “Despite the Apple Watch requiring an iPhone, Apple’s impending entrance in Q2 had a negative impact on vendors such as Samsung. Discounting has been used to clear inventory in the channel,” said VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones. “The Apple Watch has set the benchmark for other smart watches and will make up the majority of shipments this year.”
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