Apple is selling an Apple Watch every second, data shows

Stay healthy — and reduce your health insurance costs with Apple Watch

Surprising few, the Apple Watch took 51% of the worlds smartwatch market in the final quarter of 2018, according to Strategy Analytics – even as the size of that market grew.

Apple sold 9 million smartwatches in Q4 18

The analysts state that global smartwatch shipments increased 56% year-on-year, reaching 18 million units in Q4 18, up from 11.6 million the previous year’s same quarter.

At over 50% share, this gave Apple approximately 9 million sales in the quarter, the analysis suggests. Which loosely equates to one Apple Watch being sold every second during that quarter.

This is a huge market advantage above others in the space. Samsung has around 13% share, though Fitbit grew 1,000% YoY across the whole of 2018.

“No traditional Swiss or Japanese watch brands, like Swatch or Casio, among the world’s leading smartwatch vendors in 2018,” Strategy Analytics notes.

Global smartwatch shipments reached a record 45 million units in 2018, they said. “Smartwatch growth is soaring, as consumers seek to accessorize their smartphones and bring digital connectivity to their wrists.”

[Also read: The essential Messages on Apple Watch guide]

Strategy Analytics Q4 smartwatch data

Good news, bad news

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics claims Apple’s global smartwatch marketshare slipped to 51 percent this quarter, down from 67 percent a year ago. “Apple Watch is losing marketshare to Samsung and Fitbit, whose rival smartwatch portfolios and retail presence have improved significantly in the past year.”

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Combined together, Apple, Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin are the big four players, accounting for 8 in 10 of all smartwatches shipped worldwide.”

The full report, Global Smartwatch Vendor Market Share by Region: Q4 2018, is available here.

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